Admission to College
If you live in the Greater Los Angeles area and have been scouring the Internet searching for information or help with getting your child into the right college or university, then you have come to the right place.
That's what we do - we provide you with the help your family needs to make an informed choice, and to be prepared for all of the steps involved in college admissions. We will help you develop a personalized plan, taking into account your criteria and preferences, to help you choose the college that's right for your child.
Choosing a college is a major life decision - our detailed intake process works with each student to define who they are and who they want to be.
More than that, we provide valuable insight into each school, and what they're looking for. We go on from there to take a close look at all of the factors that go into school choice, including the campus environment and location, school size, academic ranking, specialization in specific majors, to financial considerations.
- Why go this alone when you can just pick up the phone and get help?
- Why waste your precious time trying to sift through mountains of information when we already have the information you need?
- Why take a chance navigating the maze of choices when you can leverage your child's possibilities by gaining from LA College Scout's experience?
We are committed to helping you navigate this process, whether you're looking for options in California, Ivy League schools, or everything in between. We work with you on all of the elements involved in the college admissions process, from curriculum planning to school selection to application, and all of the benchmarks commonly used in college admissions.
The College Admissions Process - G.R.E.E.T.
No matter what the school, in addition to the application, most schools look at particular additional benchmarks to gauge a student's potential as a student in their college. These benchmarks are known by an acronym: "G.R.E.E.T."
Grades: While planning for college begins in middle school, in terms of the courses taken, number of years of a subject, etc., it is important for the student to know that a student's grades hold the greatest weight. A student's G.P.A. in their core academic courses will determine the opportunities offered to them. For some colleges, they expect all applicants to have stellar grades in honors or AP courses. For some colleges, that same student may qualify for merit scholarships or grants. In our College Planning Consultation we will help you create effective academic action plans, and ensure that you make the right middle and high school curricular choices.
Recommendations: Recommendations play a significant role in the college application process. In general students will need to obtain recommendations from a school counselor and two teachers. It is crucial that the student choose teachers by how well the teacher knows them. Additionally, students presume that recommendations shouldonlycome from teachers who gave them an "A" but actually a great story can be told about how a student persevered to earn any grade. It is important that students know that The University of California (UC) and California State (Cal State) systems do not take recommendations from teachers. In our College Planning Consultation, we will work with students on choosing the right recommendations and on strategies for admission into the UC and Cal State schools.
Extra-Curricular Activities: These days it is commonplace for all students to have extra-curricular activities on their applications. Admission committees appreciate applications with both a stellar academic transcript and in-depth extracurricular activities. That student may gain acceptance over the student who hasonlystellar grades. It is wise for a student to choose one or two activities where they can gain depth of experience, leadership or problem-solving skills rather than engage in several activities at a superficial level. L.A. College Scout will work with you to identify those activities, which ideally should be in place over time, rather than a last minute effort for the sake of the application alone.
Essay: The essay gives you an opportunity to describe what type of student, and what type of person, you are and will be at their college. A strong and engaging personal essay may paint a picture for the admission committee to understand any academic or social interests, areas of strengths/weakness, obstacles the student overcame, and/or anything the application doesn't already state. The essay is critical particularly when there is no face-to-face interview, and is one way the admissions committee can get to know you better.
Tests: The standardized test can be stressful for many students and families. It is true that the admissions committee provides a great deal of attention to these tests. Preparation for the SAT Reasoning, SAT Subject tests, and the ACT can begin as early as your first year of high school. It is advised that students take the PSAT at the tenth and eleventh grade. The more familiar the student becomes with the format, type of questions and the content the better they will fair in their scores. A major change has taken place with the UC system where the university no longer requires the SAT subject tests for admissions but these are still recommended for certain majors.
In the US, there is an average of 478 students per guidance counselor.
26% of high school seniors hired an independent educational consultant in 2009 to help with college admissions.
Students receive an average of only 38 minutes per year of college admissions advice from school guidance counselors.
