College Planning

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

From Applying early decision to college is often a highly effective way to increase the odds of getting accepted at many colleges that offer this admission option. At plenty of colleges, applying early action can also boost admission odds. Students and parents, who are interested in applying early decision or early action, need to know the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy. Here are things to consider: Applying Early Decision Definition 1. Early Decision refers to the admission practice of allowing students to send in their applications and receive an admission verdict before teenagers who use the regular admission process. 2. The deadline for early decision applications can be November 15 or even earlier. In contrast, the application deadline for regular admission can be in Ja...

If you're submitting a college application through the Coalition Application, you likely already know that you'll have to write a personal essay. The purpose of the Coalition Application essay is for you to showcase a side of yourself that colleges don't get to see through your transcripts and test scores alone. There are six Coalition essay prompts to choose from. So which one should you pick? In this article, we go over what the Coalition Application essay is and take a look at all six Coalition essay prompts. For each prompt, we give you potential topics you can write about and key tips for answering it effectively. Keep reading to learn which Coalition essay prompt might be the best fit for you!   What Is the Coalition Application Essay? The Coalition App is a centralized college...

Applying to college usually means writing some essays, asking for letters of recommendation, and submitting your transcripts. But what about the ACT and SAT? Is the ACT required for college? The answer is, not necessarily! In this guide, we explain what test-optional colleges are and give you the complete list of 1,000+ colleges that don't require ACT scores from applicants. We also offer a few tips for what to do with these ACT-optional college lists. Note: for a list of schools temporarily not requiring test scores due to COVID-19, read this article instead. Otherwise, read on to see which schools are always test-optional, test-flexible, or test-blind.   Is the ACT Required for College? Not Necessarily First off, is the ACT required for college in the United States? Or not? Though ...

Did you miss the registration deadline for the SAT test date you wanted? Don't fear—you still might have a chance to take the test if you get on the waitlist. In this article, we give you instructions on how to register for the SAT waitlist, followed by some advice on whether it's the right choice for you. (more…)

Not all admissions processes are created equal. One major point of difference among colleges these days is how admissions officers consider your SAT scores. More and more schools are de-emphasizing SAT scores as part of your application with test-optional and test-flexible policies. Some colleges has even eliminated SAT scores completely! There are now more than 1,000 accredited, bachelor-degree granting institutions that have changed their approaches to standardized test scores. Keep in mind that the majority of colleges, especially the more prestigious schools, do still require (and strongly consider) SAT scores. Let's take a look at the different score policies and the schools that no longer require applicants to submit their SAT scores for admission. Schools Temporarily Going Test O...

Want to be an engineering major in college? A great way to set yourself up for success before you even begin your freshman year is to do an engineering internship or camp as a high school student. However, summer engineering internships for high school students can be tough to find. That's where we come in! We've compiled a list of the 14 best engineering opportunities for high schoolers, including some that pay you to participate!   How Can High School Students Learn About Engineering Careers? If you're interested in a career in engineering, there are multiple ways you can get more knowledge and experience in the field before even graduating high school. Below are the three best ways high school students can get engineering experience.   Job Shadowing Job shadowing is where you spend a ...

If you’re a high school student who’s interested in becoming a lawyer, you can actually start preparing for your future career now by participating in high school law internships and other law-focused programs.  High school law internships, summer programs, and law volunteer opportunities for high school students all allow you to explore legal careers before you ever even get to college. We’ll explain everything you need to know about these programs, including: The types of law programs available to high school students  Real-life examples of law programs for high school students Tips for including your law experience on college applications  Keep reading to learn more!      What Programs and Law Internships for High School Students Are Out There? When it comes to opportunities to exp...