May 18, 2023

Preparing Your Common Application & Personal Statement

Common App

-Learn strategies to effectively describe your activities and accomplishments in the limited space provided

-Review the process for obtaining strong letters of recommendation

-Discuss how to prepare essays, portfolios, and other supplemental materials

-Get information on the latest COVID-related changes to college admissions (including test-optional policies)

Personal Statement & Essays

-Learn our six-step essay formula for selecting your prompt and planning your essay

-Analyze actual essays from our college admissions consulting students who were admitted to highly selective colleges

May 4, 2023

Building Your College List: A Five-Step Process

-Learn our five-step process for 10th and 11th graders to build their strategic college list

-Discover how to identify colleges of best fit based on your competitiveness as an applicant and individual preferences/requirements

-Review strategies to optimize your applicant profile based on your college list, including SAT/ACT testing, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and essays

-Discuss how to choose whether to apply early action/early decision

-Get information on the latest updates to college admissions (including test-optional policies)

March 29, 2023

February 8, 2023

10th & 11th Graders College Admissions Checklist

(Co-Hosted with the counseling departments)

(Co-Hosted with the Bartlett, Chugiak, Dimond, Eagle River, East, Service, South, and West High School counseling departments)

Learn how to:

-Craft your SAT/ACT testing strategy to maximize your college and scholarship competitiveness, including:

• 10th Graders: Whether to prepare for the PSAT this summer to potentially qualify for National Merit recognition and scholarships, and how to navigate the new digital SAT
• 11th Graders: How to navigate test-optional policies in your individual situation

-Develop your college list, which drives all of your academic, testing, and application priorities

-Optimize extracurriculars based on your interests and college admissions goals

-Begin planning college applications, essays, and letters of recommendation

October 12, 2022

9th & 10th Graders College Admissions Checklist

(Co-Hosted with the Bartlett, Chugiak, Dimond, Eagle River, Service, and South High School counseling departments counseling department; students from all schools are welcome to attend)

-Learn how to set a target GPA based on your eventual college admissions and scholarship goals.  Discuss how to excel academically by building study skills and time management habits.

-Learn how to choose coursework and prepare for advanced coursework in 11th/12th grade

-Learn how your extracurricular activities factor into college admissions and how to optimize your extracurriculars to discover your interests and stand out

-Get a preview on when and how to prepare for the PSAT and SAT/ACT.  (For sophomores, determine whether you should prepare for the PSAT this summer to potentially qualify for National Merit recognition and scholarships). 

-Begin building a preliminary college list, which will drive all of your academic, testing, and extracurricular priorities for the remainder of high school

September 28, 2022

11th & 12th Graders College Admissions Checklist

(Co-Hosted with the South Anchorage High School counseling departments; students from all schools are welcome to attend)

-Identify and achieve your target SAT/ACT score before application deadlines (and for juniors, learn how the PSAT and National Merit recognition/scholarships work.)
-Create and finalize your college list, which drives all of your academic, testing, and application priorities
-For seniors, finalize essays and applications
-Identify financial aid and scholarships
-Maximize your GPA
-Optimize extracurriculars to discover your interests and develop your college admissions profile

September 21, 2022

11th & 12th Graders College Admissions Checklist

(Co-Hosted with the Bartlett, Chugiak, Dimond, Eagle River, Service, and West High School counseling departments; students from all schools are welcome to attend)

-Identify and achieve your target SAT/ACT score before application deadlines (and for juniors, learn how the PSAT and National Merit recognition/scholarships work.)
-Create and finalize your college list, which drives all of your academic, testing, and application priorities
-For seniors, finalize essays and applications
-Identify financial aid and scholarships
-Maximize your GPA
-Optimize extracurriculars to discover your interests and develop your college admissions profile

April 6, 2022

How to Design Your SAT/ACT Testing (and Test-Optional) Strategy

(Co-Hosted with West Anchorage School; families from all schools are welcome to sign up)

-Get the latest updates on evolving test-optional policies 

-Learn our 3 Steps to SAT/ACT Success, including how to craft your SAT/ACT strategy and timeline to maximize your competitiveness for college admissions and scholarships

October 5, 2021

11th & 12th Graders College Admissions Checklist

(Co-Hosted with the Bartlett, Chugiak, and Eagle River High School counseling departments)

-Identify and achieve your target SAT/ACT score before application deadlines (and for juniors, learn how the PSAT and National Merit recognition/scholarships work.)
-Create and finalize your college list, which drives all of your academic, testing, and application priorities
-For seniors, finalize essays and applications
-Identify financial aid and scholarships
-Maximize your GPA
-Optimize extracurriculars to discover your interests and develop your college admissions profile

September 21, 2021

11th & 12th Graders College Admissions Checklist

(Co-Hosted with the South and Dimond High School counseling departments)

-Identify and achieve your target SAT/ACT score before application deadlines (and for juniors, determine whether you should prepare for the PSAT this fall to potentially qualify for National Merit recognition and scholarships)
-Create and finalize your college list, which drives all of your academic, testing, and application priorities
-For seniors, finalize essays and applications
-Identify financial aid and scholarships
-Maximize your GPA
-Optimize extracurriculars to discover your interests and develop your college admissions profile

August 24, 2021

Rising 12th Graders College Admissions Checklist: How to Maximize Your College Admissions Success

Learn how and when you should:

-Finalize your college list

-Identify and achieve your target SAT/ACT score before application deadlines

-Begin essays and applications

-Identify financial aid and scholarships

-Adjust your timeline or plans based on the latest COVID-related changes to college admissions (including test-optional policies)

July 21, 2021

How to Make Your Common Application Less Common: Optimizing Your College Applications

-Learn strategies to effectively describe your activities and accomplishments in the limited space provided

-Review the process for obtaining strong letters of recommendation

-Discuss how to prepare essays, portfolios, and other supplemental materials

-Receive an overview of other common college application platforms, including the Coalition App, University of California application, and Apply Texas

-Get information on the latest COVID-related changes to college admissions (including test-optional policies)

July 6, 2021

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Your Personal Statement and College Application Essays

-Learn our six-step essay formula for selecting your topic and planning your structure, regardless of the prompt

-Review what kinds of application essays you will need to write and what rising seniors should do now to make progress

-Analyze actual essays from our college admissions consulting students who were admitted to highly selective colleges

-Get information on the latest COVID-related changes to college admissions (including test-optional policies)