Tag: College Admissions

Top Colleges and Student Debt

College Financial Aid
~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Many expensive private non-profit four-year colleges try to keep student borrowing low by giving generous financial aid to undergraduates from lower-income families.  Among highly selective private non-profit colleges, Harvard University was the most successful in keeping federal student-loan debt low for its graduates who took out such loans.  Six Ivy League schools, including Harvard, were among the top 25 on that measure. The list below shows a school and the median debt for its graduates.

1.  Harvard U. – $6,500

2.  Duke U. – $7,500 | Princeton U. – $7,500

4.  Rice U. – $10,228

5.  Pomona College – $11,000

6.  Piedmont International U. – $11,326

7.  Cornell U. – $12,000

8.  Stanford U. – $12,475

9.  Amherst College – $12,975

10.  Haverford College – $13,000

11.  Grinnell College – $13,170

12.  Dartmouth College – $13,462

13.  Yale U. – $13,500

14.  Vanderbilt U. – $14,000

15.  California Institute of Technology – $14,350

16.  Bates College – $14,450

17.  U. of Chicago – $14,500

18.  Williams College – $14,583

19.  Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering – $14,710

20.  Claremont McKenna College – $14,968

21.  Brown U. – $15,000 | John Hopkins U. – $15,000

23.  Georgetown U. – $15,500

24.  Hamilton College (NY) – $15,760

25.  Middlebury College – $15,889

Source:  U.S. Department of Education, National Student Loan Data System

Keep this in mind as you make your plans for college admissions!

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities. 

What College Athletic Coaches Are Looking For When Recruiting (Part 3)

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Part 3 of a 3-part series.  

You’ve been playing your sport for 5-10 years and you want to be recruited or at best recruited and receive that four year athletic scholarship from your top choice college. Don’t sell yourself short.

My advice after over 20 years in the college admission business and constantly talking college coaches and Athletic Directors are these additional points college coaches are looking for:

  1. Coach Ability: Coaches want someone who wants to be coached. They don’t want someone who questions what they do and insists on doing something else. A coach has a program in which they have developed an elite team; they want someone willing to fit into that mix.
  2. The WOW Factor: What’s your personal athletic “wow factor” that makes you stand out and get recruited. What do I view as a your “wow factor”?  Your charisma, confidence, motivation, initial-impression, appearance, communication skills, attitude, self-esteem, authenticity, presence, harmony and vibe.  What personal characteristic is truly unique, captivating and exciting about you? And how will you contribute and or passively transfer these characteristics to teammates, to your class and to professors.   It’s a factor that coaches look for as well as discuss with the admissions committee as to the reason why they want you at their school on and off the team.

See Part 1 – Points: 1-3 and Part 2 – Points: 4-6.

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What College Athletic Coaches Are Looking For When Recruiting (Part 2)

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Part 2 of a 3-part series.  

You’ve been playing your sport for 5-10 years and you want to be recruited or at best recruited and receive that four year athletic scholarship from your top choice college. Don’t sell yourself short.

My advice after over 20 years in the college admission business and constantly talking college coaches and Athletic Directors are these additional points college coaches are looking for:

  1. Mental Toughness and Sportmanship: Beyond your ability, your academic record and your desire to attend and play, coaches want to know how you carry yourself on the court.  Games between evenly matched players often come down to who is mentally the strongest.  Coaches want to know how you think during a match and how well you understand the game. They are looking for those with “true grit”. How you respond when you are down in a match or get a bad call is important.  Do you lose your temper and focus or are you able to remain calm and adjust your strategy?  And while it may be cliche to say so, being able to win and lose with respect for your opponent and the game is very important.
  2. Team Fit: When coaches recruit a player, they are choosing somebody they are going to spend a lot of time with over the next 4 years. They are looking for students who are nice to be with when traveling and eating together as a team.
  3. Reliability:  Coaches look for students who are reliable and who are going to do what they are supposed to and someone who is going to show up on time, everyday, where they need to be. Being punctual is essential in all aspects of life and for some coaches this is very important.

Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Ranking 2017

College Ranking
~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education Ranking 2017 was just released.  The rankings emphasize how well a college will prepare students for life after graduation.  The overall ranking is based on 15 factors across four areas:  Outcomes, Resources, Engagement and Environment.   Each school’s overall score is determined by student outcomes (including a measure of graduate salaries), the school’s academic resources, how well it engages students and from the diversity of the students and staff.

THE TOP TEN:  Schools that achieved the highest overall scores in the ranking:

1.  Harvard

2.  Columbia University

3.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University

5.  Duke University

6.  Yale University

7.  California Institute of Technology

8.  University of Pennsylvania

9.  Princeton University

10  Cornell University

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities. 

College Admissions: The Need to Read

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

You may ask yourself, why is a college admissions advisor writing about reading?  What does reading have to do with college admissions?  Everything!  One of the first things I ask my clients is what do you like to read outside the required reading at school.  Even the best students have difficulty answering this question.  Why is the need to reed important in the college admissions planning process?  I just provided an example!  There are several other reasons, a few of which are described below.

  1. Common Application supplements, especially ones for the more competitive institutions, ask what types of books have you read or what books influence you. Types of books also demonstrate another character dimension of applicants by which the admissions committee might judge you.  It tells the committee your interests, your passions and most importantly that you are doing something other than the norm, for example, not reading.  Remember, admissions officers read your applications.
  2. Reading helps you to improve your written communication and speech skills. This, of course, will be helpful during college interviews. Remember to use the word “like” as a verb or in a simile, and not as a filler in a spoken sentence.  One admissions officer told me that excessive use of “like” in a conversation is “Valley speak” and sounds cartoonish.   Reading helps you to master the English language, obviating the need to use unnecessary fillers.
  3. Studies show that there is a strong correlation between reading and a student’s ability to grasp math, science and abstract concepts, apply logic in various scenarios, recognize cause and effect, and utilize good judgment. This may translate to better academic performance and even higher standardized test scores.  Most importantly, reading contributes to the possibility of one’s success in all endeavors.
  4. Research has found that when students read extensively they become better writers. Reading a variety of genres helps students learn text structures, language usage and vocabulary that they can then incorporate to their own communication styles.   How does this relate to college admissions?  As you master the English language, you will have less difficulty completing the personal statement and supplemental essays on the Common Application.  You will also express your ideas succinctly, accurately, and convincingly to admissions committees.  When we review our clients’ Common Applications and supplemental essays, we can tell who are the avid bibliophiles.

So as you sea, there is a need to rede. Buy the way, “rede” and “reed” were spelled properly.  They are homonyms of read (four those of ewe who use “spell check” for proofreading yore essays).  Rising seniors, who are filling out their Common Applications, bee careful.

“Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body.   It is wholesome and bracing for the mind to have its faculties kept on the stretch”…Sir Richard Steele

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities. 

7 Huge Mistakes Parents Make in BS/MD Admissions

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

“Going it alone” in this vast arena of BS/MD admissions can result in mistakes, as applicants are easily blindsided by obstacles and pitfalls that they don’t even know exist. When parents call our office to provide initial information, as I listen to their children’s BS/MD program profile I can almost predict (using trends, predictive analysis and real-time insider perspective of the BS/MD programs) that their child will be REJECTED based on the sameness of their profile.  Yet when I explain to parents that their children sound exactly like other applicants they are in total disbelief.  I have concluded that the children are merely following the advice of their parents and the parents are making costly mistakes. Try to avoid these common errors:

  1. Parental Hubris:  Many parents assume that their skill sets, professional title or socio-economic status and connections can help their children get accepted in the coveted BS/MD spots.  This is a huge mistake!  Their professional skills sets are helpful in finance, medicine, business, technology or research, but when it comes to BS/MD admissions they should leave it to experts who are involved and understand the ever-changing BS/MD admissions process.  The inability to admit that they don’t know what they don’t know could result in REJECTION!
  2. Group Think:  Many parents read the same websites, same books, and talk with the same people in their respective communities, personal and professional circles.  Most or all of the members of the in-group share an illusion of invulnerability that provides for them some degree of reassurance despite obvious dangers and leads them to become overly-optimistic.  Thinking in a group discourages creativity and non-conformity, resulting in everyone appearing the same on paper.  It causes them to fail to respond to obvious and clear admissions mine fields.  As a group, faulty (and sometime irrational decisions and admissions strategies) are reinforced. The result:  increased probability as a group of REJECTION.
  3. Not understanding or accepting demographics:  Many of my clients are of Asian descent (Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino and Japanese).  This population, as a group, has been responsible for an increase in applicants by 30% to BS/MD program.  Many parents may not be aware of the increased numbers.  Colleges and their BS/MD programs desire classes that are diverse and demographically reflective of the general population.  No matter which admissions method is used (team approach, character assessment or holistic approach), schools will not accept more of one demographic just because of an increase in the number of applications.  The competition becomes hyper-competitive within a particular demographic.
  4. Procrastination: The BS/MD admissions journey begins in high school freshman year, not during the fall of a student’s senior year.  (See: BSMD Programs – Getting In!)  From time to time parents will call us regarding a high school senior in September or October of their senior year requesting help for BS/MD programs.  It may be difficult to undue mistakes that will result in rejection, although not impossible.  But generally, these parents assume that they have done everything right and are calling to see if they can obtain free advice.  Unfortunately, as they discuss their child’s achievements I can almost predict their student profile.  By procrastinating, they have inadvertently increased the probability of REJECTION.
  5. Misunderstanding Investment vs. Cost:  What’s your child’s future worth?  According to the US Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a child for a middle-income family born in 2001-2003 through the age of 18, not including college costs is $224,000 to $227,000 for middle income families and $327,000 to $330,000 for higher incomes.  This does not include private school tuition, summer athletic or music camps, or specialized college summer camps.  When a parent calls us to ask “the price” of our BS/MD admissions advisory services for the purpose of negotiating for the cheapest rate, we can already predict the probability of REJECTION.  Consider the worthy investment in your child’s future.
  6. Seeking Advice from the Wrong Advisor: (a) Guidance counselors – public school guidance counselors only spend 26% of their time on college admissions and the average counselor-to-student ratio is 1:250.  Guidance counselors don’t have the expertise in BS/MD program admissions.  (b) Advisors who are journalist or writers who never attended medical school nor understand the highly selective process – no expertise in BS/MD program admissions.  (c) Advisors who advise part-time – self explanatory. There is a major difference between useful knowledge and information.  Parents should hire an advisor who is a full-time admissions advisor who actually visits colleges, BS/MD programs and medical schools, understands BS/MD programs of the various schools, and has insightful knowledge of each program.  “If you don’t know where you’re going you’ll end up somewhere else” – Yogi Berra
  7. Parents want the best for their children.  They read as much as possible, network with others in schools and educational programs, provide extensive extracurricular educational opportunities for their children, research on the web about BS/MD programs…..but somehow when they are just along the last stretch to the finish line they make egregious, irrevocable and calculated mistakes that cause their children to be rejected.  Don’t make these mistakes!

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, BS/MD Admissions Advisors, help high school students get accepted to BS/MD programs.

Does It Matter Where You Attend College? Absolutely!

Does it matter where you attend college
~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

I often hear from parents, students, high school guidance counselors and even fellow educational consultants that it doesn’t matter where you attend college, as long as where you attend is a “good fit”.  Actually studies show it does matter where you attend college! My recommendation to my U.S. as well as international clients is that one should attend the “best” school possible where you will happy and have a great and memorable college experience.

Obviously, there are many people who are happy, quite successful and have had wonderful college experiences without attending Ivy League or highly competitive colleges.  However, in this tight job market, recent college graduates increasingly find that higher paying jobs are very selective.  While attending an Ivy League or selective college may not guarantee financial success or happiness, to buyers of talent (HR professionals, employers, personnel departments) it certainly does matter.  One of the first questions they consider while perusing a job applicant’s resume: where did you attend school?

  1. A study in the journal, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, confirms parental suspicions that the best route to a top job is to attend an Ivy League school. According to Dr. Lauren Rivera, the author of the study, “Elite professional service employers rely more on academic pedigree more than any other factor.  Where you went to school rather than what you did there makes the difference”.
  2. PayScale Inc., an online provider of global compensation data, in a survey demonstrated that an Ivy League diploma is still worth its price of admission and tuition. “An Ivy League education makes a job candidate stand out, even before a recruiter talks to them!  The median starting salary for Ivy Leaguers is 32% higher than that of liberal-arts college graduates and at 10 or more years into graduates’ working lives, the spread is 34%.”
  3. Robert H. Frank, an economics professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, stated: “Because of the bitter competition for premium salaries, elite educational credentials are often a precondition for even landing a job interview.  Degrees from elite schools clearly open doors.”
  4. In The Economist that there is a direct correlation between education, the inheritance of privilege and class. According to an extensive report in The Economist: “For those at the top of the pile, moving straight from the best universities into the best jobs. the potential rewards are greater.”
  5. Top 20 universities producing billionaires is dominated by blue-chip, elite U.S. institutions.  Billionaires are likely to have attended some of the traditionally most prestigious universities.  Top universities have become the place where “global players gather”.  Educational insights from an annual profile of the uber-rich – Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census.

Let’s face it.  We live in a competitive, meritocratic and global society where brand, image, prestige and reputation certainly matter.  The answer to the question: does it matter where you attend school, then, is rhetorical.  Still believe it doesn’t matter? Just ask the record number of students (an estimated 30,000) who apply every year to each Ivy League school where the rejection rates can exceed 90% for these colleges.

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities. 

College Application Essay Tips

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

College admission officers read thousands of essays.  They try to discover the applicant behind the standardized test scores, GPA and letters of recommendations. As experienced readers and judges of character they spend about three to five minutes actually reading.   You, therefore, want your essay to make leap from ‘average’ to “accepted”.

Here is a comment I heard from an admissions officer:  “I read hundreds of college application essays each season.  I know the difference between ‘ho-hum’ and Wow!  We want this student!”

 Here are some times for tips for Writing the College Application Essay 

  1. Don’t Panic. In this part of the college admissions process, but do be prepared with a good topic and concise writing.
  2. Answer the question. Sounds obvious, however, admissions officers we’ve talk with stated that many students don’t answer the questions, especially the short answers. Read the question carefully and answer what they are asking for.
  3. Be Honest. Don’t embellish! This is self explanatory. Admissions officers look for inconsistencies.
  4. Be You. You don’t want to sound “amazingly unique” like everyone else. Write about your passions and achievements and show the admissions officers that you mean it. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

When written well, an essay is marketing tool that can help you STAND OUT and give you that added advantage in the competitive college admissions process.

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors through its admissions affiliate: College Essay Tune Up, review, objectively critique, proofread, and constructively edit college application essays.

2017 Best Boarding High Schools in America for College Acceptance

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Parents believe that there is no real difference between boarding schools.  Some actually believe that they are all “basically” the same.  That, is however, a myth when it comes to college acceptance to elite colleges.

According to John G. Palfrey (Phillips Exeter ’90), (Harvard College ’94), (Harvard Law ’01) and a former Harvard Law School professor who now serves as the Phillips Andover’s head of school, selective high schools attract potential Harvard students away from their home high schools.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools released its latest ranking of the best boarding schools in the US, specifically highlighting the best schools that prepare students for elite colleges.  By elite colleges, I am referring to colleges parents already know about: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, UPenn,  Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins.

Here are the best 25 US boarding high schools by rank:

  1. Phillips Academy – Andover, MA
  2. Phillips Exeter Academy – Exeter, NH
  3. St. Paul’s School – Concord, NH
  4. Lawrenceville School – Lawrenceville, NJ
  5. Choate Rosemary Hall – Wallingford, CT
  6. Deerfield Academy – Deerfield, MA
  7. Groton School – Groton, MA
  8. Noble & Greenough School – Dedham, MA
  9. Cranbrook School – Bloomfield Hills, MI
  10. Hotchkiss School – Lakeville, CT
  11. Hockaday School – Dallas, TX
  12. Cate School – Carpinteria, CA
  13. Middlesex School – Concord, MA
  14. Thacher School – Ojai, CA
  15. Milton Academy – Milton, MA
  16. Lake Forest Academy – Lake Forest, IL
  17. St. Albans School – Washington, DC
  18. St. Stephen’s Episcopal School – Austin, TX
  19. Hackley School – Tarrytown, NY
  20. Peddie School – Hightstown, NJ
  21. Kent School – Kent, CT
  22. Emma Willard School – Troy, NY
  23. Taft School – Watertown, CT
  24. Concord Academy – Concord, MA
  25. Madeira School – Mclean, VA

A comprehensive list isn’t publicly available, however, based on our research, Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, St. Paul’s, Lawrenceville, Choate and Deerfield all send 25-30 students each year to Ivy League schools over the past five years.

U.S and especially international families prefer their children enroll in schools that provide the best return on investment on (average tuition, room and board is $55,000 per year) — college placement.   “Affluent international parents consider the education of their children as their premier investment.  To international parents, a superior education and a pedigree degree for their child, is worth more than real estate or luxury items.  Education has become the new global currency and path to wealth.“  –  Dr. Lowe’s blog:  Intellectual Wealth and Education

Now that you aware of the ranking, the only problem is how to get your child accepted this admissions season!  And that’s where we come in!  The first part of the your admissions plan: avoid common parental mistakes when applying with the help of a professional who knows where the “rejection” land mines are in the application process….and there are many!

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director and lead admissions expert at Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group’s Private School Admissions Advisors.   Dr. Lowe specializes in providing exclusive concierge-type admissions advisory services for U.S. and international families and students who are interested in applying to top U.S. boarding and day schools.  Dr. Lowe also helps U.S. and international students gain admissions into their top choice private schools after they have been wait-listed and rejected.

Colleges Use a Team-based Approach to Read Applications

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

As more and more top students apply for coveted spots at Ivy League and highly competitive schools, several of these schools have developed a new team-based approach to efficiently analyze and evaluate each applicant. Rather than work alone, each to a recruitment territory, admissions officers are now reading in pairs.  They discuss and rate each applicant according to specific criteria, mission of the college and recommend a decision (reject or accept) and type notes into a system as they simultaneously discuss the applicant simultaneously reviewing each application on separate screens.  The new approach, initially developed by University of Pennsylvania.

In this new model, one reader assesses the applicant’s academic credentials, reviewing transcripts, test scores, recommendations and course load and the other reader focuses on the student’s voice: essays, interviews and talents. This new evaluative approach allows the admissions officer pairs to have an in depth conversation about each applicant and render efficient decisions and allows the admissions offices to review thousands of applications efficiently.

I have always emphasized to my clients that admissions officers review everything.  Now, they are having a conversation about applicants as they read their applications!

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director and lead admissions expert at Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group.  Dr. Lowe specializes in providing exclusive concierge-type admissions advisory services for U.S. and international families and students who are interested in applying to Ivy League and highly selective colleges and combined BS/MD programs.  Dr. Lowe also helps students gain admissions into their top choice private schools and colleges after they have been deferred, wait-listed and rejected.

As an experienced and trusted admissions advisor for over 20 years, Dr. Paul R. Lowe is an active member of the following organizations that uphold the ethical and professional standards and principles of good admission practices in college and independent school counseling: Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling (NJACAC), New York State Association for College Admissions Counseling (NYSACAC) and International Association for College Admissions Counseling (IACAC).