Every student hopes to balance rich extracurricular activities with meaningful summer experiences. Where does a summer job fit in?...

When I arrived on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University on September 19th, 2012, I did not know any of my fellow incoming...

Summer is upon us and this is the time of year when many students and their families visit colleges across the country.  Some refer to...

This past May College Board released both scores for the first administration of the new SAT as well as the Concordance tables....

College is the beginning of your child’s transition from the protected world of home and family to independent living and the...

"If a college student eats one pizza a week (off-campus), he'll have spent $2,000 on pizza by the time he graduates from a four-year...

College application season is upon us. As high school seniors across the country are stressed out by trying to keep up their grades,...

There can be tremendous value in a great college essay. This personal statement or essay allows a college admissions officer to imagine a...

If you know a high school senior this time of year it is likely that you will hear about his or her list of colleges. They’ll probably...

PSAT results were published in mid-December, and we have many parents asking questions about how to best utilize these results.  So let’s...

As seniors across the country start to receive college decisions we begin to turn our attention to admission trends that are emerging...

There is no one right way to rank colleges. Each student and their family have a unique set of college priorities. For instance, the...

This is the time of year that many high school seniors are deciding which college will be their home for the next four years.  Many of...

In July 2016, we blogged about the new SAT, which had just released the scores from its first administration. That blog delved into what...

We like to say that the best thing Essential College Coaches can give your student is great college choices. But selecting the right...

Over the summer parents of soon to be college freshman will be hunting and gathering items to help their son or daughter go off to...

The transition from high school to college is a big one and every student will face some challenges along the way. However, for students...

Most college-age students have a laundry list of things they would have done differently if they could step into a time machine and...

In previous blogs, the Essential College Coaches have written about high school students' summer opportunities, and that there is no...

College is one of the biggest transitions a person will make. The startling reality is that 1 in 3 freshman won’t make it back for...