NS College Consulting Blog

But you rising seniors already know that, right? That’s because you have been researching colleges for months now, because of the great advice we gave you back in February.   Read more

If you want to get most of the stress of the college application process out of your life by September, here’s what you’ll be doing this summer.  This is a basic checklist – watch this space for more details about each of these steps in the coming weeks.   Read more

Ah, summer. Junior year is over. No more homework, exams, ACTs or SATs, after-school practices and rehearsals. Time to take a break, right?  Read more

Overwhelmed with the task of packing for college? Relax. We are here to help with a list of the obvious, and not-so-obvious items you may need. Before running out and buying everything, be sure to consult with your roommate to coordinate so you don't end up with two microwaves, but no dishes. Also, check with the residence hall or building management to find out if any items are restricted. Last, don't forget to think about how you are going to transport all of your possessions. Can you ship them? Can you order supplies online and pick up at a local store near your campus? With our list and a little advanced planning, you can reduce the stress of move-in day.  Read more

Summer is coming, and you’re probably daydreaming about vacations and beach days and two months without nightly homework. But before yearbooks go out and finals get underway, high school juniors looking to get a head start on the college application process should think about asking teachers for letters of recommendation. Asking early shows that you’re responsible and respectful of teachers’ time, and also ensures that you’ll get recs from your first choices. Wait until the fall, and the English teacher who can rave about you might already be over-committed.  Read more

We are often asked about honor societies, especially those that charge a fee for inclusion. It’s a timely subject as many of our students are currently being bombarded with solicitations from a variety of “pay-to-play” organizations. Our advice: hold onto your wallet and proceed with caution.  Legitimate high school honor societies are free and don’t charge a fee, whether it’s related to admissions in the society or having access to a directory of members. In addition, these types of pay-to-play accolades will not enhance your college application or resume as college admission officers often regard these types of honors as simply a sign of wealth and privilege. College admissions officers understand what's a legitimate honor and what's not, so trying to buy a resume item is fruitless. According to Dr. Anna Wulik of PrepScholar.com, “parents and students should be wary of organizations that mimic legitimate honor societies and use confusing names that sound similar to legitimate honor societies.” For example, there are a number of pay-to-play organizations whose names are similar to the highly-regarded (and legitimate) National Honor Society, however these “imitators” fail to carry the same cachet.   Read more

When it comes to the college application process, there are few things as useful as an activity resume for it's one of the best ways to highlight your skills, talents and accomplishments while also showcasing everything that makes you unique, special and interesting. We are seeing an increasing number of schools requesting activity resumes as addendums to applications. Note: Sometimes schools offer applicants the option of submitting their resume, in these cases we HIGHLY recommend including the resume because it gives you one more opportunity to accentuate your positive attributes while also helping you remain competitive with those applicants who uploaded their resumes.  Read more

September 2015, marked the launch of the ACT’s new “enhanced” writing section. The revised test was designed to improve the writing assessment’s accuracy by pinpointing each student’s specific strengths and weaknesses. However, rather than giving a richer overview of a student’s writing abilities, the new section is fraught with issues which are impacting students, parents and admission officers.  Read more

Dear Seniors,  Read more