6 Tools To Make The College Admissions Process Less Stressful
Being admitted into college is a major achievement, but getting there requires many agonizing hours devoted to testing and application materials. Helping to take some of the stress away and guide students successfully through the process, companies like the ones listed here offer tutoring, counseling, test prep, study guides, and other valuable tools for mastering the difficult admissions stage. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.
6 Resources to Help Students With College Admissions
| Name | What It Offers |
|---|---|
| OnlineU | Researches accredited online colleges in order to provide rankings based on affordability |
| Educational Connections | Matches students with the best possible tutor to help them achieve their goals and overcome their challenges |
| IvyWise | Empowers students to identify and utilize their strengths and interests, offering integrated counseling, tutoring, and research services to give students comprehensive support |
| CollegeVine | Provides one-on-one guidance for students in every year of high school to help improve college applications, essays, and test scores |
| Sylvan Learning | Offers personalized tutoring and academic coaching in test prep, STEM, college and career readiness, and more |
| Shmoop | Features online courses, college readiness prep, award-winning test prep, and free study guides that balance a teen-friendly, approachable style with academically rigorous materials |
The Key to Building a Strong College Application
High School Graduations Rates By State
As of the 2016-17 school year, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics
| State | Graduation Rate | State | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 89.3% | Montana | 85.8% |
| Alaska | 78.2% | Nebraska | 89.1% |
| Arizona | 78.0% | Nevada | 80.9% |
| Arkansas | 88.0% | New Hampshire | 88.9% |
| California | 82.7% | New Jersey | 90.5% |
| Colorado | 79.1% | New Mexico | 71.1% |
| Connecticut | 87.9% | New York | 81.8% |
| Delaware | 86.9% | North Carolina | 86.6% |
| Florida | 82.3% | North Dakota | 87.2% |
| Georgia | 80.6% | Ohio | 84.2% |
| Hawaii | 82.7% | Oklahoma | 82.6% |
| Idaho | 79.7% | Oregon | 76.7% |
| Illinois | 87.0% | Pennsylvania | 86.6% |
| Indiana | 83.8% | Rhode Island | 84.1% |
| Iowa | 91.0% | South Carolina | 83.6% |
| Kansas | 86.5% | South Dakota | 83.7% |
| Kentucky | 89.7% | Tennessee | 89.8% |
| Louisiana | 78.1% | Texas | 89.7% |
| Maine | 86.9% | Utah | 86.0% |
| Maryland | 87.7% | Vermont | 89.1% |
| Massachusetts | 88.3% | Virginia | 86.9% |
| Michigan | 80.2% | Washington | 79.4% |
| Minnesota | 82.7% | West Virginia | 89.4% |
| Mississippi | 83.0% | Wisconsin | 88.6% |
| Missouri | 88.3% | Wyoming | 86.2% |
Organizations That Help Students Get a Higher Education
| Organization | Headquarters Location | Mission |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom Line | Boston, MA | Help first-generation students from low-income backgrounds get into college, graduate, and go far in life |
| National Center for Fair and Open Testing | Arlington, MA | Advance quality education and equal opportunity by promoting fair, open, valid, and educationally beneficial evaluations of students, teachers, and schools |
| Campaign for College Opportunity | Los Angeles, CA | Work to ensure that all Californians have an equal opportunity to attend and succeed in college in order to build a vibrant workforce, economy, and democracy |
| Let's Get Ready | New York, NY | Provide high school students from historically under-served communities and first-generation-to-college students with free SAT preparation, admission counseling, and other support services needed to gain admission to and graduate from college |
| Institute for Higher Education Policy | Washington, DC | Improve college access and success in higher education for all students (with a special focus on underserved populations) by providing timely research to inform public policy decisions |
| New Jersey Seeds | Newark, NJ | Ensure that students have the knowledge, skills, access, and support to thrive at the nation's finest schools and colleges |
The Vision of Shmoop
In Depth
Preparing for college applications can be overwhelming. Luckily, there are resources to help students every step of the way, from test prep and admissions counseling services, to comprehensive college ranking systems. In no particular order, here are tools to help with the admissions process.
Starting at #1, we have OnlineU, where students can check rankings for online universities based on affordability, accessibility, and quality. This company manually researches and standardizes tuition data to show comparisons in a straightforward way. OnlineU is part of Optimal, an education research group.
These rankings are made to help prospective students find an online program that matches their budget and career aspirations. Visitors can compare rankings by subjects or by degree level. OnlineU sources data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Visitors can compare rankings by subjects or by degree level.
Next, at #2, is Educational Connections Inc., a company that has helped over ten-thousand students in DC since 1998 through executive function coaching, subject tutoring, test preparation, and college counseling services. Now, tutors travel to homes in Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland, and Washington, DC to help students overcome academic obstacles and improve their confidence and grades.
College application coaches help rising seniors track application deadlines, complete their essays, and more. Test prep tutors help students with the SAT and ACT by developing a custom plan to target areas in greatest need of improvement. Washington FAMILY Magazine recognized Educational Connections as the best ACT and SAT Test Prep company in the greater Washington, DC area in 2019.
At #3, we have IvyWise, an educational consultancy that offers tutoring, admissions counseling, and test prep for students. Services are personalized to fit each client's educational and career goals. Admissions counselors help students with researching colleges, fostering teacher relationships, selecting extracurricular activities, and more.
Services are personalized to fit each client's educational and career goals.
The virtual tutors at this company have an average of twelve years of test prep experience. Visitors can also read the Ivywise KnowlegeBase to find updated information about the college admissions process, including a blog, admissions statistics, and college preparation checklists. In 2019, 92% of IvyWise students were accepted into at least one of their three top-choice schools.
Coming in at #4, we have CollegeVine, an online guidance platform that provides high school students with support to make informed college decisions. Once a largely successful paid service, this company turned into a free and accessible platform with the mission to close the growing guidance gap in U.S. high schools.
Students can use CollegeVine's tools to calculate their chances of getting into different universities, build a college list, and create an admissions plan. Each student receives customized guidance that's unique to them and their individual needs on applications and essays. In addition, visitors will find an essay prompt database with guides for specific university writing prompts.
Students can use CollegeVine's tools to calculate their chances of getting into different universities, build a college list, and create an admissions plan.
At #5, we have Sylvan Learning, where students can receive academic coaching and expert support in ACT and SAT test prep. These testing tutors take a balanced approach, with a mix of in-center instruction, independent practice, online resources, and multiple practice tests to ensure teens learn strategies for tackling every type of exam question.
This company has over forty years of experience and has helped millions of students achieve academic success. Sylvan credits its results to interactive technology and teachers that are versed in the local curriculum, who can link the lessons at Sylvan to what's being taught in school.
Finally, at #6 is Shmoop, a resource for students that provides step-by-step guidance for essay writing, study guides, and more. Users can pay for online test prep services that include diagnostic exams, progress tracking, and test-specific strategies with detailed explanations behind a student's performance.
Users can pay for online test prep services that include diagnostic exams, progress tracking, and test-specific strategies with detailed explanations behind a student's performance.
Shmoop's specialized college planning tools include assistance for the application process, help for essay writing, college profiles, statistics about different majors, and more. One can find a matching service that asks personalized questions to connect to students with the right schools for them. There is also a checklist to stay on track with applications.
