In fire safety, everyone knows it's Stop, Drop and Roll. In college applications, the buzz words are Reach, Target and Safety!

We all know the drill --

Reach schools are those whose admissions criteria you don't quite nearly meet, if you meet at all. These are your "give it a shot" colleges.

Target schools are those where your academics, extracurriculars, test scores fit squarely within the range of accepted students. No guarantee, but you feel pretty confident that if you apply, you'll get in.

L...
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Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Locust. [Would you believe a noisy Cicada, falling from a nearby tree? Oh, we hate when that happens!]

All enough to unsettle even those with nerves of steel. And yet, even these natural disasters (not to mention those man-made ones that come our way, seemingly on a daily basis), hardly compare to the terror struck in the hearts of bold men, brave women and unflappable 18 year olds by the onset and ensuing deluge known as the college application and admission process.

F...
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Some advice is well worth repeating. These mental meanderings, from a prior post by The College Whisperer, among them:

A Sherpa's Guide to College Admissions

Excerpted from TheCollegeWhisperer.com

 

M.S. of East Williston, NY writes:

Do I really need a college planning counselor for my child? Aren't the resources available through her high school guidance counselor, the colleges,...

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So, what will four years -- or more -- on campus (or off) really cost you?

Until now, the cost of a college education -- from tuition, room and board to textbooks and those "incidentals," like transportation and toothpaste -- has been, pretty much, a guesstimate, at best.

Sure, there's an app for this and an app for that. College websites, too, often offer insights, as well as rough figures rounded up (or down) for one-size-fits-all. But what will be the hit to your wallet, bank account, or 529...
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Oh, the lengths college-bound students -- and their angst-ridden parents -- will go to for that perfect college essay experience.

Sojourns to China. Second-seating surgeons in the operating theater. Cult-like 3-day application boot camps in Cambridge at $15,000 plus, not including room and board.

Oh my!

Check out The New York Times piece, For a Standout College Essay, Applicants Fill Their Summers.

If it seems rather extreme to you to mingle with the Ming Dynasty in Beijing or to rediscover the R...
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a clear, concise, well-drafted high school resume -- which may actually be less than a thousand words -- could well set the stage for getting your picture on that coveted college ID.

Your high school resume is, quite literally, a snapshot of your achievements and activities, and the astute applicant will make it part and parcel of his or her college application. [HINT: Attach your resume to the Common Application. Your college planning counselor ...
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D.L. of Woodmere, NY writes: The Common App has revised the word count on the personal statement (college essay) to "250 to 500 words." Does this set a limit?

The College Whisperer responds:

Funny you should ask!

Yes, the Common App, Writing section, as modified for 2011-12, now instructs applicants to "Please write an essay of 250 – 500 words on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below, and attach it to your application before submission."

This would appear, on its face, to...
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