Five College Admissions Blogs You Should Be Following!

Some of you may be wondering, “Is YGITW the only source for my college admissions needs?” and the answer is no! There are many different admissions blogs available on the internet (although YGITW is obviously the best ;), but here are six blogs that will help you will all of your admissions questions!

Ivy Coach

Are you interested in the Ivy League? If you answered yes, then this blog is for you! Ivy Coach provides information on the college admissions process for the schools in the Ivy League such as Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth. With the Ivies being some of the most competitive schools in the nation, Ivy Coach is sure to help when it comes to fulfilling your Ivy dream. Along with college admission, the blog also includes information about Ivy League sports and college athletes. Ivy Coach has also received national recognition and has been featured in credible newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Particularly Helpful Posts:

• "Connecting with Readers in College Admissions Essays" 

The College Solution

The College Solution is a blog created by Lynn O’Shaughnessy who is a nationally recognized college expert, journalist, author, and educator. Her blog consists of everything from college rankings to finding different scholarships. Her articles provides an expert's view on the college admissions process and this blog is great for many different uses!

Particularly Helpful Posts:

• "10 Things to Know About the New FAFSA Changes"
• "Why You MUST Use Net Price Calculators!" 

College Coach - The Insider Blog

The Insider Blog contains information for both parents and students. This blog highlights three major aspects: A Parent’s Perspective, School Spotlight, and Scholarship Spotlight. These different topics feature articles about parents, details about specific schools, and scholarships. But, these aren’t the only topics available on the website, College Coach provides various others such as Advice from the Experts and Tips for Acing the Essays. Another unique feature of this blog is that they provide podcasts for students and parents to listen to on an ample amount of topics.

Particularly Helpful Posts:

• "School's In! Application Workshop: Filling Out the Common Application" 

College Advice from the Princeton Review

Princeton Review is most notably known for its Advanced Placement review books, but did you know that there was a college admissions blog? College Advice from the Princeton Review provides everything about college advice. The menu selector located on the website can be easily navigated. The menu consists of different sections: Apply, Pay, Prep, Study and Succeed. These tabs can be easily located and it can help you with whichever topic you need. A great feature on this blog is that it also includes tools that can help match you to your perfect university and major!

Particularly Helpful Posts:

• "How to Compare Colleges and Find Your Target Schools"
• "What High School Classes Do Colleges Look For?"

College Planning Blog from Best College Fit

College Planning from Best College Fit provides great information about the college admissions process. One thing that stands out for this blog is the Readers’ Forum. The forum allows students to send in questions to the blog’s primary contributor, Peter Van Buskirk. He also tailors his articles based on the questions he receives from his readers. This blog is especially helpful because of how applicable these posts can be as well as how personalized.

Particularly Helpful Posts:

• "BCF Readers' Forum 10/22/16"
• “‘Connect the Dots’ With Your College Application" 

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Why Should You Consider a Liberal Arts College

When looking at colleges and universities, one problem students most commonly run into is the decision between a Liberal Arts college and a traditional university.  Liberal Arts colleges (LACs) offer a different perspective to post-secondary education and many more students are enrolling into these types of colleges. While both schools provide the opportunity for higher education, there are many factors to consider when deciding which type of post-secondary institution to enroll into.

Class Sizes

Generally, Liberal Arts colleges have smaller class sizes. The student to teacher ratio is considerably less than typical universities. Liberal Arts colleges can have as few as 10-15 students to one teacher in a class while universities could have large seminars and have hundreds of students in one class.

Variety of Majors

Universities tend to have many different options when it comes to different majors and minors you can earn. Liberal Arts colleges have broader majors and less specific subjects. For example, a large university can have different types of biology like Molecular Biology or Biochemistry, while LACs typically offer more general majors which would be like Biology. Larger universities also focus on research more than LACs.

Different Types of Degrees

Since LACs are smaller, they offer more general degree such as Associate's and Bachelor’s degrees. More rigorous and prodigious degrees like P.h.D’s and Graduate School for Medical or Dental majors.

Extracurricular Activities

Larger colleges and universities generally are big on sports. Many of the big universities are apart of Division I sports, while smaller LACs are typically have Division III sports. Both types of institutions offer many different clubs and organizations, but due to the fact that universities have more funding and a higher student body population, more clubs could exist.

Examples of Schools

Some examples of LACs are:

• Amherst College - Amherst, Massachusetts
• Carleton College - Northfield, Minnesota
• Grinnell College - Grinnell, Iowa
• Pomona College - Claremont, California

Some examples of Major Universities:

• Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut
• University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley, California
• Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, Maryland
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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The Difference Between Early Action, Early Decision and Regular Decision Applications

College application season is coming up! This means you have to decide how and when to submit your application to your chosen colleges and universities. Each application plan is unique in its own way and a wrong decision could cause you to rethink or change which institution you want to enroll in.

Early Action

Overview:

Early Action allows you to apply early for an institution without having to fully commit to that specific school. With this plan, you are allowed to apply for other institutions and are not forced to withdraw the applications to other schools if you get accepted through the Early Action plan.

Pros:

• No Commitment - You do not have to fully commit to a school, unlike the ED plan.
• Early Response - You get an early notification from the school if you are accepted, denied, or deferred into the regular admission applicant pool.
• Financial Aid - You are able to compare financial aid offers from different schools which could be beneficial financially.
• Less Stress- You are less stressed about applications when January rolls around.

Cons:

• Less Polished Applications - Since these applications are due around November, this could affect the overall quality of your essay when it comes to essay questions or other written components of the application.
• Single Choice Early Action - Some schools, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, have a policy of “Single Choice Early Action” in which you are only allowed to apply to that specific school and only that school for EA. You may not apply to any other school via the EA plan.
• Senior Year Grades - Sometimes your first-semester senior year grades can help boost your application, so if you submit EA you risk the chance of missing out on the inclusion of these grades.

Early Decision

Overview:

Early Decision allows you to apply to one school that you are going to be fully committed to and by fully committed, I mean you are practically “binding” yourself to that school if you get accepted. When applying with Early Decision, make sure you are confident with your choice school and have done a lot of research before deciding to take this application route.

Pros:

• “Slight” Edge - Since you are fully committing to that one school, if you are accepted, it shows the school that you have set your sights to that school and are 100% sure about your decision to attend.

• Less Stress - Just like EA applications, ED applications are submitted around November which can save you some time later in the application process.

Cons:

• Full Commitment - With Early Decision, you can only apply to one school and if you are accepted to that school then you must attend unless there is a reason you cannot attend, such as your inability to physically pay or be on campus.

• Withdrawal of Other Applications - If you are accepted to your ED school, you must “withdraw” all other submitted applications because of your commitment.

• Changing Your Mind - You should be 100% confident about your chosen ED school if you choose this plan. Since this plan is a “binding” plan, you must fully look at your chosen school and make sure you are confident in your decision.

• Chance of Less Financial Aid - Unlike Early Action, ED acceptances usually don’t come with financial aid offers because of your commitment to that school.

• Less Polished Applications - Like EA applications, these applications are submitted early which may be inconvenient since the fall time can be very busy time for you. If you submit an unpolished application, it could hinder your chance at being admitted into the school.

• Senior Year Grades - Just like Early Action, you risk the chance of missing out on the inclusion of these grades, but usually colleges will ask you to submit a Mid-Year report.

Regular Decision

Overview:

When applying with Regular Decision, many colleges have their applications due around the beginning of January. This application path is generally the most used because of the non-commitment aspect of the application process.

Pros:

• Applying to all of Your Chosen Colleges - With the regular decision, you are allowed to apply to all of your desired colleges!

• More Time and Polished Application - Since the deadline is later than both of the EA and ED paths, you have more time to polish up your application to make sure your application is the best as it can be.

• Senior Grades - Like I mentioned earlier in both of the EA and ED sections, the inclusion of your senior year grades can help show that you are consistent with your grade marks.

Cons:

• Competition - Competition to get into any college is always a thing, but when applying with the thousands of other people, your application may not stand out when it comes to the admission process.
• Later Admission Decision - Although the wait for the decision is longer, it is only a couple of months after EA and ED decisions.

Whichever path you choose when deciding when to submit your college application, make you choose the best path for your intentions and do a lot of research on your colleges!

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