7 Ways to Make College Visits More Cost-Effective College visits are a great way to explore the campus environment, meet with the appropriate departments and service providers, and investigate the community, but with over 2,500 four-year colleges and universities across the U.S, it is impossible to check them all out. Many families have found that college ...

Include Academic Departments on College Visit Itinerary About to go on your first college visit? Schedule a campus tour – it’s a great way to get a general overview of the school. But after the tour is over, personalize your campus visit by scheduling a meeting with the department of your academic major. If you are ...

Five Fun Ways to Test-Drive a Career   Buying a car? With so many options to choose from, your to-do list is probably a mile long. You’ve got to figure out what type of vehicle is best for you and investigate which makes and models offer the options you want. No doubt you’ll take your favorites out ...

How Parents Lead the Way in College & Career Planning      Pop Quiz: Who has the greatest influence in helping high schoolers choose a college and career? A. Guidance counselors B. Older siblings C. Friends D. Teachers E. None of the above If you picked “E”, you’re right! Research clearly shows that parents are the #1 influence on their child’s career choice. That’s not ...

Job Shadowing Sheds Light on the World of Work     Whether you’re a student exploring the world of work as part of the college and career planning process or an adult contemplating a career change, it’s important to get a glimpse behind the scenes to evaluate how well the job suits you. Job shadowing is a great ...

Start Early, Start Smart: Career Planning in High School and College So where are you going to college? And what is your major? Throughout high school and college, students are faced with these questions. They create pressure if a student doesn’t know the answers. Several of our student clients have confided that they have made up answers ...

State Board Recognizes Importance of  Career Planning With the number of career choices available to students and greater competition for entry into different pathways, it is essential that our students build the framework necessary to make informed career choices before graduating high school. As leaders in their child’s development and career planning, parents will find a ...

Is It Too Late to Apply to College? In spring, the race is on and the pressure builds for high school seniors to decide which college they will attend. Of course you knew that last September 1 was the date you could have begun submitting college applications. But here you are in February – or later ...

Letters of Recommendation for College Applications: Who Will Sing Your Praises?     It’s almost as if we can hear what’s going through your head right now. You’re thinking that requesting a letter of recommendation has to be the simplest part of the college application process, right? After all, you’ve done most of the hard work already — ...

Surviving the College Admissions Interview Imagine you’re putting the finishing touches on your first college application. Finally, you’ve got everything you need – the application, college essay, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. It was a lot of work but you’re almost done. What a great feeling. Now, imagine that, just before you push the “submit” button on ...

The Common Application Makes Applying to Member Colleges Easier If you are a student applying to multiple colleges, it can be very time consuming to complete applications. For many schools, the Common Application makes this important task a lot easier. Established in 1975 with 15 private colleges, membership has grown to almost 500 public and private colleges ...

When the Answer is Maybe: College Wait Lists So you completed the college application process, and after months of anxious waiting, you receive a letter that lets you know if you have been accepted or rejected, right? Well, there is a third option that is growing in frequency: landing on an admissions wait list. What is a ...

“Out-of-State” Colleges Not “Out-of-Reach”: Tuition Reciprocity Programs Tuition at the priciest U.S colleges tops out at a whopping $41,000 in 2011. And that doesn’t include room, board, books, fees, transportation and other expenses. Families continue to hunt for creative ways to reduce the financial impact of college. Often out-of-state universities and colleges might as well be ...

6 Steps to Build College Financial Literacy One of the most expensive investment families make is the decision to attend college. In the last several decades the number of students who aspire to a college education has risen dramatically. With today’s emphasis on academic testing and college admission requirements, we are often too busy to consider ...

Sticker Shock: How to Estimate College Costs     The last time your parents bought a new car, did they spend days (or maybe months) comparing vehicle costs online — only to find that they were able to purchase a car for less than sticker price? If so, that’s good news, right? After all, your family saved some ...

“Top College” Rankings: The Best Way to Pick Your School?     “Best” lists are all around us – the best picture of the year; the top Netflix original series; the best surfing beaches in the world; the top companies to work for in 2022. So, it’s only natural for high school students to be drawn to “top ...

4 Keys to College & Career Readiness   If you’re a high school senior, it won’t be long before you go shopping for the items on your “things to bring to college” list, move into your residence hall, and head over to the campus bookstore to pick up your textbooks. Once you’ve done all that, you’ll be ...

4 Myths About College Majors     After high school, students are often asked, “What college are you going to?” The follow up question they may dread is, “And what is your major?” Choosing an academic major is an important decision and there are some common misconceptions about majors and their relevance to a person’s career. Let’s examine ...

4 Things You Should Know about Community Colleges     Everybody knows that college costs have increased dramatically throughout the years. According to College Board’s Trends in College Pricing report, tuition and fees for 2022 – 2023 averaged: $10,950 at four-year public colleges for in-state resident and $28,240 out-of-state, $39,400 at private colleges, $3,860 at community colleges for in-district residents. On top ...

College Visits: Get the Whole Picture     Sure, a picture may be worth a thousand words. But, when it comes to choosing your school, a visit to campus is worth a gazillion college brochures! Nothing’s better than walking around the college grounds to get an initial feel for what the school’s like. Even so, you need to ...

Avoid Common Internship Mistakes     In today’s very competitive hiring environment, employers are looking for graduates who are goal-oriented and have already built a resume of coursework and work experiences related to their career direction. Internships provide students with the opportunity to gain that valuable real-world experience, making their textbook learning and classroom discussions come alive. The best ...

Earn & Learn through Apprenticeships     What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you imagine yourself preparing for your career? Are you envisioning yourself on a college campus, heading to your next class with a backpack filled with textbooks and term papers? If so, that’s great. After all, earning a college degree is certainly ...

Holidays are a Prime Time to Network Your Way to a Job or Internship The holidays are a hectic time of year. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, life can be a whirlwind of school programs, shopping, entertaining, and traveling. Unfortunately, a schedule of seasonal obligations can easily bump other activities off the calendar, such as ...

How to Find an Internship in a Lousy Job Market For college students, internships can be the equivalent to entry-level jobs. They provide the relevant work experience that employers want in new college graduate hires. A primary focus of most employers’ intern programs is to feed their full-time hiring pipeline. Once hired, interns tend to stay ...

Internship Opportunities for Motivated High School Students By now, the message is out: It’s important for college students to have at least one internship experience related to their intended career. Even better, two internships. However, internships for high school students are becoming popular as well, according to a recent Chicago Tribune article, “High school students turn to internships ...

Back-to-School with a Bang     The end of summer and start of school comes all too soon for most families. As students head back to classes, why not pack a few more success tips into their backpacks? Here are four resources to put on students’ radar: Online tutoring resources linked to textbooks Some textbooks today come with an online ...

On the Move: The Transition from High School to College     Are you one of millions of students who will start college as a freshman in the fall? If so, you’re probably really excited — and maybe even a little scared too! After all, you’ve never traveled this road before. So, your transition from high ...

Taking a Gap Year? Here’s What You Need to Know     Year after year, an increasing number of graduating high school seniors are choosing to take a gap year before heading off to college. All things considered, a gap year can be a great way to: increase self-knowledge, get real-life work experience while saving some money for college, develop or ...

America’s Hottest Jobs on Center Stage     “And the award goes to…” Last month, “1917” won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture-Drama. Just one week later, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” took the Critic’s Choice Award. So which one was the real winner? That’s a tough question to answer since each film earned its accolades ...

Emerging Career Fields Keeping your eye on trends is a smart career management practice. New technology, business practices, laws or changes in the global economy create needs for new or evolving occupations and career specialties. Often these are specialties that build on more general experience within a career, like a move into a homeland security role ...

Exploring Careers and College Majors through Summer Camps, Museums and Tours “We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.” – Malcolm Gladwell Do you learn better when you get to try something? If so, you’re not alone; many of us prefer to learn by doing. ...

Exploring Careers: How to Get the Inside Scoop     The last time you went out for ice cream, what did you have? Did you stick with your same old favorite? Or did you waffle between several delectable flavors? In the end, did you like what you chose? If not, you’ll probably be pickier next time. You might ...

Investigate Careers through Informational Interviews      If you’re a college student exploring the world of work or a soon-to-be college grad about to launch your career, you know how important it is to have comprehensive and reliable occupational information to evaluate how well a particular job suits your talents and interests. And here’s some good ...