Saturday, May 18College Admissions News

Author: Editor

29 Great Colleges for B Students and How to Get In
College Planning

29 Great Colleges for B Students and How to Get In

Generally, the better your grades, the more college options you'll have. However, some students a re under the false impression that you need straight As in order to get into a wonderful college. Students stress and worry that a few Bs will sentence them to an inferior university. Fortunately, getting Bs won't prevent you from being able to go to a good school. There are a number of excellent colleges that admit B students. We'll provide a list of 29 of the best colleges for B students and explain how to find a good college if you're a B student.   Are You a B Student? You Can Still Go to a Great College If you're at the end of your junior year or the beginning of your senior year and you have mostly Bs on your transcript, don't freak out: you can still gain admission to an excellent...
How to Hold Institutions Accountable for Student Success
College Planning

How to Hold Institutions Accountable for Student Success

Who doesn’t love a top 10 or a top 100 or a top 200 list? That true whether we’re speaking of college rankings or college football and basketball ratings, or, yes, rankings of scholars. Each year, EdWeek, the Inside Higher Ed or Chronicle of K-12 education, publishes a list of the 200 university-based scholars who it claims did the most last year to shape educational practice and policy. Many of the names come as no surprise. Within the top 10 are such big names as Angela Duckworth of grit fame; Carol Dweck, who coined the terms “fixed” and “growth” mind-sets; Howard Gardner, who challenged the notion of a single type of intelligence; Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education; and Daniel Willingham, whose many books and articles examine the application of ...
Do You Need ACT Scores to Transfer Colleges? A Guide
College Search

Do You Need ACT Scores to Transfer Colleges? A Guide

One of the most complicated parts of transferring colleges is determining what the requirements are, especially when it comes to standardized tests. Unfortunately, there's no simple answer to the question of whether you need to take the ACT as a transfer student, but this guide will walk you through how different school policies vary and explain how much SAT and ACT scores count when applying as a transfer.   Do You Need ACT Scores to Apply to College as a Transfer Student? The short answer is that it varies. What's required of transfer applicants differs depending on the school you're interested in and how many credits you've completed so far. Generally speaking, the smaller and more selective the school and the fewer credits you've completed, the more likely it is that you'll need to s...
All the College Ranking Lists You Should Read
College Search

All the College Ranking Lists You Should Read

People love ranking lists. There are tons of TV shows and articles ranking something, from the prettiest celebrities to the best songs of the 1980s. The fascination with college ranking lists has been around for over 30 years, ever since the U.S. News & World Report debuted its list in 1983. There are quite a few college ranking lists out there, but which ones are the best ones? Which ones should you look at? Honestly, all overall college ranking lists are flawed, and you should spend more time researching and visiting colleges than obsessing over college rankings to determine which college you should attend. However, in this article I will detail the pros and cons of different college ranking lists and of college ranking lists in general. You can obtain some worthwhile information ...
The Forces That Are Shaping the Future of Higher Education
Online Colleges

The Forces That Are Shaping the Future of Higher Education

The past’s meaning only becomes clear in hindsight. Who would have guessed during the 1970s, a decade when it seemed like nothing happened, that a series of developments were underway that would transform the future: the politicization of evangelical religion, accelerating deindustrialization, the deregulation and financialization of the American economy, a profound shift in the nation’s demographics. Even as we fixate on headline news, the true drivers of transformation occur out of sight. It’s these long-term developments, processes and trends, which take place under the surface, that even the most powerful politicians or institutions must respond to. This is the case in politics, but it’s also true in higher education. Shifts in demography, the economy and cultural values have far gre...
Online Teaching Degree Programs in Nebraska
Online Colleges

Online Teaching Degree Programs in Nebraska

Teaching is an exciting and deeply rewarding profession, and enrolling in a high-quality academic program is a vital first step toward becoming an effective educator. Future teachers who want to attend a school in the Midwest can choose from a number of reputable teacher-education programs in Nebraska, ranging from small public colleges to large universities. Accredited online education programs are flexible without sacrificing academic rigor. Completing a teaching degree online allows you to structure your schedule around your other obligations and complete your work from the comfort of your own home. At the same time, a well-structured online program also gives you ample access to resources and qualified faculty who can help you succeed. As you research potential programs,...
What Colleges Are Need Aware? How Does It Affect Admissions?
College Planning

What Colleges Are Need Aware? How Does It Affect Admissions?

What is a need-aware college? Does a college being need aware mean they won't accept students who need financial aid? What colleges are need aware?  There are a lot of misconceptions about need-aware colleges and how they handle applicants who need financial aid. Having the wrong information can lead students to skip applying to schools that could still very well accept them and offer generous aid packages. Read this guide to be fully informed on need-aware colleges.   What Is a Need Aware College? Need aware colleges are those that take students' ability to pay college tuition into consideration. This means that, hypothetically, if a school is trying to decide between two students, they may choose the one who requires less or no financial aid because that's cheaper for them. Rising ...
Game Plan for Deferred and Denied Students
College Planning

Game Plan for Deferred and Denied Students

December 14, 2022 Ivy Coach helps reposition the narratives of students after Early Decision / Early Action deferrals or denials (photo credit: Chensiyuan). Did your child receive a deferral or, worse, a denial from their dream Ivy League or other highly selective university in the Early Action / Early Decision round of admissions? If so, grieve the decision for a few minutes — and then get over it because you don’t have time to go through all five stages of grief right now. Regular Decision applications are due in just a couple of weeks. The time is now for your child to take corrective actions to avoid making the same mistakes in the Regular Decision round. So what’s the game plan? Ivy Coach’s PostMor...
3 Questions About Georgetown University’s New Bachelor Completion Degree on Coursera
College Planning

3 Questions About Georgetown University’s New Bachelor Completion Degree on Coursera

We are always eager to hear new ways universities are creating affordable online programs at scale. It is the conversation we never tire of having, and this time, we are talking to colleagues and friends, Georgetown’s Kelly Otter and Coursera’s Betty Vandenbosch. These two leaders from Georgetown University and Coursera recently announced a new online bachelor’s completion program. The program is incredibly competitively priced, at $400 a credit, and scales an on-campus program that serves diverse students. Its most recent cohort was 62 percent students of color and 40 percent military-connected learners. Kelly and Betty agreed to answer our questions about this new program. Q: The in-person bachelor of arts in liberal studies degree completion program has been an institution at Georgetown...
Ultimate Guide to the University of California Schools
College Search

Ultimate Guide to the University of California Schools

The University of California schools are widely regarded as some of the best public universities in the nation. Because I have provided college counseling to hundreds of students in California and chaperoned college visits to UC campuses, I'm very familiar with these colleges and know people who have attended each of the nine UC schools that offer undergraduate education.In this article, I will describe the UC system, profile each of the University of California colleges, and explain how to choose which UC school to attend.Keep in mind that University of California schools are still accepting AP, IB, TOEFL, IELTS, and other international test scores. However, note this important change: Because the College Board has discontinued SAT Subject Tests and adopted a test blind policy for the SAT...
The 10 Best Computer Science Competitions for Teens
College Planning

The 10 Best Computer Science Competitions for Teens

Are you a coder or computer science lover and want to show off your skills? Computer science competitions are a great way to do that! We've gathered information on 10 of the best computer science and coding competitions high school students can participate in. Look over the descriptions that seem most interesting to you, then keep reading to learn everything you need to do to make participating in these competitions stand out on your college applications.   The Best Computer Science Competitions for High Schoolers Below are overviews of 10 of the best computer science and coding competitions for students. For each competition, we  give a brief description, along with who is eligible and what the prizes are. All the competitions below have a focus on computer science. For competit...
The 36 Colleges With the Best Financial Aid
College Planning

The 36 Colleges With the Best Financial Aid

College in the US is expensive—too expensive, in fact, for the average student to be able to afford on their own. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 87% of first-year students at four-year colleges were receiving financial aid in 2019-2020. Financial aid is good in all its forms, right? If it helps college students afford their education, what could be the problem? Unfortunately, not all financial aid is created equal—and not all schools can afford to give out "good" student aid. Here, I'll briefly talk about the types of financial aid available (the "good" kinds and the "bad" kinds) before introducing the colleges with the best financial aid programs in the country.   Financial Aid Basics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Financial aid comes from a variety of sour...
How to Pick the One for You
College Search

How to Pick the One for You

If you're interested in going to college in New York, you may want to consider a State University of New York school. Unlike The City University of New York (CUNY) colleges, the majority of SUNY schools are outside of New York City, and many of them are in rural areas. In this article, I'll describe the SUNY system, profile the 4-year SUNY schools, and explain how to decide which SUNY to attend.   About the SUNY System The State University of New York (SUNY) is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States. SUNY colleges are New York public colleges; there are 64 SUNY institutions of various types and sizes.In this article, I'll focus on the independent 4-year SUNY colleges with baccalaureate programs that you can enter as a freshman student. There are 25 SUNY scho...
Student Loan Forgiveness: Programs for Relief, Mass Forgiveness
Financial Aid

Student Loan Forgiveness: Programs for Relief, Mass Forgiveness

Student loan forgiveness can wipe out part or all of your student loan debt. Each forgiveness program has its own requirements, and some are more difficult to qualify for than others. The big news on the student loan forgiveness front is that the federal government is forgiving up to $10,000 in federally held student debt, or up to $20,000 if you previously received a Pell Grant. (See more below) This new program — and the wide variety of other ways to get your student loans forgiven — offer a chance to relieve your debt burden. Here’s an overview of what’s out there, plus other ways to find help for repayment beyond forgiveness.   The latest on Biden administration’s mass student loan cancellation As announced on Aug. 24, 2022, the federal government is offering...
How to Get Into a BS/MD Program: Step-by-Step Guide
College Planning

How to Get Into a BS/MD Program: Step-by-Step Guide

Is your goal to become a doctor? Do you want to put yourself on a fast track to medical school and making your dream a reality? If so, you may want to consider applying for a BS/MD program. In this article, I'll explain what these programs are and go over exactly how to get into a BS/MD program, so that you can be one step closer to your dream of becoming a doctor.   What Is a BS/MD Program? A BS/MD program offers you admission to medical school if you meet certain minimum requirements while you're in college or applying to colleges. You can apply for a BS/MD program as a high school student during the regular college application process. Additionally, there are BS/MD programs you can apply to as an underclassman in college. Most people begin applying to med school the summer between the...