webinar: Writing the common app. Essay, A workshop for Parents

Zoom Webinar, April 7:00 p.m EST or Sunday, 4:00 pm EST

Every year, students and parents stress over The Common App. Personal Statement essay. Nadrina and I are here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be so stressful We truly mean that and we want to walk you through our process and tips so that you can help your teen - because you know your teen better than we can from even a few months of working together.

You will learn

• Our favorite brainstorming tools to help your teen go beneath the surface to find a great topics

• Walk through of “genres” and structures: creative, straightforward

• Do’s and Don'ts on topics, formats

• How to overcome occasional frustration or writer’s block along the way

You will get (pdfs)

• Veridian’s “Mine Your Life” College Essay Brainstorming Guide

• Packet of annotated sample essays from real former students

• Veridian’s college essay-specific style guide, including the most common student errors

If you decide to work with us instead, your $40 fee will be deducted

Webinar: getTING the biggest merit AWARD YOU CAN

Zoom Webinar: THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022
7:00-8:00 p.m. EST

Did you know that students are often charged wildly different prices for the same college?

Did you know that you can appeal (aka negotiate) financial awards?

If you want to learn how college pricing and merit awards really work, and how to get the best deal you can, join me and Min Kim of Versed Parent Advisory as we host Mark Salisbury of TuitionFit and Julian Treves of College Tuition Advisory Services (CTAS) for what is sure to be a an illuminating discussion. (See their profiles below.) Their organizations collect and analyze actual college pricing and merit scholarship award data in order to educate students and families about the real costs of college and how to maximize merit awards. You’ll come away with expert insights into how college pricing and merit scholarships work. 

This free webinar is for students, parents, and high school and independent college counselors.

Unlike the Harvards and Stanfords who either provide no “discounts” to most families, or very generous need-based aid, most U.S. colleges are not in that position.  In fact, many colleges (even name-brand ones) are struggling to fill seats.  In today’s world in which colleges use sophisticated data analytics and pricey consultants to attract and enroll students, families, unfortunately, face an uneven playing field when it comes to knowing, for example, whether or not that $10,000 a year merit scholarship college X offered is a good deal or not.  And colleges aren’t going to readily divulge that offers are often just a starting point and are negotiable.

Topics We Will Cover

• How colleges determine pricing (business landscape, enrollment challenges, etc.)

• What merit scholarships are and aren’t

• Who qualifies for merit awards and what criteria are used to determine them.

• How to compare awards and negotiate with colleges to get the best possible price.

• Using TuitionFit and CTAS data to managing college costs and to help build a college list.

About our panelists

Mark Salisbury founded TuitionFit with the mission of improving transparency in college pricing.   By sharing real pricing information from actual award letters, TuitionFit, aka “The Kelley Blue Book of college pricing, empowers families to assess value and to find college options that are affordable, accessible, and, most importantly can transform the range of opportunities available to students after they graduate.  Mark has spent 25 years in higher education, beginning as a soccer coach and admissions counselor before transitioning to a director of institutional research and an academic administrator. He earned a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Iowa and studies how colleges and universities succeed (or fail) in helping students learn and grow. Mark’s research and perspectives have been highlighted by NPR, WNYC, Forbes, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Inside Higher Ed. He is also the co-author of “Study Abroad in a New Global Century” and is published in academic journals and mainstream higher ed publications.

Julian Treves founded College Tuition Advisory Services (CTAS) in 2019 with the aim of bringing greater transparency to college costs. After a career in corporate finance, he was greatly surprised to see the lack of clarity and the level of parents’ confusion around how much getting a college degree would cost. So, he spent a year modeling higher ed finances and then founded CTAS, to bring the information to students and families and help them make sensible financial decisions. A Pennsylvania resident, his two children have not yet embarked on their colleges searches but many family members are academics and he is a lapsed PhD candidate – so he knows the culture of higher education. His favorite business maxim: “analysis turns uncertainty into risk.”

Prior Events

An Evening With Award-Winning Science Research Teacher Andy Bramante

“one of the most remarkable Classrooms in America”

Tuesday, May 11, 7:00-8:30 p.m., on Zoom Webinar. Registration at EventBrite

People always want to know the secrets of the phenomenal sports coach whose team wins championships year after year. On Tuesday, May 11, at 7p.m. we invite you to meet another type of coach: Andy Bramante, the Independent Honors Science Research teacher at Greenwich High School, who mentors and inspires students through the challenging and exciting process of carrying out original science research projects. His students have entered their research projects in science and engineering fairs and competitions on state, national, and international levels, with a record of consistently winning some of the highest prizes. Journalist Heather Won Tesoriero left her job at CBS news to spend a year profiling Bramante’s program in her critically acclaimed book The Class:

“Andy Bramante left his successful career as a corporate scientist to teach public high school—and now helms one of the most remarkable classrooms in America. Bramante’s unconventional class at Connecticut’s prestigious yet diverse Greenwich High School has no curriculum, tests, textbooks, or lectures, and is equal parts elite research lab, student counseling office, and teenage hangout spot. United by a passion to learn, Mr. B.’s band of whiz kids set out every year to conquer the brutally competitive science fair circuit. They have won the top prize at the Google Science Fair, made discoveries that eluded scientists three times their age, and been invited to the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm.” Penguin Random House

Having some firsthand experience with this program (my daughter, 2nd from left in the photo, was a CSEF winner and Intel ISEF finalist in Bramante’s class) I will be moderating this evening along with Min Kim of Versed Education Advisory Network, who was a Regeneron STS (formerly Westinghouse) semi-finalist herself.

This is guaranteed to be a very exciting and interesting evening!

• Developing a project idea and proposal

• Finding and working with mentors

• Past project success and challenge stories

• Project presentation opportunities

Webinar: Standardized Testing (In A Covid World And Beyond)

Zoom Webinar: Wednesday, October 21, 2020
6:00- 7:00 p.m. EST

If you missed this webinar, watch it or read the annotated Powerpoint here.

In this webinar we’ll discuss the whys and hows of the various standardized tests students take over the course of their high school years, including the PSAT/PreACT, the ACT/SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP exams, with a focus on the standardized tests that are required and/or recommended for college admission. We’ll also talk about how, even beginning as early as 8th grade, the courses you take, the study habits you form, and even the reading you do can help set you up for success - so you’ll have an easier time later on!

Part 1 Standardized Testing Overview

Myths & Facts about who needs to take standardized tests such as the ACT/SAT/Subject Tests and why/how colleges use test scores as part of their holistic review of applicants. Among other things, we’ll address:

• Who needs to take these tests, for whom are they optional (or not).

• Why and how colleges use standardized tests scores in evaluating applicants.

• What content the tests cover, their similarities and differences.

• When is a good time to take the ACT/SAT (not as early as you think).

• How Covid considerations are affecting testing overall, and specifics of dates/locations.

Part 2: Grade Specific & General Success Tips

Steps you can take early on to set yourself up for success — and less test prep later — including course selection, learning/study habits, reading outside of school, even dinner-table conversations.

• 9th -11th grade: courses that help set you up for standardized test success and also perform “double duty” for multiple tests.

• 10th -11th grade: How to decide which test(s) to take.

• General success tips from our years of tutoring experience: including what tutoring can/can’t accomplish.

Panel Discussion: Finding Creative Summer Ideas For High Schoolers During COVID-19

Zoom Webinar: Thursday, April 30, 2020, 2:00 p.m. EST