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Texas College Guide: The University of Texas at Austin – Now Available!
May 23, 2014
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We are really excited about this new book – Texas College Guide: The University of Texas at Austin. Jessica decided last summer to sit down and write a book about everything she has learned about applying to UT from her years of experience. She was also able to collect information directly from the University and its various schools to pull together all of the information Texans need to understand the system and plan for success. Here is more about why she wrote the book:
“After years of working with students and achieving a very high success rate of helping students gain admission to UT Austin, I have seen that a proven track record of involvement and focus in a given area can provide students with a real edge in admission to UT, and I’ve really had it with deception and subterfuge. UT applicants – you or your kids or your grandkids – are real people with meaningful histories and experiences that merit an honest and comprehensive display. However, you also deserve to understand what makes an applicant competitive for a given major, so that you don’t waste your major selection on choices that are absurd long shots. Next, you need to understand how the majors are different, what types of careers they cultivate, and what sorts of job and income prospects you’ll have after graduation. Finally, you need to know the other options that exist for paving a pathway to the University of Texas at Austin, because a rejection letter as an incoming freshman is not the end of the world, nor is it the end of the story. And, that’s why I’ve written this book, to give you the information you need and to prevent you from falling victim to shysters in this dodgy day and age of admissions chicanery. Additionally, I’ve fact-checked every aspect of my work with the University of Texas, combing their website for content and keeping in close contact with admissions and various UT departments. This book is a one-stop reference for UT major selection and admissions.”
We hope that students (and their parents) enjoy this book and feel informed about the admission process at UT. And if you are a prospective Aggie: don’t worry, this book is the first in what will be a series!
Click here to read more about the book on our website.
or
Click here to buy the book on Amazon.
Hear from Crash Course Parents
April 30, 2014
We’re gearing up for another busy summer of College Application Crash Courses. A few weeks ago, we took some time to chat with some of last year’s Crash Course parents to hear what they had to say about their experience. Here’s a video of what they had to say:
Thanks to all of the parents who shared their experiences! And if you’re interested in learning more about the courses or enrolling for this summer, click here. But hurry! There are only a handful of spots left.
Free College Admissions Information Session
April 10, 2014
We hope everyone is enjoying this fantastic Spring weather – but we all know the truth: summer will be here soon. Before you get swallowed up in end of the school year activities and summer vacation planning – join us for a free college admissions information session! On Saturday, May 3rd, our president, Jessica Givens, will be delivering her engaging and informative presentation “Five Secrets to College Admissions Gold” at our office on West Gray.
Too many parents, students and counselors are operating with out-dated assumptions about what works and are blind-sided by often-avoidable rejection letters. Join us to learn about how to navigate the ever-changing college admissions process. This session is geared toward parents of students between eighth and eleventh grade but anyone is welcome.
Jessica Givens / All-in-One Academics
Five Secrets to College Admissions Gold
Saturday, May 3rd from 12:00pm – 1:00pm
River Oaks Shopping Center, Second Floor
1973 W. Gray Suite #17 Houston, TX 77019
We have had a great response to this presentation in years past – please join us! The information session will also include a brief discussion about our upcoming College Application Crash Courses for high school juniors. Space is limited so please let us know if you’ll be attending. To RSVP, send an email to may@allinoneacademics.com or call 713.405.1193. We hope to see you there!
Summer College Application Crash Courses
March 28, 2014
Juniors! Summer will be here before you know and you know what that means… it’s time to start your college applications! And also… finish them? Yes! Our College Application Crash Courses bring together a small group of motivated students for 5 days during the summer and together the group knocks out the major written components of their college applications including three essays and a resume. Additionally, for those taking the course in August, they’ll be able to fill out the actual application as well (we added classes in July due to demand but the application doesn’t come out until August 1!). Here are some additional details:
Interested? Then get a move on! Spots are filling up quickly. Click here to read more about what happens in class or to enroll. This is a fantastic way to get a huge head start on your applications leading to a significantly less stressful senior year for you and your entire family! Plus, it’s fun!
Jessica Givens on Great Day Houston
February 25, 2014
Our president, Jessica Givens, was recently featured as a College Coach on KHOU’s morning program, Great Day Houston. She was there on Monday, February 17th to help them kick off their college week. See the clip in full here:
Thanks so much for having Jessica on the show again – it is always a good time!
Cool Opportunity: Gap Year Fair at Episcopal HS!
February 19, 2014
We wanted to share some information about a cool opportunity coming up at Episcopal High School on February 24th: the HoustonGap Year Fair. This event is open to anyone in the Houston area and is a great way to get more information about different programs, what to expect, and how to tell who might be a good fit to take a gap year. Some students just aren’t ready to head straight to college and a structured gap year can help them to mature, gain additional experience, and start college on the right foot a year later.
Here’s all the information about the fair:
Houston Gap Year Fair
Monday, February 24, 2014
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
*Speaker at 6 p.m in Anderson Lecture Hall.
Traditional fair to follow in the Underwood Student Center
Episcopal High School
4650 Bissonnet St., Bellaire, TX 77401
A Gap Year is a period of time between completing high school and beginning college when a student steps outside the traditional classroom experience. This is a time to explore the world, reflect on personal values and goals, and prepare to take the next step in life.
Please register at www.usagapyearfairs.org.
If you’re considering a gap year or just a little curious, we hope you’ll attend!
Three Last Minute Essay Tips
October 30, 2013
It’s already the end of October! If you haven’t submitted your application essays yet, you may want to give them one last look-over with these three tips in mind:
1. Count the number of times you say “I” – can you cut it in half? Don’t get us wrong. Your college essays are all about you, so you definitely have to use “I.” However, students can go overboard. Use your creative noodle to transform your sentences into something that sounds a little less egocentric.
2. Circle every verb in the essay to check for tense hopping. We don’t care what tense you choose, but be consistent.
3. Eliminate ambiguous pronouns. Every time you have “it” or “they” or “this” or “that,” etc., make sure the sentence clearly spells out what you are talking about.* For instance, if a sentence says, “My parents told the cops they had misjudged my behavior,” what is the ‘they’ referring to?* Parents or cops? It’s unnecessarily confusing!
*We realize that there are some dangling prepositions here. Check out some soul-satisfying commentary on this oft-maligned grammatical construction by clicking here.
Keep working and try to get those applications submitted as soon as you can!
Concurrent Admission at Houston Community College
October 28, 2013
Did you know that UT has set a goal to improve its rate of students who graduate in four years? By 2017, they are aiming to have 70% of students graduate in four years, up from just 53% today. While 53% may sound a little low, it’s actually the highest rate in the state of Texas, followed closely by Texas A&M at 50%. Why do they care about students graduating in four years? According to UT, they say it is cheaper, it decreases dropout rates, students enter the workforce sooner, it creates room for new students, and lessens the chance of loan debt. All good things! For more information about UT’s plan, check out this article: UT Strives to Improve Four-Year Graduation Rates.
So if we know that schools are looking to increase the number of students who graduate in four years… we know that they’ll be looking for prospective students to demonstrate the ability and drive to make that happen. A great way to show that you’ve got what it takes to graduate in four years is to register for concurrent enrollment while still in high school. Here’s a little information about how you can register to take classes at Houston Community College while you’re still in high school. Doing this benefits you in two ways –
1. You demonstrate that you’re capable of college level work
2. You’ve reduced the number of credit hours you will need to graduate making it more likely that you will graduate in four years
Taking a course at HCC is different from your dual enrollment courses in high school because these will be actual college courses that you can take in the evenings or online. In order to enroll, you’ll have to apply to HCC. That starts will submitting their online application and submitting proof of vaccination or immunization. You can also apply for financial aid or scholarships. Next, you’ll take a placement test – you’ll need to pass these tests to enroll and based on your scores, your advisor will be able to help you get into the right classes based on your abilities. After a pre-enrollment session and an orientation – you’ll get a photo ID and a parking permit and you’re good to go!
To read more about the process or to get started, click here.
As we’ve mentioned before, when applying to schools you want to make sure that your application “makes sense,” meaning, if you say you want to major in education, you’ll want to have activities, experiences, and coursework that align with that goal. Keep this in mind as you figure out what classes may be good for you to take concurrently. Also make sure that the courses you select will be transferable to your school of choice and will count toward graduation.
Concurrent enrollment can be challenging but it is a great way to get a head start on your college education while marketing yourself to schools and someone who is capable of graduating in four years.
October 15th Deadline
October 14, 2013
Tomorrow is October 15th! That means the first wave of Early Action/Early Decision deadlines is upon us… though for some schools, they’ve extended their timelines. Citing issues with the Common Application, UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University both pushed back their 10/15 deadlines to 10/21 after students were unable to complete their applications.
In a response, the Common Application made a statement regarding the status of the cite over the busy Columbus Day weekend in a post on a forum sponsored by the National Association of College Admission Counseling.
“The slowness is due to a spike in activity among recommenders, which is having an impact in system performance for all users. The result is a time-out issue, which presents itself to users as an unsuccessful login error. We first observed the issue around 9:00 AM ET. Troubleshooting allowed us to resolve the problem within about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the issue cropped up again about 30 minutes later and continues to persist.”
For more information, check out this post from The Examiner – it has lots of details. The good news here is that it isn’t only the students being inconvenienced, the schools are too – and are dealing with it in a way to minimize stress on applicants. Hopefully the system will be up and running smoothly soon and until then – try to relax!
Here are two other schools with October 15 deadlines (that haven’t been changed, at least as of yet):
University of Georgia – Early Action – 10/15
University of South Carolina – Early Answer – 10/15
The next big wave of deadlines is November 1 so if that is a target date for any of your schools, get cranking!
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