Our Blog
Advice and information for navigating the college admissions process and achieving academic success!
Test-Optional and Test-Flexible Colleges
Taking standardized tests seems to be right up there with writing essays as the most dreaded part of the college admissions process. The tests are a great idea in theory - a way to compare students from all different backgrounds/schools/experiences [...]
How Understanding Personality Can Help in the College Admissions Process
If high school is supposed to prepare students for college, it’s a mystery to me why some of the most important elements of the college application process are never taught in school. The SAT and ACT don’t measure skills students [...]
Rising Senior Summer To-Do List
While you might think that college application season doesn’t really start until the fall, the truth is rising seniors need to think of summer as the real beginning of application season. Yes, fall is when application season really amps up, [...]
College Planning Tasks Juniors Should Be Doing Right Now
It's time to get serious about college admissions! Juniors, it’s time for you to get serious about college planning! It’s so important to stay on top of everything you need to do to be ready for application season [...]
A Little Progress Each Day Adds Up to Big Results
Pretty much everything about the college admissions process can seem daunting and intimidating, but it doesn’t have to! Today, I’m talking specifically about preparing for the SAT or the ACT. This is one of those tasks that students tend to [...]
How Many Colleges Should I Apply To?
As with most questions about college admissions, the number of colleges you should apply to depends on individual circumstances. However, as a general rule, I usually advise applying to 7-10 schools. With this number, you can have a few target [...]
Book Recommendation: The Secret Life of Bees
???Recommending books is one of my favorite things to do and I’m so excited to be sharing a new book every week! This week’s book recommendation is The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. A heartwarming coming of [...]
Introductions
Hi! I’m Sarah, the Director of Tutoring and Counseling at Academic Impact. In addition to keeping things running behind the scenes at Academic Impact, I spend the majority of my time working one-on-one with students as a college counselor. I [...]
It’s Time to Start Working on College Essays!
It’s time to start working on college essays! This can be a scary process, but I’m here to help! Many students find writing about themselves to be more of a challenge than they expected. I’ve seen it happen over and [...]
The Best Way to Get Things Done Is To Begin
College applications can be incredibly intimidating - to the point that the thought of starting them is paralyzing! Many students find that getting started on their college applications is something that becomes easier and easier to put off doing. [...]
How to Prepare for the SAT Over the Summer
Summer is a great time to prepare for the SAT! Without the day-to-day obligations and packed schedules of the school year, students often find it easier to carve out a couple of hours a week during the summer to work [...]
How to Ace Your Finals
As the end of the school year approaches, it can be challenging to maintain the concentration and self-discipline needed to get through final exams. At this time of year, students usually fall into one of two categories: they’re either completely [...]
Do You Really Need a College Counselor?
With all of the stress and uncertainty surrounding college admissions, it’s easy for parents to get caught up in the hysteria and find themselves certain that their child will never get into college unless they fork over thousands of dollars [...]
Tips for Answering UC Personal Insight Questions
The UC Personal Insight Questions are the most stress-inducing part of applying to UC schools. One of the main reasons they cause so much anxiety is that they are completely unlike the essays that most colleges require students to write [...]
Tips for Writing Common App Essays
For many students, nothing about the college application process is more fraught with anxiety than writing the required essays. The anxiety that often accompanies writing these essays is not unfounded, as students are suddenly being asked to write profoundly and [...]
Minimizing the Stress and Emotional Impact of Applying to Colleges
Welcome to our Student Voices series! In this series, we give our students a chance to share their experiences, thoughts, and advice about everything from navigating the college admissions process to succeeding academically. Charlie is a recent high school graduate who [...]
College Admissions Essays – The Value of Good Commentary
Welcome to the first post in our new College Admissions Essay series! In this series, we share tips and tricks for writing an impactful college admissions essay! One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a college counselor is helping students write [...]
EXACTLY What to Expect on College Applications
Welcome to the first post in our new Student Voices series! In this series, we give our students a chance to share their experiences, thoughts, and advice about everything from navigating the college admissions process to succeeding academically. Charlie is a [...]
Hiring Tutors for the 2017-18 School Year!
Overview We have an immediate need for tutors in all subjects: math; science; English; writing; foreign language; SAT and ACT tutors. There is a particular need for test-prep tutors and tutors capable of teaching high level math, including AP and [...]
How to Score Well on the SAT Essay
While the SAT Essay may seem intimidating at first, most students find that it is actually not that bad once they understand exactly what it is they are being asked to do. For the colleges that require it, the SAT [...]
Book Recommendation: A Study in Charlotte
I’ve always been a fan of mysteries, so I was pretty excited when I stumbled across A Study in Charlotte, about Sherlock Holmes’ and John Watson’s great-great-great grandchildren who end up at boarding school together where they are quickly framed for a [...]
Ivy League College Admissions
There’s no way around it - college admissions are competitive. If they weren’t, earning a college degree would not be meaningful or at all indicative of a person’s intellectual abilities. That being said, there are some aspects of the college [...]
Making the Most of Summer Vacation
Summer vacation is the best time of year - no more getting up early, no more spending all day at school, no more homework! While it is absolutely the time for relaxing, spending time with friends, going on vacations, and [...]
Encouraging Reluctant Readers
I was recently out with a friend, lamenting my struggles with getting kids, especially teenagers, to be interested in reading. My friend’s first response to my woes was, “Tell them about that Super Bowl winner who’s in a book club. [...]
Book Recommendations
I love to read. So much so that it hurts my heart when I ask students whether they read much outside of school and the response is a laugh and a definitive “No,” or when I ask about the book [...]
Harvard Report: For College Admissions, You’re More Than Just Your Grades
One thing we strive to help our students understand is that there is more to them than just their GPA or their test scores. Every student applying to college has a whole identity beyond his or her work in the [...]
Planning for the SAT and ACT
Planning for the SAT and ACT can seem overwhelming. There is so much to consider: which test to take, when to take the tests, how to prepare for the tests and more. Today we are offering some answers to common [...]
SAT vs. ACT
When it comes to deciding whether to take the SAT or the ACT, many students find themselves overwhelmed by the choice. On top of all of their regular school work and extracurricular activities, they now have to spend time [...]
Tips For Staying Organized: Use Color
Between classes, sports, clubs, volunteer opportunities, family commitments and plans with friends, it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of everything that needs to get done. Over the next few posts, we will be sharing our Top 5 Tips [...]
Tips for Staying Organized: Do One Thing At A Time
Between classes, sports, clubs, volunteer opportunities, family commitments and plans with friends, it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of everything that needs to get done. Over the next few posts, we will be sharing our Top 5 Tips [...]
Tips for Staying Organized: Everything In Its Place
Between classes, sports, clubs, volunteer opportunities, family commitments and plans with friends, it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of everything that needs to get done. Over the next few posts, we will be sharing our Top 5 Tips [...]
Tips For Staying Organized: A Place For Everything
Between classes, sports, clubs, volunteer opportunities, family commitments and plans with friends, it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of everything that needs to get done. Over the next few posts, we will be sharing our Top 5 Tips [...]
Tips For Staying Organized: Write Everything Down
Between classes, sports, clubs, volunteer opportunities, family commitments and plans with friends, it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of everything that needs to get done. Over the next few posts, we will be sharing our Top 5 Tips [...]
Advice for Approaching College Admissions Decisions
College acceptance season has begun! It’s a time when seniors are obsessively checking their emails and application portals, anxiously hoping for good news. The hallways and social media sites are buzzing with whispers and posts about who got in where [...]