Have you ever thought about the lessons we can take from musical theatre?  It’s not just there for entertainment.  Here’s what we think you can learn about college admission from everyone’s favorite Broadway rap musical, Hamilton.

The Room Where It Happens

No one gets to be in the room where it happens – the college admission committee room.  No one really knows how the game is played, the art of the trade, how the sausage is made.

But we do know that every college admission team reviews thousands – tens of thousands – sometimes over a hundred thousand applications each cycle.  Individual admission counselors sometimes read fifty or sixty files a day!  For months!  And they don’t necessarily pluck students with the TOP grades and scores – because a computer could do that, and this is a personal process.  They choose students they like and who they can see contributing to their community.

So what does this mean to YOU, as you apply?  Here’s our ad...more

Happy to present our '3 College Admission Tips for Parents' webinar

Originally published, TapInto.net, June 15, 2017

If you’ve perused any forums on college admissions (looking at you, Mom and Dad!) then you’ve already come across the term “Demonstrated Interest.”  It sounds like some sort of corporate terminology, doesn’t it?  That’s because that’s exactly what it is.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: colleges are businesses.  Non-profit status aside, they keep the lights on based on the tuition dollars, or you can say they are “tuition driven.”  That means the primary objective is and always will be meeting or exceeding their enrollment goals for each incoming freshman class. 

Selectivity and prestige are important components of attracting applicants and these factors are bolstered by admitting students who they believe really want to attend.  By maintain their status as a desirable university to attend schools can increase their yield, or the ratio of admitted students.  Bottom line?  Coll...more

This interview was originally published on the Varsity Tutors website.

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Evelyn Alexander provides college admissions counseling services to a number of students and their families through Magellan College Counseling. She is an alumnus of Johns Hopkins University where she also served as a volunteer admissions recruiter for 15 years.

VT: How far ahead of time should a student begin working on his or her college application?

Evelyn: College applications are generally available the summer before the student’s senior year. The Common Application, for example, should open in August for the Class of 2015. While I would advise students to start their applications as early as possible, I would also encourage them to start exploring colleges long before the summer before senior year. I start working with students at the beginning of junior year, digging into possible majors and car...more