Author: Tina Weber

Private school and College Admissions for Students with Learning Differences

Posted on by Tina Weber

Did you know that A Starting Line can help students with learning differences get into the right private school or college?

We are excited to introduce Nicole Locher, who is joining our team and bringing her expertise in helping students with learning differences navigate the academic space. She has two neurodiverse students of her own (one of which is happily and successfully navigating college) and is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Dyslexia Parents Group of Lexington, MA, supporting parents with children with language based learning differences.

The college planning process itself can be very overwhelming. When you have a student who has a learning difference or is neurodivergent, there are additional criteria you have to consider. Many schools, colleges, and universities have excellent Academic Support Services and Accommodation Services for students with learning differences.  But how do you know which ones would be the right fit for your student?

Whether it’s for private high-school, college, or university, we at A Starting Line have the tools, resources, and the expertise to help you through the admission planning and application process.

Questions? Email us TODAY at Inquiry@AStartingLine.com

  

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Nicole Locher

College Application Strategist Specializing in Students with Learning Differences

 

The Junior Agenda

Posted on by Tina Weber

  • Start researching colleges and universities. Go to college fairs and open houses. Learn as much as you can about colleges online.
  • Begin planning college visits. Try to visit colleges near you over spring break. Include a large, medium size, and small campus.
  • Request recommendation letters from the counselor and teachers.

Spring to-do’s

Juniors, here are tips on what to do as you embark on your college admissions journey.

  • Develop a preliminary list of colleges that interest you. Go online to request additional information.
  • Take a look at some college applications. Make note of all the pieces of information you will need to compile. Make a list of teachers, counselors, employers, and other adults who could write letters of recommendation.
  • Consider lining up a summer job or internship.

 

All About the Strategy

Posted on by Tina Weber

Tips

  • Find your passion.
  • Secondly, get involved.
  • Thirdly, leadership doesn’t mean ‘president’.
  • Fourth, show initiative.

Admissions: forget the scatter grams

Times have changed

The pandemic has upended college admissions. The top 20-30 schools have seen their applications increase by anywhere from 20 to 50 percent as a result of going test optional or blind. Nearly 168,000 freshmen and transfer students applied to UCLA for fall 2021 admission, a 24.6% increase compared to last year, according to data released by the University of California Office of the President. Of those, 139,463 applied for first-year admissions, while 28,440 applied for transfer admissions. Applications at Tufts were up 35 percent from the previous year.

What college admissions offices noticed with the test optional/blind policy is that many underrepresented students were now applying. These students sometimes had quite stellar resumes filled with community and school leadership roles and landed some sweet acceptances at top schools.

This leads us to data and scatter grams. By the time data points show up in Naviance, the data is at least one year old. But without community and school leadership roles, those data points on scatter grams are meaningless. The top schools want a diverse student body; they want students who show initiative, leadership, involvement, empathy, business acumen, creativity etc. 

So, a near perfect test score coupled with a stellar GPA alone isn’t going to get a student into a top school – those days are gone. It’s all about strategy.