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We would like to advise you that the MCAT registration for the June - September MCAT exam dates will open on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.
And as a reminder, registration is currently open for the January, April and May dates. Information on registration can be found at https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/register/. For private MCAT test prep sessions, contact us for more information.
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The college application process is daunting and fiercely competitive. However, a top college consultant can help her students greatly when it comes to achieving admissions at many leading universities. Before deciding to partner with a college consultant, you must be sure that person has the skills and credentials you need to reach your goals.
So, how can you be certain a college consultant is someone who can truly help you?
2. Expect Membership in Leading Organizations Verifying that a college consultant has a commitment to the highest standards of ethics and good practice as well as ongoing education is extremely important. Consultants who offer professional services need to be part of a community of experts so they can constantly improve their knowledge. Ms. Lee is a member of multiple college consulting organizations recognized nationally and internationally for their professionalism in this field, like NACAC, NAFSA, OACAC, NJACAC, and NYSACAC. 3. Verify Ivy League Knowledge and Experience Ms. Lee is not only an Ivy League graduate, but a mentor who is often invited to serve as a speaker at top admissions and corporate seminars. Her publications and courses attest to her drive to remain at the forefront of the changing world of Ivy League admissions. When not working with clients, she visits campuses of the top universities across the U.S. and worldwide and stays up-to-date with current admission trends and news. 4. Understand the Value of the College Application, Essay, and Interview. To achieve your admissions goals, you need help from someone who can assist you in distilling your distinct value and achievements into a series of compelling essays. A great personal statement serves to demonstrate who you are and your potential values as a member of a school community. And both a standout essay and interview can elevate your chances of admission to the Ivy League and other top-tier universities. Ms. Lee has an instinct for helping students organize their ideas and express themselves effectively in writing and in the interviews - helping them stand out during the application process. As a former Ivy-League Alumna Interviewer and Co-Chair of the Interview committee, she is familiar with the Dos and Don'ts of a College Interview. 5. Use Strategic Planning to Complete the Admissions Process Last, but certainly not least, is the ability to bring knowledge together and deploy it in practice. Ms. Lee has thousands of hours of experience as a mentor who leads students through the complex process of Ivy League and top-tier admissions from beginning to end. That includes setting goals, maximizing the impact of time spent and aligning clients with the most demanding admissions expectations. All of this translates into his students routinely getting into the Ivies and other top colleges. In order to be competitive in the prestigious and Ivy League admissions process, a top-level strategic approach must be employed - such a tactic can lay the strongest foundation possible for a lifetime of success and service. When you need the best possible odds of securing admission to your school of choice, be diligent in choosing the mentor who will guide you along the way. Lee Academia stands ready to help you on your admissions journey. Don't forget, if you're taking the April-June 2015 MCAT exams, registration for the NEW MCAT exam opens Wednesday, February 11, 2015. For the July - September exams, registration will open in late April.
For more information, visit MCAT 2015 For MCAT tutoring or guidance from an expert instructor, contact us. Happy 2015!
Many families with high school seniors have started and will begin to compare financial aid packages. Unfortunately, the early returns for aid now are not looking as generous as in past years. Some believe that colleges are nervous about major changes regarding federal aid and the way it is distributed. Colleges may be concerned that in future years, they may have to dig into their endowments. When financial aid letters do arrive, the different kinds of aid that make up the package can be confusing. There will be many questions, such as "What has to be repaid? What are the interest rates and terms for loans? Which items are renewable? What is the true cost with all the fees and living expenses?" And before families make their final decision, there are some critical things they need to know: What is the TOTAL Cost? Families need to look closely at the total cost of each college (tuition, room, board, fees, books, travel). They then need to subtract the amount of financial aid awarded to determine what the out of pocket expenses will be. Most schools will not include fees and living expenses on their award letters, thus the overall cost looks lower than it is. What Has to be Repaid? Families should not only worry about the total amount of their award. They need to know how much debt a student will graduate with; this should be a key factor in their assessment. So what steps should be taken? First separate out money which does not have to be paid back, like grants, scholarships, merit awards and tuition reductions. Then make sure to check the terms of each portion of the package to determine which are renewable for future years. Next, look at the work study and loans. Side note: work study is paid to you throughout the year. Compare the amount of aid that does not have to be repaid across all your colleges. Then, look at the loans as a separate amount. Appealing the Offer What? Appeal? Most families don’t realize it, but you can appeal your financial aid offer. Colleges usually reserve 10-15% of their financial aid pool for appeals. Work with our consultants, and wecan guide you on how to appeal and ask for more money. Note: Colleges will offer more money in an appeal, but it will rarely be the full amount requested. Filling the Gaps For many students, even after an appeal, there will be a gap between what they can afford and what they receive in aid. In some cases, it can mean looking at outside loans. Ask the financial aid office at your desired college for their recommendations. They may have approved lenders with good interest rates on loans. Private scholarships are another option, but be sure to check the terms of your financial aid package before accepting outside scholarship money. You are required to report all scholarship sources to your college. Also, keep in mind that private scholarships are usually just for one year vs. college-based aid which will often be renewed. Lee Academia Consultants can guide you in scholarship searches and applications. When many students begin their college applications and send off their college applications, they may actually forget that the application itself is just one part of what needs to be submitted. There are several other documents that must be received before your file is considered ready for review by the college. And because of this, many students are going to receive a ton of emails and postcards just after they submit their applications, notifying them that all their materials have not been received. Panicking parents and students will begin to stress out. Here are some ways to avoid having your application sidelined in the admissions process.
School Forms / Naviance Your school college counselor should have a list of colleges that you will be applying to several weeks before your first deadline. He/She will need to prepare all the forms that need to be submitted from the school. Some guidance office will rely on students to pick up the documents and send them to colleges, while others will collect and send all the school materials together. So, what are the forms that MUST be received by each of your colleges? Teacher recommendations, the guidance counselor recommendation, your transcript, and the school profile MUST ALL be received by each of your colleges. Some schools now file electronically via the Naviance or Common App, but other schools may still remain locked in the era of paper and the U.S. Post Office (also known as snail mail). Thus, it will be important to give your counselor plenty of notice as to where you will be applying. If school materials get lost in the mail, some colleges will wait a few days for another set to be sent, but it is better to avoid this situation. Test Scores (SAT I, SAT II Subject Tests, or ACT scores) These test scores must be sent directly from the reporting agency to colleges, unless you are applying to a test optional institution. The only scores that colleges will accept come directly from the Collegeboard (www.collegeboard.com) for the SATs or the www.act.org for the ACT. With an unusually high number of issues with missing SAT scores during some of the early admissions, it would be best to request your scores at least 2 weeks before your deadlines whenever possible. Payments Students, do not forget that in order for your application to be processed, your payment must be received. Most college allow credit card payments, and/or checks. Make sure you put your ID or SSN number on the check and send it directly to the admissions office (follow directions). For students who are submitting a fee waiver, be sure to call the admissions office and make sure that the required information for a waiver was received and that your request was accepted. Supplements While all the aforementioned are important, the Supplements is the part of the application that can be deal breaker. Colleges may wait for late SAT scores or payments, but if the supplements are not transmitted by the deadline, the application may be rejected. So, make sure you work carefully on these essays and submit them on time. For college services, contact Lee Academia consultants and avoid application rejections.  This week, Lee Academia's team gathered data from 2002-2013 and created this graph on the left. We can see the increased interest in U.S Colleges/Universities as more and more International students apply and seek LAEC's High School/College/Graduate School Counseling.
Lee Academia limits the number of students we work with, as we dedicate our expertise and professionalism in helping each and every one of our clients. In 2012-2013, we see a tremendous increase in our International Students (especially from China) applying to U.S. Colleges seeking our help during the Spring and early Summer term, thus limiting our availability for American students. Here are sample services that we helped our International Students with:
With the big day arriving soon, students are also going to anticipate their standardized test score report to arrive when they finish. And lucky for them, instead of waiting for the hard paper copy of the score report to arrive, scores are available online.
SAT Superscore Now, let’s assume that on the SAT, you received a 560 in Critical Reading, a 740 in Mathematics, and a 630 in Writing. Your overall score would be an 1930 (out of 2400). Students might compare their score to the scores of admitted college applicants. This measure is somewhat helpful in determining what their scores mean, but what students really want to look at are their percentile ranks. While our imaginary scores would place you above 78 percent of the students in the country for your reading score, above 96 percent of students for math, and above 82 percent of students in writing. Note that although you have a separate score reported for your essay (on a scale of 1-12), that score is already part of the complex calculation used to arrive at the 600. You will also see a writing subscore for the multiple choice questions (on a scale of 20-80). The score between 200 and 800 is what matters. Keep in mind that your scores are estimates. And the many versions of the SAT all have the same level of difficulty among all the various questions; the SAT writers are only human. This is part of the reason that some colleges superscore the SAT. Many students take the SAT multiple times. We recommend that students take the SAT no more than two times. There are variations in the test content, thus the second time a student takes the SAT, he might do worse in reading but much better in math. And it would not be fair if your higher reading score from the first test was disregarded. So, some schools will look at all of the test scores you submit and use the highest score you achieved in each section. For example, they may take your reading score from your first test and your math and writing scores from your second test and then combine them to give you your highest score possible out of 2400. The College Board publishes data that tells us whether the schools we are interested in superscore or only look at the scores from the last time you took the test. If you have ever wondered how applicants at Ivy League schools seem to have near perfect SAT scores, this is how. Few applicants attending the elite institutions scored a perfect 2400 in a single attempt. ACT Superscore If students took the ACT, the percentile-based interpretation of their scores makes more sense than does the numbers-based interpretation. In terms of percentiles, if scores are 82% in English, 75% in Math, 85% in Reading, and 90% in Science. Again, that’s the percentage of students across the country that you performed better than. The composite score is the average of those four subscores. If you took the optional essay, a separate English score is also reported (on a scale of 1 – 36) that combines the multiple-choice writing with the essay score, but the composite score uses only the multiple choice subscore. Similar to the SAT, there is some variation across the ACT tests (with some being noticeably harder than others). Again, this is why the percentiles matter more than the raw score. The difference between the tests, though, is that superscoring is not widely practiced with the ACT. ACT recommends that colleges use a single highest composite score for their admissions criteria and many schools abide by this recommendation. The ACT content is presented in a more straightforward way, which allows students to easily assess their errors, practice, and improve their scores, thus taking the ACT after studying is beneficial. SAT and ACT Tutoring If you are considering hiring an expert SAT tutor or ACT tutor to help your child prepare for the SAT or ACT, Lee Academia can help. Please call us at 646.266.6084, so we can begin to develop a personalized SAT tutoring and/or ACT tutoring program for your child. Now that you have your grades, test scores, activity lists and interests, where should you consider applying? We will help you find a set of schools that meet your needs. We are problem solvers and can find great options for any student, no matter what the circumstance.
Think you can’t afford college? Worried that test scores or grades don’t reflect actual abilities? Want to apply to the most elite institutions? Interested in special career paths? We can find the solution that works for you. Call us now to schedule a consultation and let us help you find best-fit colleges for you! Yes, we know the 2014-2015 Common Application will not officially be live until August 1st, however, as we have been telling our students, the essay prompts this year have not changed from last year's application.
So, rising seniors, what are you waiting for? Students can (and should!) get started on their essays now. Common Application Prompts Do you (the student) need help writing an essay that will improve your admissions odds? Contact us today! We will guide you through everything you need to know about writing a great college application essay. Writing a Compelling College Essay in 1-Day! Our 1-day course (5 hours, with 30 minute break included) will include:
Student Name, High School, Home Address, Phone Number, Email Address Credit Card Number (MC or Visa) Name on Card Expiration Date Early Registration (register before August 1 at 7pm EST): only $450 Regular Registration (begins August 2): $550 *Online courses are available, as well. Contact us for more details. Questions? Call 646.266.6084 The cost of a college education is one of the second largest financial investment next to purchasing a home. Currently, many private tuitions range between $180,000 and $250,000, and state governments have been decreasing their funding. Your financial decisions will benefit from our professional guidance.
As many students choose a college without adequate investigation and research regarding what the college has to offer them, research shows that one out of three college students leave or transfer to another college and five out of ten students require five or more years to earn a degree. Our objective assessment of the student’s needs at Lee Academia help us to use current research beyond website information to find the right “student-college fit”. Many colleges have become more selective and Lee Academia's College Consultants understand what is needed for top students to gain admissions. However, finding the right college for the average or learning differences students is just as important. Many less competitive colleges have higher drop out rates and lower graduation rates, therefore it is essential we carefully place average students in appropriate educational settings. High school counselors – both in public and private institutions – are so overwhelmed with student caseloads, federally mandated paperwork for special needs students, dealing with disciplinary situations, and scheduling courses. There is little time left for quality personal contact between counselor and the student applying to college. Guidance counselors will write a letter of recommendation, assemble a transcript, and include a student profile in the college packet – nothing more. For more information and to contact us for a consultation: click here. |
Stephenie Lee
Stephenie, having been a tutor/instructor/mentor since 1996, discovered her passion and founded Lee Academia Educational Consulting, LLC. after she left the dental and medical field. She loves teaching/mentoring and counseling her students. Her passion lies in educating others and helping them pursue their educational path. Today, certified in College Counseling and with more than 10 years of experience, Stephenie and her team continues to blog about current updated educational news and events. Archives
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