Posts in College Prep
The Prepared Student College Prep: How to Showcase Your Activities in the Common App

The Activities portion of the college application can play a significant role in admissions decisions, especially as applicants are becoming more and more competitive in terms of straight academic achievements. Having a strong profile of activities and commitments can help to set an applicant apart, so it’s important to make sure that the way you outline your activities in your application reflects positively on you as a candidate.

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College PrepAbby Purfeerst
The Prepared Student College Prep: High School Classes to Take to Set Yourself Up for College Admissions

When it comes to college applications, the classes that you’ve taken in high school will be a big factor that colleges consider when making their admissions decisions. Particularly, they want to see that you’ve been challenging yourself and that you’ve completed a certain number of courses in some key areas. Here, we’ll map out what exactly they hope to see and how you can make the most of your course scheduled during high school.

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College Prep: How & Why to Demonstrate Interest

Demonstrated interest may be a term that you’ve heard before when it comes to college admissions decisions. Some schools consider demonstrated interest, or a student’s overall interest in their school, when making admissions decisions. So how exactly do you show your interest and how can you make sure to demonstrate that right before you send off your applications?

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College PrepAbby Purfeerst
The Prepared Student College Prep: When is Early Decision a Good Idea?

With our current college admissions craze and the competitive atmosphere fueling it, it can be tempting to consider applying Early Decision to help boost chances of acceptance. However, electing to apply Early Decision is a choice that must be fully thought through. It’s important to understand what you’re getting yourself into and to ensure that it’s the best choice for you. Here, I’m walking you through when it might be a good idea and when it might be a scary idea.

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College PrepAbby Purfeerst
The Prepared Student College Prep: Junior Year & College Applications

Maybe you’ve heard someone say that junior year is the hardest year of high school. For many, that’s certainly true, as AP and Honors courses pile up on their schedules. Despite how difficult or easy you find your junior year to be, it will be the most IMPORTANT year of high school for your college applications. Junior year is the time to focus on academics to set you up for success for college apps next fall.

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College Prep: How to Earn College Credits While You're Still In High School

Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to lower the sticker price of an American college education, including financial aid, merit-based scholarships, grants, private scholarships, and more. But what if you could be doing something right now, as a high school student, to help your future self save some money on your college education? Well, there just might be something you can do. The key is in planning ahead. Read on to find out more.

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College PrepAbby Purfeerst
College Apps: Why You Should Apply to At Least 6 Colleges

Which schools should you apply to? As you create your perfect list of colleges, we recommend that you aim for a minimum of 6 schools: 2 safety school, 2 target schools, and 2 reach schools. Here, we’re taking a closer look at how to create your college list, what these categories mean, and how to make sure that you have a healthy combination of each before sending off your apps.

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College PrepAbby Purfeerst
College Prep: The Perfect Winter Break To-Do List

It’s important for students to take time during winter break to unwind and recharge from a tough semester of fall courses. But winter break is also the perfect time to start thinking about what comes next. What are your goals for the spring 2022 semester? Will you send the rest of your college applications? Will you get ready to take the ACT or SAT for the first time? Now is the perfect time to come up with a plan to help you reach your next set of academic goals.

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College PrepAbby Purfeerst
College Prep: High School Coursework

When you think about planning for college, things that come to mind typically include test scores and college visits. But it’s important to remember that the classes you elect to take in high school also play a vital role when it comes to being prepared for both the college admissions process and college academics in general.

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College Prep: Summer To-Do List

Are you a rising junior or senior? Then it’s time to be thinking about COLLEGE. With all the busyness of junior and senior years of high school, it’s important to spend time focusing on and preparing for college NOW. We’ve laid out the perfect college prep summer plan for rising juniors and seniors. Even if you haven’t spent any time working on college prep yet, this is the perfect time to start!

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