Here's a refreshing New York Times post from Rebecca Sabky, a former admissions director at Dartmouth, about looking beyond academic credentials and extracurriculars for a fundamental human quality in applicants: kindness!

There are many ways to get a great education, and not all of them require that you attend a brand-name institution.  Here's a post from Will Dix at Forbes that suggests five strategies for uncovering opportunities at well-regarded but lesser known institutions that can provide you an excellent education at an affordable price.

Here's another good read from Will Dix at Forbes—this post focuses on the need to pay attention to admission history as part of your college plan and features some of the analysis from our recent notable admission rate changes post.  We think this article reinforces the importance of staying current with admission results, as each year there are surprises like American University—where the admission rate has fallen from 45 percent to 26 percent in the span of just three admission cycles—which can materially change how schools on your list might get categorized.

Click here for the Forbes article.

The following post was written by Anna Carapellotti and appeared originally on the Admissionado College Admissions blog.

Those of you with your heart set on attending one of the Universities of California may have already noticed that they have replaced the personal statement this year with eight “Personal Insight” questions, from which you must choose four to answer. Each response is limited to 350 words, and their hope is that this format gives you a “clearer guidance and more flexibility in the kind of information you want to share.”

So, how should you approach these new questions? Let’s take a look at what they are and some strategies you could use to maximize your answers.

Courtesy of CNBC, here are some nuggets of wisdom from several of this year's notable commencement speakers, including Sheryl Sandberg, Jane Goodall, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Mike Krzyzewski, and last but not least, President Obama.  Enjoy!

Click here for the article.

The following is a guest post written by Sarish Kasat of Admissionado, a premier college admissions consulting company focused on helping students get into their dream schools.

Congratulations! You’ve been admitted to college!

But wait, not only have you been admitted to one college, but after years of hard work and dedication throughout your high school life, you’ve been accepted into more than one college. And they’re all amazing programs. Yikes, you thought the application process was hard, now you have to decide between Northwestern, UCLA and UC Berkeley like our student Tim? Not an easy task, but a very admirable position to be in. Where do you start? Our advice is always, above all, without a doubt, go to the BEST college you get accepted to. But what if you get accepted into two equally great universities that are both in the same “tier” of excellence?

Whether you’re just beginning to think about your student’s college plans, or you’re deep in the throes of SAT/ACT prep, school research, filling out the FAFSA, etc, you already know that the college application is stressful for everyone involved.

Even more so when you turn to the black hole of the Internet for guidance. Sure, there are a lot of really knowledgeable people sharing really great information (you’re reading some of it right now!) but this is the Internet, and unfortunately for you, someone doesn’t need to be really knowledgeable to share their thoughts or advice. And that leaves you, a well-intentioned parent, on the receiving end of some really BAD information.
We’ve seen it all and once we stopped screaming at our computer screens (true story) we decided it was our duty to call out that bad advice, break down why it is so wrong, and share the truth so you can guide your students effectively.

So let’s get to it, shall we? Here are the four most egregiously bad/wrong/misguided/awful pieces of advice we’ve found on applying to college:

So, your student has gotten those hard-earned (and highly coveted) acceptance letters. (CONGRATS!) You’ve gotten the screaming/dancing/calling everyone you know out of your system, and now it’s time to start preparing for the next step: paying for college.

Everyone knows that tuition is the primary cost of college, but there are a variety of others that can add up significantly.

It’s important that these costs are understood by the entire family —from those who are able to fully finance their student’s education to those on financial aid. Actually, it’s especially important for the latter, since you can’t get grant, scholarship, or loan money to cover many of these expenses.

With admissions decisions right around the corner, here's an article from Forbes we think you'll find useful in helping you to make a final decision on where to attend.

Clickhere for the article. 

Later today, a new report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education called "Turning the Tide" will be introduced.  Backed by 50 admissions deans and educators from well-known colleges and universities, the report recommends ways to tone down the frenzy of college admissions.  

Coverage is provided in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but we find this segment from the CBS Morning News to be most insightful.  

Here's an interesting video from Steve Lemanger, a former admissions director at Princeton University, on the mistakes that applicants make.  The big takeaway is that much of your application has already been set with your grades, test scores and recommendations.

Click here to check it out.

For those of you curious about how admission decisions are made, here's an interesting article from Business Insider on the Ivy League admissions process. Excerpted from a talk given by Nelson Urena, a former admissions officer at Cornell University, it outlines the typical steps that are taken from the time the application is submitted to the time the decision is rendered.  

New SAT, current SAT or ACT—which one is for me?

Here's a 30 question diagnostic developed by Dr. Gary Gruber that can help you determine which may be best for you.   

Click here for the article.

For those of you wondering about the new SAT, here's an excellent article from Jed Applerouth that details the differences between the current and new formats, as well as the ACT.  

Read the article here.

Here's a recent blog post from the President of Hampshire College in the Huffington Post.  It's entitled Results of Removing Standardized Test Scores from College Admissions, and while it's meant to tout the impact of adopting a test blind admissions policy (SAT/ACT scores are not accepted/considered), in reality it's a fascinating perspective on college rankings and how the quest for top rankings can often pressure schools to commit "unnatural" acts.

Click here for the article.