College Admission 101
White Plains Public Library
100 Martine Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 [ map ]
October 6, 2010
7:00pm to 8:00pm
A lot of the information families hear from friends about getting into college is just plain wrong. So with the help of our Collegewise counselors who worked in admissions, we created this seminar to answer the question, “What are colleges really looking for?” Are grades, test scores and activities all equally important? What other factors are considered during the admissions process? And is it true that having a connection to someone can get you in? We’ll talk about all of those things, take you behind the scenes of the admissions offices, and show you exactly how college admissions really works. You’ll come away from this seminar feeling even more confident about the college planning choices your student is making. We should warn you that you might also come away from this seminar feeling smugly superior to all those friends who gave you bad information in the first place, but we think that’s a risk worth taking to become a college admissions expert.

The College Essay
White Plains Public Library
100 Martine Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 [ map ]
October 20, 2010
7:00pm - 8:00pm
A lot of great kids write average (even bad) college essays—essays about “life lessons learned from football,” “how my trip to Europe broadened my cultural horizons” or an unfortunate standby—the pet eulogy. Better tales are there for the writing. This seminar will show you what admission counselors really look for in great college essays, and offer suggestions for finding and sharing your best stories.

Finding the Righ College for You
Bellevue Regional Library
1111 110th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 [ map ]
Tuesday, September 28th
7 - 8 p.m.
There are over 2,000 colleges from which to choose. But how can high school students know exactly what they’re looking for in a college? How can families identify those schools at which your student will be happiest and most successful? This seminar will teach you how to be a savvy college shopper. We’ll share ways to recognize what types of colleges might be good fits, discuss how to evaluate the many factors that need to be considered like size, location and majors, and share some of the college insights we’ve learned from our former Collegewise kids who are now flourishing at their chosen colleges. We’ll even discuss how to visit colleges, a college planning ritual that sounds easy, but can sometimes be as stressful as full contact karate.

College Admissions 101
Bellevue Regional Library
1111 110th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 [ map ]
Tuesday, October 5th
7 - 8 p.m.
A lot of the information families hear from friends about getting into college is just plain wrong. So we created this seminar to answer the question, “What are colleges really looking for?” Are grades, test scores and activities all equally important? What other factors are considered during the admissions process? And is it true that having a connection to someone can get you in? We’ll talk about all of those things and take you behind the scenes of a college admissions office to show you exactly how they evaluate and select students.

How To Write Great College Essays
Bellevue Regional Library
1111 110th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 [ map ]
Tuesday, October 12th
7 - 8 p.m.
A lot of great kids write average (even bad) college essays—essays about “life lessons learned from football,” “how my trip to Europe broadened my cultural horizons” or an unfortunate standby—the pet eulogy. Better tales are there for the writing. This seminar will show you what admission counselors really look for in great college essays, and offer suggestions for finding and sharing your best stories.

Applying to College in a Recession
Bellevue Regional Library
1111 110th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 [ map ]
Tuesday, October 19th
7 - 8 p.m.
Not surprisingly, the current economy is impacting the world of college admissions. Join us to learn how colleges—from small liberal arts schools on the East Coast to the colleges in our backyard—are changing the way they admit students, and how students applying to college must adapt to these changes. We’ll answer common questions like, “Can applying for financial aid hurt a student’s chances of admission?” and “Should you apply for aid even if you think you won’t qualify?” And we’ll share some Collegewise advice about how to factor your need for financial aid into your student’s college selections. We’re not accountants, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to try to give you detailed financial advice about how to invest, save or rearrange your money. But if you’ll let us defer those questions to your accountant or to a financial aid professional, we promise to give you good advice and send you away with a much better understanding of a formerly confusing process.

If you would like Collegewise to speak to your organization or high school, please CONTACT US to schedule one of our speakers.