The Current College Landscape 

A pan shot of a library filled with books

As I try to make sense out of admissions results this year, I may sound a bit like a broken record. Applications continued to hit record highs while admission rates fell to new lows. More waitlist activity, more surprises (both good and disappointing), but for the most part, uncertainty abounds making it virtually impossible to…

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Will This Look Good?

When it comes time to fill out college applications many students panic at the thought of having to list their extra-curricular activities. They question whether they have enough activities, the “right” ones, and if their list will persuade the admission staff of their commitment to these pursuits. “If I don’t have a passion, will colleges…

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Where to Begin the Money Talk

Two women casually having a conversation

The cost of college today has put affordability truly out of reach for most Americans, including many who are comfortably middle class. I am not stating anything that someone who is currently putting children through college hasn’t realized. While higher education has always come at a cost, it has reached a price point that now…

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What Are Competitive Colleges Looking For?

A building surrounded by trees

College admissions has become increasingly unpredictable with little transparency, but decision makers are actually willing to shed light on a seemingly opaque process. Recently I attended an IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) conference and was fortunate to hear admission officers from Haverford College and Johns Hopkins University speak about their processes. They walked us through…

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College Common Data Sets: The Numbers that Tell the Real Story

Klemmer Educational Consulting

Standards in U.S. college admissions is a bit of an oxymoron. Colleges have their own application requirements, essays, deadlines, factors for evaluating students, institutional needs, academic offerings, and financial aid policies. It’s often difficult to find consistency and answers to frequently asked questions. Even a college website, part repository of facts and information, part marketing…

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Character Matters in College Admissions

Klemmer Educational Consulting

What do Cornell University, Trinity College, Bucknell and the University of Chicago have in common, aside from being highly selective colleges?  They all consider character and personality traits among the handful of Very Important factors they assess in their admission process. The concept of character is not new to college admissions. Yet within the last…

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