I messed up last night.

Based on the 5 star reviews and the comments and questions in the chat , it looked like last night's "Late Stage" College Planning webinar went over well.

However, at the end, I learned that I did something pretty stupid.  

When I mentioned that if anyone wanted a free College Strategy Session, all they had to do was click the green button, a couple of people replied:

"Where's the green button"

I didn't post it, somehow.  Impressive!

To make things right in the world again, I'm publishing a recording of the webinar momentarily, and will keep it up all weekend.  If you want to chat about our college advising services, there will be a button under the video recording.  (I mean it this time. :)

Here's where to go: 

Watch Replay

- Andy "Not That Tech Savvy"  Lockwood

P.S.  The topics on the webinar were...

*The Inconvenient, Politically Incorrect Truth About What It Takes to Get Into an Ivy or Any Top College -- What do admissions officers REALLY want?...

I'm -ss deep reviewing our clients' college applications, and have noticed one thing they all have in common:

Everyone applying to college is a leader!

Apparently, followers don't go to college.  

I'm being SLIGHTLY facetious, but there is a point embedded in my snark:

If everyone is a leader, how important or special can leadership be to an admissions officer?

What if you're not the president, vice-president or one of 17 co-founders of a club?  Can you still stand out on your college applications?

I'll take a stab at answering that question, tonight, in a new workshop called  "Late Stage College Planning". 

The class is free and we're not set to record it.  Nothing will be sold, either.

Here are additional topics I'm planning to cover:

*The Inconvenient, Politically Incorrect Truth About What It Takes to Get Into an Ivy or Any Top College -- What do admissions officers REALLY want?   

Getting into an Ivy or other top college is about far more than merely curve-breaking high grades and standardized test scores.   Harvard and a handful of other super-competitive colleges brag every year about how many applicants with perfect scores didn't manage to get in.

So what does it take to get into an Ivy or near-Ivy college?

A superior academic record -- grades, scores and "rigah" as we say up in Boston --  is important.  But that's only 60% of the equation, give or take.

The other 40% is composed of stuff that's out of your control, such as race (still), ethnicity, your parents' educational and economic background...

...and stuff that's IN your control, like extracurricular activities.

There are two types of extracurriculars, Typical and Atypical.

The latter is the type that needs to be perfected to give yourself the best shot at getting accepted where you want to be accepted.

What's an example of an atypical extracurricular activity?

It's not being a member of the Na...

Summer's unofficially over, and if you have a high school junior, sophomore or younger, you might feel like reality has slapped you in the kisser harder than an Emma Navarro backhand.

Yep, the college process is coming atcha, like a fast approaching train.

And like a train, it arrives on its own schedule, and departs on its own schedule -- whether or not you are "ready".

This past year was, hands down, the CRAY-ZEE-IST year in my 22+ as a college advisor, between the Supreme Court declaring affirmative action in college admissions to be unconstitutional, campus protests after the October 7 attack on Israel, increased college applications and dropping admissions rates, huuuuuuge problems with FAFSA and getting financial aid into the hands of families who qualify for it, and uncertainty about test-optional policies as they started to lose favor.

Other than that, things went pretty smoothly!

That's why I'm holding a free online class this Thursday night, called "Late Stage College Pl...

Good morning!

We're hitting the airwaves this morning -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Today I'll be answering an oft-asked question, "What are the key factors that colleges look for in applicants?"

Join us this morning (or on replay) to get a little bit of college clarity out of chaos! :)

Tune In!

Please feel free to share this with anyone who could use this information.  You and they will not get it anywhere else, promise!

- Andy Lockwood

What goes into a "good" college essay, anyway?

Does it have to be about some enormously dramatic, Lifetime Move-quality event that occurred in a young lad's or lass's life?

Some gigantic, breathtaking obstacle that the young chap or damsel overcame before going onto accomplish scholastic glory?

Or an abundance of wicked smaht-sounding, multi-syllabic words such as "myriad" and "plethora" stuffed into every sentence?

I bet you know the answers to those questions.

What about "good" and "bad" essay topics?

Getting cut from a team, then working out extra hard over the summer in Rocky's old gym, coming back, making the team and kicking the winning goal or making a buzzer beater from half court?

Writing about grandpa's words of wisdom?

Or oing political?

This Thursday night, I'm conducting a free online class to answer all of these questions. Some of my answers should confirm what you knew or suspected, but then again, some may surprise you, come to think of it.,

The class is calle...

These days, I'm derriere-deep with college essay editing for our clients, and have noticed certain repeated, widespread and repeated mistakes.

(Repeated twice in the same sentence was an intentional joke. Alrighty, as you were.)

I figured I'd share a few of them, to help your child come up with a winning personal statement and persuasive supplemental essays.

This Thursday night, I'm conducting a free online class, Top 10 College Essay Mistakes -- How to write an essay so compelling that college admissions officers will practically crawl naked over broken glass to admit your student.

This class is for kids and parents alike.  Please feel free to share this with anyone you know who will soon be staring at that blinking cursor on their laptop, wondering "What the devil do I have to write about" (or 2024 equivalent expression)?

I'm here to help.  Go here to get the details:

Essay Class

- Andy Lockwood

P.S.  Just to get this out of the way, I'll be making a special, one time only...

Tutoring | Workshop

Announcing:   "Secrets" of How to Triple Odds of Acceptance to Your Dream College...

...and how to comfortably afford tuition...

...even if you think there's no way your family can possibly qualify for any type of financial aid.

This coming Wednesday June 26th, we're conducting our maiden voyage college planning workshop in our brand spanking new offices, live!  (Not a webinar).

If you're the parent of a 9th, 10th or 11th grader with dreams of attending a top college, I created this presentation EXACTLY for you!    Here's a closer look at what's on tap:

*The inconvenient truth about what it takes -- beyond solid grades and near-perfect SATs, "passion projects" and other nonsense -- to get accepted to a top college today (WARNING:  Not "Politically Correct")

*Financial Aid "Loopholes" - how to legally "hide" your money from the financial aid office

*How to avoid Admissions Armageddon and build a balanced, strategic college list

*Are there any Safety Schools ...

Let me get right down to business.  We're closing out registration for our Get College Ready Bootcamp tonight, midnight.

COUPON CODES BOOT-10 / BOOT-10EZ for the one-pay and payment plan options.

If your son or daughter is struggling with the answer to the question, "Why should a college accept YOU?", this opportunity is for you.  And her.

Most kids can't answer this question. 

Or they come up with a non-answer that sounds like something they think admissions officers want to hear (but could pertain to every college applicant):

"I have a 94 GPA."  

"I'm in National Honor Society."

It's not their fault.  High school students have zero training on how to capture admissions officers' attention, hearts and minds and PERSUADE them why they should be admitted to the school of their dreams!

That goes double for parents, who are even more in the dark than their kids. 

You can get the full workup on this summer-long event here, but here are the highlights:

• Two (2) instructional sess
...

Summer is a good time for rising seniors to finalize their college list.  But this is easier said than done.

Most kids are in the dark about how to create a BALANCED list of colleges.  This happens for two reasons:

1. Kids and guidance counselors rely on misleading software like Naviance or SCOIR, neither of which take into account the 20-25 factors admissions officers consider beyond GPA and standardized test scores (and compare you only to others in your high school, when your TRUE competition is across the country, even out of the country)

2. Kids and parents typically aim high, filling their list with Ivy League and near Ivy colleges, without understanding their TRUE chances of acceptance, when compared to actual data based on ALL of the students admitted in the previous year, across 25 academic and non-academic factors.

Related:  there's an assumption that, if your son or daughter manages to get into an Ivy or equivalent, they're all set and the rest of their lives will be smo...