Tips For Evaluating Campus Safety
We’ve recently noticed that families are asking us more about campus safety. Understanding the security measures in place at your potential colleges can make all the difference in ensuring a…
College Admissions Stress – Strategies to Manage Overwhelm
College admissions is becoming an increasingly stressful time for high school students. Between maintaining grades, participating in extracurricular activities, and completing college applications, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Managing this…
How to Make a List of Colleges
Building a college list that meets your social, academic, financial and emotional needs (what we refer to as a SAFE match) requires you to do some of your own research.…
Peeling Back the Layers of the Signature College Counseling Team
Signature College Counseling’s team is deep with talent, years of experience and expertise. You can read about our depth in our previous post Signature College Counseling By The Numbers. Beyond…
Signature College Counseling by the Numbers
11Years in business 10Team members, including coaches and counselors 2IECA certified college counselors 6Essay coaches 1Copy editor 2Application specialists 2Interview prep coaches 5Pets owned by team members and spotted during…
What Counts as an Extracurricular Activity for College Admissions?
Every student who applies to a college is going to have to list their activities on some level or another on their applications. But what exactly do college admissions officers…
College Admissions Timeline – What You Need to Know
The college admissions timeline really hinges on when you enter the college journey. Are you starting in 9th or 10th grade? Beginning of 11th grade? End of 11th grade? Summer…
Do Colleges Prefer Dual Enrollment or AP Classes?
In determining admissions, colleges do not prefer dual enrollment over AP classes or vice versa. Rather, the admissions officers will look at course rigor. Why? Because not all schools offer…
What GPA Do You Need to Get Into College?
So you’re wondering what type of GPA you need to get into college. Actually, there is no specific overall set GPA that is required per se. There are over 3,000…
What Does Early Decision Mean?
There are a variety of ways to apply to colleges and it’s important to have a clear understanding of what each means so that you can make an informed decision…
Touring Colleges in the Summer
So many people ask us when is the right time to go visit colleges. Should we take a tour during the school year when the students are in session? Is…
Making Sense of College Rankings
This is an article in our January 2021 Newsletter, click here. Although this article is directed to students just beginning their college search, it will also be useful to seniors…
Are College Admissions Becoming More Competitive?
We get asked all of the time by our students and families, “Are college admissions becoming more competitive?” The answer is yes, and no, and possibly. We know, not very…
Best Websites to Research Colleges
I’m asked frequently what are the best websites to research colleges. I want to start by saying that there is a wealth of information available at the tip of our…
Does Visiting a College Help You Get In
We all know that when you are able to visit a college campus, attend their information session and go on their campus tour, hosted by a friendly student, you take…
How to Decide Which College to Go To
So, how do you make that decision on which of the schools that you have gotten accepted to you that you are going to attend? The list of items outlined…
What to Consider When Searching for Colleges
You’re beginning to think about college and you ask yourself, where do I start? College search is always the place to begin your college process. Depending on when you begin…
Questions to Ask on a College Visit for Sports
You have a college coach interested in having you play on their soccer team and you are preparing to either speak with them over the phone, via a Zoom meeting…
How Do Online Virtual College Tours Work?
While visiting a college in person might not be possible right now, there are ways to virtually tour a campus in the comfort of your home. You simply need to…
How to Find the Best College for Me
Finding the right set of colleges that fit you socially, academically, financially and emotionally is the foundation of your entire college admissions journey and what will prove to be the…
How To Remove A College From The Common App?
Follow These Two Simple Steps You’re working in the Common App, and either your list of colleges has become massive or you just are no longer interested in a specific…
What to Look For When Searching For Colleges
It’s time to sit down, get serious and begin your college search, but where do you start? What are you supposed to look for in a school and how do…
How to Research for Colleges Online
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and changed all of our lives into something we would have never imagined – something we would only view in the movies. As a result,…
When is the Deadline for College Applications?
Not only are you enmeshed in trying to complete your college applications, presenting yourself to be the best candidate you can be, but you also have to navigate the timeline…
How to Begin College Search
Selecting a college is a multi-faceted task. It is more than just a question of public versus private, private versus state school, comparative GPAs, and admissions requirements. If you are a high school sophomore or junior, now is time to begin your college search.
Sophomore Year of High School College Planning
If you’re a high school sophomore, (or even a freshman), it’s not too early to start your college planning. Now is an excellent time to get started on your college…
How to Choose a College After Being Accepted During COVID-19
You’re a senior in high school, the COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing, you need to make your decision by May 1 on where you will attend. Yet all colleges…
Document Your College Visit Using Our Campus Visit Checklist
You must dig deeper than the pretty buildings and nice landscaping when going on your college visits to gain a full understanding and feel for each college. Use our Campus…
Fortnite and College Sports – Do the 2 Mesh?
Your child plays Fortnite and you think, their brain is turning to mush. Read a book! Go out and play! Over 120 schools offer it and programs work on luring…
College Search – Don’t Leave Anything to Chance
Here’s a short story about the importance of doing a thorough college search. A friend’s daughter went off to a school upstate. Little did she know that a good percentage…
Where You Go to College: Does it Matter?
Does it really matter whether you attend an elite college? Numbers don’t lie: It’s more important to be hardworking and curious than to receive a certain thick envelope.
Dig Deep to Find Your Best College Match
If anything, the college search is a way to get to know yourself or, if you’re a parent reading this, an opportunity for your child to go deep within and discover themselves.
College Search: Cover All of Your Bases
During your college search, cover all of your bases when asking yourself “What do I want (and need) out of my college experience?” As my seniors have all decided where they will attend this Fall, my juniors are deep into deciphering which colleges are for them.
College Choice: Who Chooses?
One of my parents emailed me this morning with the question, “Who chooses”? He hears from other parents that they let their kids choose which college to attend but, he asks, is that really the right answer?
Best College for You
During this critical time of making the final decision on which college to attend in the Fall from the list of schools you got accepted to, it’s always key to keep in perspective what is important when deciding.
When is it time to start your college search?
When is it time to start your college search? “I know it might be too early to begin our college search” says the parent of a junior in high school,…
Does it matter where you go to college?
Does it matter where you go to college? By Dr. Tim Jordan, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician The prevailing mantra being played out by many teens these days is, “Attend a…
Summer Before Senior Year of High School Checklist
Seniors are graduating from high school, and those that have chosen to move onto college in the fall have been through the grueling and stressful college admissions journey and feel…
5 Things I Learned During my College Search
College Search Here is a link that outlines what to focus on when doing your college search. This outlines concisely “5 things I learned during my college search”, coming from…
College Planning and Search Help Orange County NY
Liz Levine was prepared for the reactions she got at New Windsor’s Community Day. As the head of the Signature College Counseling Service, she helps students select and apply to colleges. She can also help families in their search for financial aid. The people who stopped at her table at the Aug. 23 event were surprised. They didn’t know that such a service existed.