College Tours of America - College Camp

Just how confusing can the college admissions process be? USA Today published an article titled “For College Applicants, Stress, Confusion Reign” that describes some of the hardships that students and their families go through during the college admissions process.

Programs like College Tours of America’s College Camp are designed to remove the stress and confusion that USA Today documents. To find out more about what it’s like to go it alone, click here!

As a college admissions organization, we know that there are literally hundreds of myths about the process of getting into post secondary schools. Forbes Magazine took a crack at displaying some of the most prevalent myths that continue to circulate today.

To learn about these myths so that you are not let astray click here!

Understanding all your financial aid options for going to college is extremely complicated. Complicated enough that a website dedicated to demystifying some of the most perplexing topics in life wrote an article about it! HowStuffWorks.com has a great guide to financial aid basics that breaks it down real simple!

It’s a great starting point for people just beginning the college admissions process. To read the article click here!

Students are frequently asking us for advice on classes to take before and during their first semester of senior year.  Many think that you should take as many AP classes as possible is the best route.

Paul Kita’s article “More Students Scoring College Credits Long Before the First Tuition Bill” explains that while taking a few AP classes is important, you should not necessarily load your entire schedule with them.

For more information on AP classes click here!

criterion (noun): the standard by which a decision is based

Example: College applications should be tailored to the specific criterion each school uses to judge applicants.

concise (adjective): brief, to the point
Example: You admissions essays should address the topic in a concise manner.

As our older CTA site users begin to hear back from colleges that they have applied to, we felt the need to remind them, as well as those who are looking forward to starting the college admissions process, that once you have been accepted at a school, your work as a student is not done.

Historically, students become more careless with school work during their senior year because they believe that their grades no longer matter, especially once they’ve gotten that oh-so-coveted acceptance letter. The problem is, school are starting to crack down on poor senior-year grades.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s article “Colleges Crack Down On Taking Freshmen With ‘Senioritis’” explains that if your grades slip, your acceptance may be next!

To read the article click here!

apropos(adjective): being relevant, appropriate, and suitable

Example: Instead of using a generic piece, each college essay should be apropos for that specific school and essay topic.

We have recently investigated the world of college rankings, so many people have been e-mailing us for advice on how to select the best college for them.

Yahoo! Education has a list of the “10 Things You Should Consider When Choosing a College” that we believe is great starting place for helping you discover what attributes are most important to you.

To read the article click here!

rudimentary (adjective):  primitive, imperfectly developed

Example: Your search for the best college should be anything but rudimentary.