Many high school students enter the process of choosing a college with a preconceived notion of what they want or don’t want.   For instance, I often hear, “I know I don’t want to go to a college that’s smaller than my high school.” In response to that, I say, “How do you know? The […]

When Partners For Achievement was founded in 2012 and I delved into statistics regarding how successful kids are at making their college planning choices, I was appalled. Consider these nuggets of information: What to do? At PFA, we created a college planning process to help students think through building their college lists in a more […]

SAT subject tests may not be what push you over the top at a given college, but they still can be an important piece in the application puzzle. They provide another way for you to demonstrate your mastery of a particular subject while showing a more complete picture of you, the applicant.   There are […]

High school juniors winding down from what is traditionally considered one of the most academically challenging years should shift their focus before the end of the school year to which teachers could provide positive recommendation letters for college applications.   When applying to colleges, commonly two recommendation letters are required. On many applications, a letter […]

Decision Day—May 1—is rapidly approaching, but we don’t need to tell you that. It’s probably been circled on your calendar for months, if not at least a year.   If you’re anxious about making your college choice, you’re certainly in the majority. There’s good reason for this to be a stressful time. You’ve been building […]

As the current college application season starts winding down with Regular Decision announcements being released, it’s important to understand the difference between being deferred and waitlisted.   I’ve been deferred   If your application is deferred, don’t panic. It means your application hasn’t been accepted, but it still could be, albeit later. For students who […]

One of the most important undertakings this time of year at Partners For Achievement is helping families get a handle on all the financial aid award letters they’re receiving from colleges. Since each school lays out its letter differently, families often have difficulty figuring out what’s what.   The first order of business is to […]

There are thousands of private college scholarships out there, but researching and then applying for the ones that are a good fit for you requires commitment. I always tell our students at Partners For Achievement that no one will walk around giving you money—you have to put in the effort to get the return.   […]

The escalating price of paying for college has hit everyone, regardless of income. Many colleges cost triple or even quadruple what they did in the 1980s.   Further complicating matters is that many families have no idea how schools set their pricing. Consider that two-thirds of students don’t actually pay the sticker, or full price. […]

When a 17-year-old Partners For Achievement student recently considered what topic she might write about for her Common Application essay, she instantly thought of her seventh-grade year when her family took time out from their traditional suburban lives and spent the school year living on a sailboat while traveling throughout the Bahamas island chain. The […]