Early Decision, Early Action and Financial Aid

Navigating the college application process can be stressful, especially when considering how financial aid factors into different application strategies. Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) are two popular options, each with distinct financial implications.

Early Decision (ED) is a binding admission plan. Students who apply ED agree to attend the college if accepted and must withdraw all other applications. ED deadlines usually fall on  November 1st or 15th, with some schools offering a second ED option around January 1st. This binding commitment makes ED ideal for students who have thoroughly researched their options and are certain about one school being their top choice.

While ED can significantly increase your chances of admission, it has potential financial drawbacks, particularly for students who need financial aid. Since ED is binding, you won’t be able to compare financial aid offers from other colleges if accepted. Therefore, it's crucial to understand the financial aid policies of the school you’re applying to under ED. Use the school’s Net Price Calculator to estimate your financial aid package and ensure that you and your family are comfortable with the probable financial commitment.

Talk to your Journey Ahead counselor about whether and how much applying ED increases your admissions chances at your choice college.

Early Action (EA) allows students to apply and receive an admission decision early without the binding commitment of ED. If accepted, you can still apply to other schools and have until May 1 to make your final decision. The non-binding nature of EA generally makes it a safer choice for students concerned about financial aid, as it allows more time to compare financial aid packages or explore other opportunities without the pressure of a binding agreement.

Students applying through Early Action typically receive the same need-based package they would during the ED and regular admissions cycles. However, unlike ED, EA allows families to compare financial aid offers from various schools before making a final decision. This flexibility can be crucial in choosing the most affordable option. The potential downside is of applying EA is that students do not get the potential admissions advantage of applying ED.

General Financial Aid Tips

Whether you choose ED, EA or Regular Decision, here are some essential tips to help navigate the financial aid process:

Apply for Financial Aid Early: Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), scheduled to open on December 1st. This may delay financial aid packages for ED and EA students. If the college requires the CSS profile, fill it out as soon as possible. Early submission may improve your chances of receiving need-based aid.

Understand Each School’s Financial Aid Policies: Schools have different financial aid policies and deadlines for early applicants. Research these policies thoroughly so you know what to expect.

Communicate with Financial Aid Offices: If your financial circumstances change or if you have concerns about your financial aid package, don’t hesitate to contact the financial aid office. They may be able to offer additional assistance or advice.

Making the Most of your High School Years

High school can be one of life’s most exciting and transformative times. It can also be fraught with ups and downs, socially and academically. Here are some suggestions to help you navigate your high school years.

Join or Form a Club

One of the best ways to enhance your high school experience is by joining or forming a club. Clubs provide a sense of community and allow you to explore your interests outside the classroom. If you can’t find one that matches your interests, don’t hesitate to start your own. Leading a club can further develop valuable skills and create a space for others who share your interests.

Don’t Worry About the “Popular” Kids

High school can sometimes feel like a popularity contest, but in reality, popularity is fleeting. Focus on building genuine friendships rather than worrying about fitting in with the popular crowd. True friends will stand by you through thick and thin, and those relationships will be far more valuable than any social status. 

Volunteer

Volunteering is a fantastic way to make a difference in your community and gain valuable life experiences. It can also be incredibly fulfilling and fun. Volunteering teaches you empathy and responsibility. Studies have shown that volunteering also can improve your mental health.

Challenge Yourself Academically

High school is a time to push yourself academically to the best of your abilities. Take challenging courses that interest you and broaden your horizons. Don’t overload yourself to the point of burnout. Leave room for other activities and relaxation.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Everyone struggles at some point during high school. It’s important to remember that asking for help is a sign of strength. Whether you’re having trouble with a subject, dealing with personal issues, or feeling overwhelmed, there are resources available to you. Seeking help early can prevent small problems from becoming big ones.

Keep Grades in Perspective

While it’s important to do your best academically, it’s equally important to keep your grades in perspective. A bad grade isn’t the end of the world. Learn from your mistakes and strive to improve, but don’t let academic pressure take over your life. Your worth is not defined by your GPA. 

Take Care of Yourself Physically and Emotionally

High school can be demanding, so it’s crucial to take care of yourself. Maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating well, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. Physical health directly impacts your ability to perform academically and to enjoy life. Equally important is your emotional well-being. Find healthy ways to cope with stress, such as talking to a friend, writing in a journal, or practicing mindfulness. If you’re struggling with mental health issues, don’t hesitate to seek professional help.

High school is a time for growth, learning, and fun. By joining clubs, challenging yourself academically, focusing on genuine friendships, volunteering, asking for help when needed, keeping grades in perspective, and taking care of yourself, you can make these years enjoyable and memorable.

Financial and Legal Matters for New College Students

When teens turn 18, they love the idea that they are now legally adults. They can vote, serve in the military, sign contracts and even get married. Emotionally they might still be our babies, but the law considers them adults. 

That being said, there are a few legal and financial issues that should be addressed before your teen goes to college. If your child has turned or will turn 18 during the next year, they are legally an adult, and you, their parent, lose the legal authority to make decisions on their behalf. That means you have no legal right to see their grades, manage their finances (although you remain responsible for paying their college tuition), make medical decisions, or speak with their doctors.  So, before they go off to college, consider asking them to sign some documents that will allow you to keep informed.

FERPA release:  with your child’s permission, you can speak with the college about their performance.  Colleges often have their own FERPA  release forms, so ask your student’s college for a copy.

HIPAA Authorization: this allows you to access your child’s health records and speak to their doctors about medical issues.

Advance Care Directive for Health Care:  allows you to act on your adult child’s behalf in the event that they are incapacitated and unable to make decisions for themselves.  

Durable Power of Attorney: allows you to act on your adult child’s behalf regarding legal or financial matters.  

You can get the previous three forms from your family lawyer.  Each of these forms can be revoked at any time, but having them in place while your child is away at college may provide the whole family with extra peace of mind.

Here is a link for more information:

Make Sure These Health Forms Are Sorted Out Before Your Kid Goes to College

This is also a good time to address money management issues.

Make sure their bank account allows you to easily transfer money between accounts.  An online bank account may be the most useful, especially if the bank has special student accounts available that will give parents access to bank information.  Find out which banks have ATMs close to campus—college kids usually don’t write many checks.  Be sure to check on fees for using an ATM that are not part of your bank’s network.  

Make plans to protect student property.  College kids tend to have a lot of valuable electronics and computer equipment.  Renter’s insurance can protect your investment if these items were to disappear.  Your homeowner’s policy might also cover dorm room possessions—check with your agent.  

Health insurance:  check out options provided by the college and compare these policies with your existing family medical coverage.  

Car insurance:  check with your agent.  If your child does not have a car at college, you may be eligible for a discount on your auto rate.

Discuss credit card dangers:  college students are besieged with credit card offers—discuss the difference between high-interest fees that credit cards may charge and bank debit card options.

AP, Honors, or dual enrollment? Which one?

At every college information session, a parent will ask, “Is it better to get a “B” in an AP class or an “A” in a regular class?” The admissions officer answers, “It’s better to get an “A” in an AP class,” and everyone moans. With an increasingly intense admissions process, decisions about what higher-level classes to take can feel daunting. Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and Dual Enrollment all offer a competitive edge to applicants; however, there are differences between the levels of rigor, work, impact on GPA, and attainment of college credit.  

A student’s curriculum is evaluated in the context of their high school, so if ten AP courses are offered, and a student has just taken one, admissions officers at competitive colleges will wonder why. But if a high school only offers a couple of AP courses, students can’t be expected to take classes that don’t exist, and they would not be at a disadvantage in the admissions process. 

While students in honor classes usually cover the same material as in the regular class, honors provides a rigorous study of each subject, requiring more projects, tests, and time. Honors courses follow a teacher-designed curriculum. Honors are valued in the admissions process. However, unlike APs, they don’t offer college credit and are not as highly regarded.

APs are designed to give students a college-level course experience within a high school setting. We recommend that all students who take an AP course, take the exam in the spring.

AP exams are scored on a system from 1 to 5, with anything above 3 considered to be passing. While every university has a different policy, many colleges award credit for scores of 4 or 5 on an AP exam, and some for a score of 3. If they don’t give credit, APs can be used to place out of introductory courses, have the flexibility to double-major, or even help you have a lighter class schedule while doing an internship. 

In dual enrollment classes, high school students can take actual college courses taught by college professors or a high school teacher who has been trained and approved by the university. Programs, pricing, and course schedules vary by school. Classes are graded on assignments and tests, so unlike they AP system, one exam does not determine the outcome. Further, it’s not a guarantee that all dual enrollment classes will be accepted for college credit. 

Taking higher-level classes prepares students for a more successful future in college, while simultaneously giving them an extra nudge on the admissions table. Preparing for college is important, but so is preserving mental health and not overloading the plate with challenging classes. This might involve opting for AP classes in one’s stronger subjects or selecting a handful of APs to spread out throughout high school.

Admissions officers, of course, like to see intellectual curiosity, but they also like students who will contribute to the college community. Students who also spend time discovering and pursuing their passions outside the classroom will be attractive applicants. This means that finding a healthy balance between scholarly pursuits and extracurricular activities, community service, or other interests is just as important. Colleges are searching for dynamic individuals with various talents and perspectives who will diversify their campuses.

The Markers of College Readiness

Your teen may be academically ready to move on to college, but are they mature emotionally and psychologically? At home, they are surrounded by family and friends. Once they leave their support system, will they be able to thrive in their new surroundings?

In the book,The Stressed Years of Their Lives, authors, Hibbs and Rostain identify eight key components of social maturity that are considered predictors of college success:

Conscientiousness Is your teen ready to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions? For example, if they are caught cheating on a test, do they own it and understand why there are consequences, or do they make up excuses?

Self-management Are they ready to take over routine tasks? Can they wake up on their own? Can they complete their chores and make and keep appointments? Do they know how to rearrange their schedule, if needed? Are they able to demonstrate these skills in different environments?

Interpersonal skills Are your teens ready to make friends, deal with roommates, and find healthy social activities? One of the biggest challenges at college is navigating friendships and dealing with roommate conflicts and romantic relationships. Young adults with learning differences or social-interaction difficulties add another level of challenges. The impact of social media further complicates social relationships.

Self-control Can your teen resist temptation? Going off to college can feel like a free-for-all. They can stay up late, go out with friends, eat whatever they want, and play video games all night. Sounds simple, but do they know when and how to say no to staying out late, when there is a paper due the next day?

Grit Are they ready to cope with frustration, disappointment, and failure? Can your teen tolerate distress and find their motivation after a setback? Learning how to “hang in there” helps develop inner strength.

Risk management Can they have fun without taking too many risks? Remember that the immature development of the late adolescent brain contributes to “risky decision-making and reward-seeking drives.” Keeping communication open with your teen is essential in helping them navigate the decisions they make or want to make.

Self-acceptance Can your teen accept their faults and tolerate their mistakes without too much guilt or shame?

Open mindset/Help-seeking Often teens see setbacks or failure as shameful. Asking for help is a sign of strength and maturity.  Encourage your teen to ask for help - whether from a friend, teacher, or parent - since it is an important life skill. Maturity in adolescence is a work in progress that takes time and patience. 

These eight points should be developed over time and used as a framework for giving teens the skills to navigate the road towards adulthood. Further, your teen should be mature enough to handle the change that college will bring to their lives

Focus on Major: Data Science

With the widespread adoption of mobile phones and computers and the resulting huge quantities of data generated from these devices, there is now a demand for analysts to extract knowledge and insights from that data. It is now easier for organizations to learn about their users as they interact with the company’s website, social media, or mobile channels, all of which leave records that can be accessed and analyzed. Such datasets are information-rich and can help guide organizations to improve products and services. Accessing and analyzing this data requires trained data scientists, and demand for them is high. To address this demand, many colleges and universities have created programs specifically focused on data science and ancillary studies. 

What is data science?

Data science is an interdisciplinary field. In this major, students learn to combine statistics, computer science, mathematics, information science, and knowledge about systems to pull and analyze data for a specific purpose. As this is a rapidly changing field, data science degree programs aim to teach students how to think about the field flexibly and to engage critically with new problems.

An undergraduate studying data science will start by building a basis of knowledge in mathematics, particularly calculus and linear algebra, and take several statistics and computer science courses. While computer science will provide the programming skills needed to extract data and use helpful software tools, a statistical background will provide students with the analytical skills needed to interpret data scientifically. In addition to focusing on these core subject areas, many data science programs have specialized fields of study:

Machine Learning is focused on using data to make predictions. To do this, students learn the basics of neural networks and artificial intelligence to mimic how neurons in the human brain work together to solve problems and arrive at conclusions.

Data Analytics uses large data sets to find trends and answer questions. Data Analytics can be valuable to businesses and other organizations not only to improve decision making, but also to increase employee productivity and help create personalized customer experiences. 

Inference uses experiments, predictive modeling, and A/B testing of data to predict outcomes. Inference typically requires additional courses in statistics. 

Natural Language Processing (NLP) uses Machine Learning (ML) technology to enable computers to understand natural language as humans do. Whether the language is spoken or written, natural language processing can use AI to take data, process it, and make sense of it in a way a computer can understand.

What careers stem from this major? 

With an undergraduate degree, students can pursue junior-level roles as data analysts or data engineers at a wide variety of companies. While analysts focus on organizing and interpreting raw data, data engineers help build the systems analysts use. These careers can be found at both large and small companies in industries as diverse as healthcare, agriculture, technology, and consulting, to name a few. 

Within the role of a data analyst, there are specialties such as risk management, market research, and business analysis. Risk management analysts tend to work for insurance companies or on risk prevention teams. Typically, the goal is to ensure maximum profit. Students may also become database administrators, focusing their skills on overseeing a company’s database.

To pursue higher-level positions or research-based careers, students may also choose to obtain a graduate degree, which can take up to two years or more while they attend full-time.

Career Paths for Data Science Majors

Database Administrator

Data Analyst

Data Engineer

Market Research Analyst

·Applications Architect

Tableau Developer

Operations Research Analyst

Data Scientist

Business Intelligence Analyst

Risk Management Analyst

Market Researcher

Business Analyst

Clinical Data Manager

Quantitative Researcher

Avoiding Senioritis

Senioritis is a condition of the mind when high school seniors become unmotivated and feel academically apathetic. This usually happens in the last quarter of high school when mid-term grades have been sent, and college acceptances have been received. Students might decide to skip classes or turn in subpar work. It is important to remember that colleges’ offers of admission are conditional and often state, "Your admission is contingent on your continued successful performance." This means colleges reserve the right to deny you admission should your senior year grades drop. Students are expected to maintain their academic performance throughout their senior year. Every year, colleges around the country rescind admission offers. 

Signs of senioritis can be difficulty concentrating on schoolwork, caring less about grades, poor attitude, and out-of-control behavior. Suggestions for “curing” senioritis:

• Accept the feelings you are having and know that they are normal.

• Set academic goals in order to have a strong finish.

• Get a job and make some money to use for college.

• Find time to try something new that will feel invigorating, such as volunteering or trying a new activity.

• Spend time with family and friends.

• Celebrate your accomplishments. 

Colleges admit you based on the information in your application, and if there are any changes, you need to let the college know. If you have dropped a class that was listed on the transcript you submitted to colleges, your application has changed. Colleges receive your final transcript during the summer, and you don’t want to find out in July that you no longer have a place in the freshman class. 

It is much better to be proactive and explain why you dropped the class or your grades have dropped. If the drop in academic performance is severe enough to jeopardize your acceptance, admission officers can advise you on how to salvage your admission.
There’s another reason to keep working hard in school. It makes the transition to college-level work easier. That’s one of the advantages of taking AP courses, which require a high level of commitment throughout the senior year to prepare for AP exams in May. The anti-slacker curriculum built into AP classes will help you adjust to college coursework more easily.

If you start procrastinating during senior year, it’s difficult to get back to good study habits when you arrive at college, where there will be lots of distractions and no parents reminding you to finish your history paper before you go out for pizza with your friends.  

While you do need to keep your grades up, making sure you have some fun will help you avoid burnout. Just don’t go overboard. Summer is less than a few months away, and you will have plenty of time to work and play before going to college. 

It’s not only lower grades that can torpedo an offer of admission. While spray painting the school gym might seem like a fun prank to you and your friends, a disciplinary issue can also mean the end of your college acceptance.

Students who keep senioritis under control will get their reward when they embark on the great adventure of college, in just a few months. 

The New Digital SAT

As technology continues to shape our educational landscape, the College Board has implemented a significant update to the SAT. Enter the Digital SAT, a revamped version of the traditional exam that brings the test-taking experience into the digital age, while maintaining the integrity and rigor of the assessment.

Test Format and Scoring

First and foremost, it is imperative to understand that, with the Digital SAT, the test sections and scoring remain unchanged. Students will still encounter the familiar sections—Reading, Writing and Language, and Math—presented in a format similar to the traditional paper-based test. Furthermore, the scoring methodology remains consistent. 

Test Navigation and Features

Students can now bring their computers into the test center, creating a more personalized and user-friendly testing experience. It is recommended that you use your own computer since you are most familiar with its functionalities and interface. Make sure to fully charge your computer as you may not have access to an outlet.

If you don’t have a device, the College Board recommends you borrow one from your school, friend, or family member. Be sure to check with the College Board for more detailed information. SAT Device Lending.

To streamline the process, students are advised to download the digital application the night before the test, in order to alleviate stress and avoid last-minute technical issues. 

During the test, a proctor will provide an access code, granting students entry into the digital exam environment. Once the test is accessed with the code, all other applications and functionalities on the computer will be disabled in order to maintain test security and integrity.

Navigating the Digital SAT is intuitive and user-friendly. The test interface displays questions at the top of the screen, with answer choices conveniently listed below each question. A timer is featured at the top of the test, allowing students to monitor their progress and pace themselves accordingly.

One notable feature of the Digital SAT is the ability to flag questions and return to them later within the same section. This allows students to manage their time effectively and revisit challenging questions without feeling rushed.

Additionally, students taking the Math section will still be provided with a formula sheet, ensuring fairness and consistency in problem-solving. Furthermore, there will be a calculator embedded in the online test, which will be available to students throughout all the sections.

Adaptive Exam Structure

The adaptive nature of the Digital SAT introduces a dynamic testing experience tailored to each student's proficiency level. Upon entering the Math section, you will find that the first module serves to establish a baseline, determining the initial difficulty level of the questions presented. 

As students progress through the exam, the test adapts the questions to each student’s performance, adjusting the difficulty of subsequent questions accordingly. This adaptive approach not only shortens the overall duration of the test but also ensures a more personalized and efficient assessment of a student's skills and knowledge.

Managing Test Anxiety

With the new changes comes the need to manage test anxiety effectively. The Digital SAT's adaptive format may initially catch some students off guard, especially as they encounter questions of varying difficulty levels. The more familiar you become with the types of questions and timing of the test, the more relaxed you will be on test day. One of the important factors in taking the digital SAT is practice. Try taking a full-length practice test simulating the test day environment. This should be done using a computer adaptive test. That means no cell phones or other distractions. After receiving the results, you will know which areas to focus on. Continue this process until you have achieved your desired results.

Learning breathing techniques to focus and calm your nerves will also help on test day. Get to the test site early so you can settle in. Make sure to get enough sleep and eat a healthy dinner and breakfast before the test.

Self Study and Tutoring

For most students, we recommend you take the first test without preparation, because you will most likely be taking the test a second time anyway. Before the second sitting, tutor or self study, whichever is most efficient in terms of time and money for your family. If you are a Journey Ahead client and wish to discuss further, please set a meeting with your counselor.