MIT, Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth, & Duke Early Applications Rise as Jobs Spur Move

In a nasty economy college applicants are most attracted to the names that seem to bring the most bang for the buck.

More via Bloomberg News

Above: Students tour MIT

Early Admission is Back at UVA

In news to rival the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Communism, University of Virginia has realized the folly doing away with an early admission option. While UVA will not revert back to the early decision, it will start offering EARLY ACTION in fall of 2011!

More in the Daily Princetonian

"They want you so they can reject you"

At what point does a college have too many applicants.

A thought-provoking story in The New York Times.

High School Juniors: Now is the Time to Vote for Your Future!

The students who have the most success when applying to colleges are those who have taken the time to analyze their preferences, personality, and overall goals. Tactical College Consulting offers students the opportunity to do just that. The Tactical College Consulting Strategy Session also evaluates a student's learning style, academic interests, past academic performance, academic potential, and extracurricular profile in order to pinpoint the colleges the student should be targeting for undergraduate admission.

Our one-of-a-kind introductory Strategy Session includes personal interviews with the student and his/her parent(s), a personality assessment, and administration of the student C.Q. (College Quotient) exam and Parents’ Expectation Questionnaire. This meeting is also the opportunity for parents and the student to inform the consultant of any particular concerns they may have regarding the college admissions process (questions about grades, SAT scores, LD accommodations that may be required at college, or other client-specific issues). The information gathered during the Strategy Session can then be synthesized and integrated with client-specific research to develop a list of "best fit" colleges, a week-by-week college admissions calendar, and a personalized college admissions strategy. The Strategy Session is ideal for juniors who have completed their last PSAT or who have taken their first SAT or ACT.

If you could use the guidance provided by our Strategy Session, or if you would like to learn more about our full menu of services, call us at 410-526-2558 or email us at info@tacticalcc.com.

Thank Gosh the Early Rush is Over!

Are you exhausted from completing your Early Decision, Early Action, or Rolling Application? You're not the only one. More in The New York Times.

Jump Start Your College Applications with Get Into College 2010

On August 1, the 2010-2011 edition of the Common Application was released. The updated Universal College Application was released on July 1. University of Maryland recently released its new 2010-2011 college essay questions. In short, students no longer have any excuse to put off completing their college applications. Now is the time to tackle the most time-consuming components of college applications and Tactical College Consulting is ready to lend a hand.

In addition to providing personalized in-person, online, and phone support, every summer Tactical College Consulting gives students the chance to Get Into College!

Join us for the 3rd annual college admissions colloquium know as Get Into College, which propels rising high school seniors to college admissions success.

In one day participants will:
• Learn how to navigate the Common Application, Universal College Application, and U of MD College Park Application
• Learn how to write amazing college application essays that will wow admissions officers
• Understand what details colleges are looking for in extracurricular resumes
• Discover how to seal the deal in on-campus/alumni interviews
• Give themselves the best chance of getting into all the colleges on their college lists!

The entire Get Into College seminar is led by college guidance and admissions expert Craig Meister, founder and president of Tactical College Consulting.

Mark your calendars and reserve your space! Get Into College 2010 will be held on Saturday August 7, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Get Into College will take place at Gerstell Academy in Finksburg, MD and is available at the amazing price of only $100/student (parents accompanying students welcome free of charge, parents attending without students $100 each)!

Space is severely limited. Reserve your seat today by calling 410-5262558 or emailing info@tacticalcc.com.

Brought to you by Tactical College Consulting & Gerstell Academy

UMD College Park: Essay Questions That Flummox

University of Maryland College Park is a hot school right now. More out-of-state students are looking to attend because of the quality of the university's programs at the same time as more in-state students are looking to attend because of the low cost of tuition. With roughly only two in five freshman applicants accepted, these must be heady days for Maryland's undergraduate admissions committee. Maybe this explains why the University of Maryland freshman application is one of the hardest to complete - in the nation!

Read More...

UMBC joins Common App

University of Maryland Baltimore County is the first member of the University System of Maryland that has awaken to the value of the Common Application. As one of twenty seven new member colleges to the streamlined one-stop-shop application, UMBC can expect to see a huge increase in the number of applications it receives this year and hopefully that will force other Maryland state schools and their administrators to wake up and realize that their institutional applications are not only unnecessarily cumbersome, but that their outdated institutional applications are also preventing more applicants from applying.

Read More...

Tactical Class of 2010

June is here, which means it's time to bid a fond farewell to the Tactical College Consulting Class of 2010. Each Tactical class if different, with its own priorities and personality, and this year's class is no exception. Tactical alumni will travel far and wide this August, settling in at colleges from Los Angeles to Paris.

I personally want to wish each and every graduating senior nothing but the best in the years to come. It was a pleasure working with you all and know that while much has changed in the last year, college is still the best time to discover your passions, your interests, and yourself. Be fearless. Experiment with classes and clubs that arouse your interest. Be open to becoming friends with individuals unlike any at your high school. Remember it's okay to fail as long as you learn from your experiences or mistakes. Try the local food and take in the region culture. Most of all, enjoy yourself!

- Craig Meister, President of Tactical College Consulting

2009-2010 College Acceptances

U of Pennsylvania
Cornell
U of Southern California
U of Virginia
McGill
Vanderbilt
University of California Los Angeles
Wake Forest
Boston College
Lehigh
Fordham
Emory
Northeastern
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
U of Michigan
IU Bloomington
U of Miami
Rochester
Catholic
U of Arizona
New York University
U of Maryland College Park
Occidental
Bucknell
Connecticut College
Syracuse
U of Connecticut
American University of Rome
College of Charleston
Franklin & Marshall
James Madison
U of Pittsburgh
U of Vermont
U of Rhode Island
Rutgers
Smith
Dickinson
Washington & Lee
Florida State
Penn State
BU
George Washington
American
Ithaca
Clemson
U of Denver
American University Paris
Towson
Case Western Reserve
McDaniel
Randolph-Macon
West Virginia Wesleyan
Salisbury
University of Maryland Baltimore County
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Loyola College of Maryland
West Virginia
Delaware
Virginia Tech
U of Baltimore
Frostburg State

Some Good Points About Sketchy Consultants...

Of course, Tactical College Consulting doesn't play games. We give honest answers and tactical support that only serves to help our clients. With that said, we have clients from both small private schools and large public schools, and sadly, we have to report that the vast majority of high school counselors are not up to the task of guiding students aiming for the country's best colleges and universities. The reasons for this are many, but in the case of public schools in particular, counselors are hired more for their ability to mediate disputes and act as a school social worker than their ability to know much if anything about selective college admissions. In the case of private schools, many spend the majority of their time writing recommendations and coordinating on-campus visits and not nearly as much time helping students put together strong apps or target colleges that are uniquely suited for any particular student.

More: 10 Things College-Prep Advisors (other than Tactical College Consulting) Won't Tell You

Blogs are Big

Tactical College Consulting has been blogging for a while, and many college admissions Web sites are beginning to add blogs to their sites. While Tactical is a blogging pioneer, so are MIT students.

Schedule Your Essay & Résumé Icebreaker Today!

This is the time of year when parents and students start banging down the Tactical College Consulting door with pleas for help in drafting, writing, and completing great college essays and résumés. Colleges accept students who successfully communicate what makes them special; yet, often students have no idea where to begin elaborating on their extracurricular activities or how to bring life to their essays. Writing excellent essays and renowned résumés is predicated on building from a strong foundation that frees up a student to write in his or her own unique voice, strike the right balance between "show" and "tell," and use proper placement, wording, formatting, and style. No matter the essay topic or the number of extracurricular accomplishments, learn how to write extraordinary college essays and a clear, succinct, powerful résumé with Tactical College Consulting's Essay & Résumé Icebreaker. This meeting includes one-of-a-kind writing exercises and in-depth reviews of sample résumé templates and essays. Only offered to rising seniors and seniors.

For more information on this valuable service, contact Tactical College Consulting at 410-526-2558 or info@tacticalcc.com.

America's Best Dorm?

BU is where it's at!

Getting in Based on Your Personality

Demonstrated interest is so 2005. According to The Wall Street Journal, some colleges are actually making admissions decisions based on students' personalities. Apparently, one's potential can be ascertained by new assessments, and some colleges are buying it. 

Congrats to the Tactical Class of 2009

June is here, which means it's time to bid a fond farewell to the Tactical College Consulting Class of 2009. Each Tactical class if different, with its own priorities and personality, and this year's class is no exception. With the global economy in upheaval and family budgets stretched, this year's class was more serious than ever in selecting colleges that will help students traverse increasingly competitive job and internship markets in the years to come. A focus on obtaining real-world experience and strong career guidance meant that fewer families were comfortable looking at liberal arts colleges that did not provide majors or fields of study with a pre-professional component. The result is a list of college acceptances that is as pr actical as it is impressive. 

I personally want to wish each and every graduating senior nothing but the best in the years to come. It was a pleasure working with you all and know that while much has changed in the last year, college is still the best time to discover your passions, your interests, and yourself. Be fearless. Experiment with classes and clubs that arouse your interest. Be open to becoming friends with individuals unlike any at your high school. Remember it's okay to fail as long as you learn from your experiences or mistakes. Most of all, simply enjoy it!   - Craig Meister, President of Tactical College Consulting 

2008-2009 College Acceptances

U of Pennsylvania
Duke
Georgetown
U of Southern California
U of Virginia
McGill
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Tufts
Pitzer
Lehigh
Colgate
Emory
Washington U in St. Louis
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
UNC Chapel Hill
U of Michigan
IU Bloomington

U of Miami
Lafayette
NYU
U of Maryland College Park
Occidental
Bucknell
Connecticut College
Syracuse
U of Connecticut
College of Charleston
Franklin & Marshall
James Madison
U of Pittsburgh
U of Vermont
Rutgers
Smith
Dickinson
Washington & Lee
Florida State
Penn State
BU
George Washington
American
Ithaca
Whittier
U of Denver
U of Toronto
U of Central Florida
Towson
Stevenson
McDaniel
Randolph-Macon
West Virginia Wesleyan
Lynn
Salisbury
UMBC
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Drew
Goucher
Hampshire
Muhlenberg
Loyola College of Maryland
West Virginia
Delaware
Virginia Tech

Start Drafting College Essays & Resumes

Colleges want to accept students who can successfully communicate the depth of their extracurricular involvement over three+ years in high school. Thus, when writing a résumé, students must give a great deal of attention to providing just the right amount of detail, while also ensuring proper placement, wording, formatting, and style throughout in order to put their best foot forward for critical admissions officers.  

Equally as important – but more daunting for most students – is the process of brainstorming, drafting, and perfecting multiple college essays. All colleges who ask students to write essays actually have admissions officers who read them, so this is not an area of the application to rush through.  

In fact, college essays are the best way for admissions officers to get a three-dimensional understanding of an applicant; therefore, college admissions officers are placing increased importance on essays with each passing year! Juniors have no excuse not to start drafting college essays NOW! This is because most colleges don't change their essay questions from year to year, and for those that do, usually only minor changes occur. Yet, the best college essays take weeks to write – and this is not even counting the time it takes to actually choose a topic about which to write! Don't put off starting your essays today, and make sure you get the support you need draft by draft in order to put together the best possible final product. 

Most support that Tactical College Consulting can offer you with your résumés and essays can be accomplished in person or via the Internet. For help writing and editing extracurricular résumés and college essays, call 410-526-2558 or email info@tacticalcc.com.

Tell Your Friends - It's Back: Get Into College 2009!

What: Tactical College Consulting is proud to announce the second annual Get Into College! college admissions prep camp.

The intensive and personalized camp is for students who don't just want to imagine completing their college application in one week - they want to actually do it. With Get Into College! they will.

Put together outstanding college application and take the stress out of the college admissions process by completing the Common Application, creating a personalized college list, writing a powerful resume, personal statement, essay, learning how to ace the college interview, taking interest and personality assessments, and so much more.

When: June 22 - June 25 with mandatory Student & Parent orientation on June 15

Where: Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore Owings Mills Campus

How: $1000 per student

For more information: Contact Tactical College Consulting at

410-526-258 or info@tacticalcc.com

Accepted to college? 10 things to do now.

Kathryn Elizabeth Tuggle of FoxBusiness.com has compiled in useful little list of ten things every student should do as they begin to get college acceptance letters.

More...

Texas may allow more out-of-state students into UT

A bill has been approved by the Texas Senate that would change a state law, which required University of Texas Austin to accept all in-state students who ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

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Demonstrated interest is as important as ever

For years, I have explained to my clients how important it is that they demonstrate interest for the colleges they want to attend. Demonstrated Interest is actually a term used in college admissions offices across the country to describe students who are very hot on a college.

More...

College degrees in highest demand for 2009

CNBC has put together a list of the most in demand college degrees of 2009.

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Earn your undergraduate degree in just three years

As the economic conditions worsen, colleges are finding unique ways to differentiate their offerings.

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Harvard not immune to financial pain

If you are broke, or close to it, you're not alone. Grand old Harvard has lost staggering amounts of money as a result of the global economic crisis.