<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<rss xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Blog</title>
    <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept</link>
    <description>Blog</description>
    <ttl>10</ttl>
    <item>
      <title>Prepare freshmen for senior year!</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;img src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3555861/holly_pr_picturejpg" alt="" width="87" height="132" /&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up to get my weekly blog directly into your e-mail on this page of BubbleLife. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me with any questions –&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the Day;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                                                Dean Acheson&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Happy Day After Labor Day! I hope yours was noteworthy and enjoyable.  Today I am going to linger a bit on the topic of long-term preparation of your student’s high school experience with the goal being an extensive and exciting résumé at college application time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is often surprising to realize that your student really only has three years to accomplish this; the college application time is summer before, and fall of, senior year, not in the middle or end of it.  So the GPA and activity sheet your student ends up with at the completion of the junior year is pretty much what the colleges will see, other than any standardized test scores from fall test dates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So here are some hints and tips on helping your student be ready when it is time to apply (trust me, this comes up much faster than you can imagine!).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Be nosy – either overtly or covertly (your tactics may vary with the personality of your child).  Go through the backpack to locate assignments, find out goings on at the school, see recent grades, etc.  In my humble opinion, there is very little implicit privacy in a household where I pay all the bills!  When you are informed, you can make suggestions, keep up with important dates, etc.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Help your student facilitate productive summers. Some ideas;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;          Take art classes and build a portfolio.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;          Invent something.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;          Join a volunteer program.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;          Get a research internship in a field of interest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Be your child’s advocate.  Ask teachers how your child can get an “A” in their class.  Be on hand for your student, if only to show support, during study sessions and late homework nights.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;These are just a few of my suggestions, but they are tried and true.  I personally followed them when my sons were in high school, and now one is a Harvard graduate, and the other a sophomore at Princeton.  I am convinced of the value of these suggestions.  There is much more to add to this picture, but for another time…&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The College Concept/Holly O’Brien&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; is available with both one-on-one sessions and workshops to help your student with anything and everything concerning college applications; essays, resumes, interview skills, and application strategies for selective and highly selective schools. A few recent successful admissions include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, MIT, UT Austin (even students who were not in the top 8%!), TCU, Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania including Wharton School of Business, Georgia Tech, and many others.  There is probably no story she has not encountered, so she can help your student - no matter what the circumstance - present him– or herself in the most convincing way possible.  She can also help find the schools that are right for your student - with the best chance of admission - and looks forward to putting your student on the road to a very bright future.  &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3558673/Prepare_freshmen_for_senior_year</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 7 Sep 2010 17:10:14 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How a Student Gets on the “A List” at Top Colleges</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Greetings honored readers!  Thank you for taking time to peruse my weekly blog on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up to get my weekly blog directly into your e-mail on this page of BubbleLife. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me with any questions –&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the Day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                          Andre Gide&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If only there was a secret formula to magically skyrocket a student to the top of this list.  Unfortunately there is not; I would be handing it out right and left if that were the case!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But for all you anxious parents out there, here are some practical actions your students can take to take to improve the odds big time…&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Don’t just do homework…&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;study&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt; as well.  &lt;/strong&gt;Many students believe that doing the assignments for their classes is the end of the story.  But the students that really excel spend nearly as much time studying for their classes as they do completing the assignments.  Why?  Because GPA is the second most common factor in the decisions-making process at the colleges.  The boost that studying provides will be reflected in the GPA.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Encourage your student to participate in only a couple of activities, but do so in great depth.&lt;/strong&gt;  The top schools are impressed by serious involvement with an interest, (i.e. being the founder/leader of a group, or going “outside the box” with an activity by entering contests and pursuing other avenues such as research and internships) and not so much by a peripheral involvement in multiple activities.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Prep for all standardized tests.&lt;/strong&gt;  I have seen scores improve by 50-60 points after prepping.  This improvement can catapult your student into the league of top contenders.  Remember; standardized test scores are the first factor colleges consider to keep or eliminate an applicant for the next round.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Show a remarkable level of interest and enthusiasm for the chosen college(s).&lt;/strong&gt;  Most admissions representatives take note of the level of interest expressed by potential students by visits and contact with the school.  All things being equal between two students, the one who does this will probably win out over the one who doesn’t.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Okay – that’s it for today.  Hope these suggestions help a bit!  Please join me again next week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parents of 2011 seniors&lt;/strong&gt; - I still have space in my upcoming &lt;strong&gt;Application&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;ACTION! Workshops&lt;/strong&gt;.  We will cover how to optimize essays, interview skills, the Common Application and selective college applications in this 3-hour workshop.  I also work one-on-one with students.  Please see my website at&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;for more information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The College Concept/Holly O’Brien&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; is available with both one-on-one sessions and workshops to help your student with anything and everything concerning college applications; essays, resumes, interview skills, and application strategies for selective and highly selective schools. A few recent successful admissions include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, MIT, UT Austin (even students who were not in the top 8%!), TCU, Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania including Wharton School of Business, Georgia Tech, and many others.  There is probably no story she has not encountered, so she can help your student - no matter what the circumstance - present him– or herself in the most convincing way possible.  She can also help find the schools that are right for your student - with the best chance of admission - and looks forward to putting your student on the road to a very bright future.  &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3552734/How_a_Student_Gets_on_the_A_List_at_Top_Colleges</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:23:33 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Help Your Senior Get Those Applications Done!</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;img style="float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3555962/holly_pr_picturejpg" alt="" width="120" height="191" /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up to get my weekly blog directly into your e-mail on this page of BubbleLife. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me with any questions –&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day –&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://thinkexist.com/quotation/life-s_challenges_are_not_supposed_to_paralyze/199459.html"&gt;Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                &lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt; BERNICE REAGON, historian and musician&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;School has begun. For parents of seniors, this may be a time of confusion and feeling overwhelmed, uninformed, or simply like waving the white flag of surrender!  But don’t give up now, just when your student could really benefit from guidance.  The college application process has changed dramatically in the past decade; the lengthiness and complexity is vastly different from “the good old days”.  The reason; a huge increase in applicants, and many of them highly accomplished! These days, it is an amazing feat to be included in the top 8% restriction for automatic UT Austin admission.  What should a student be doing now to help ensure acceptance there, or at another of their “dream schools”?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pare down the list of colleges your student is applying to – seven or eight is plenty (and plenty of work as well!).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Organize – provide a file folder for each school your student is applying to.  Encourage your student to stay on top of documents required and/or sent to each school.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Get started on the essays – this is probably the most important factor in college admission after standardized test scores and GPA.  It can be a huge, time-consuming undertaking when multiple essays are involved. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Make requests early for recommendation letters to give the writers plenty of time. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Sign up for the last chance to take standardized tests, and have your student further prepare for the test to make sure there is improvement of scores.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I still have openings for my &lt;strong&gt;Application ACTION Workshops&lt;/strong&gt; on two upcoming Saturdays, &lt;strong&gt;September 25 and October 16, from 3-6 PM&lt;/strong&gt;.  We will work on essay topics, interview skills, the Common Application, and applying to selective schools.  These classes are available for online enrollment on my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; at the reasonable price of $185.  I also offer one-on-one sessions for more in-depth essay enhancement and application development.  I &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;guarantee&lt;/span&gt; improvement on any college application if your student works with me.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The College Concept/Holly O’Brien&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; is available with both one-on-one sessions and workshops to help your student with anything and everything concerning college applications; essays, resumes, interview skills, and application strategies for selective and highly selective schools. A few recent successful admissions include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, MIT, UT Austin (even students who were not in the top 8%!), TCU, Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania including Wharton School of Business, Georgia Tech, and many others.  There is probably no story she has not encountered, so she can help your student - no matter what the circumstance - present him– or herself in the most convincing way possible.  She can also help find the schools that are right for your student - with the best chance of admission - and looks forward to putting your student on the road to a very bright future.  &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3552071/Help_Your_Senior_Get_Those_Applications_Done</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:27:25 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Difference Between the SAT and the ACT</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the Day&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Accept challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                          General George Patton&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You probably know by now that SAT and ACT are more than verbs! If you have high school student, you have tossed the three-letter acronyms about for a while  and perhaps wondered how they differed from each other, and if your student should take only one or both.  Here is a comparison of the two tests;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The SAT measures reasoning while the ACT measures knowledge.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The SAT is mostly multiple choice while the ACT is all multiple choice.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The SAT penalizes you for guessing, but the ACT does not.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The SAT is two thirds critical reading and writing, and one third math.  The ACT is split four ways between English, math, science and reading.  There is also a writing assessment on the ACT that does not affect the composite score of the test.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The SAT has a perfect score of 2400, while the perfect ACT score is 36.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Average SAT Scores&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Critical reading: 502&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mathematics: 515&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Writing: 494&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The average ACT score is 21.1&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is a score comparison chart for the ACT vs. the SAT&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ACT    SAT&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;36        2400&lt;br /&gt;35        2340&lt;br /&gt;34        2260&lt;br /&gt;33        2190&lt;br /&gt;32        2130&lt;br /&gt;31        2040&lt;br /&gt;30        1980&lt;br /&gt;29        1920&lt;br /&gt;28        1860&lt;br /&gt;27        1820&lt;br /&gt;26        1760&lt;br /&gt;25        1700&lt;br /&gt;24        1650&lt;br /&gt;23        1590&lt;br /&gt;22        1530&lt;br /&gt;21        1500&lt;br /&gt;20        1410&lt;br /&gt;19        1350&lt;br /&gt;18        1290&lt;br /&gt;17        1210&lt;br /&gt;16        1140&lt;br /&gt;15        1060&lt;br /&gt;14        1000&lt;br /&gt;13          900&lt;br /&gt;12          780&lt;br /&gt;11          750&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My recommendation is to have students take both tests and send whichever score is higher on this chart to the colleges. For example, if your student got 2100 on the SAT but 34 on the ACT, send the ACT.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Concept/Holly O’Brien&lt;/strong&gt; is available with both one-on-one sessions and workshops to help your student with anything and everything concerning college applications; essays, resumes, interview skills, and application strategies for selective and highly selective schools. A few recent successful admissions include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, MIT, UT Austin (even students who were not in the top 8 – 10%!), TCU, Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania including Wharton School of Business, Georgia Tech, and many others.  There is probably no story I have not encountered, so I can help your student - no matter what the circumstance - present him– or herself in the most convincing way possible.  I can also help find the schools that are right for your student - with the best chance of admission - and look forward to putting your student on the road to a very bright future. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3550383/The_Difference_Between_the_SAT_and_the_ACT</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:35:22 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Why consider an educational consultant?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Parents of high school students; please join my blog on BubbleLife by signing up for my community on this page.  Get important information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email, and please forward this link to a friend who might be able to use it as well.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                    MARK TWAIN&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I love that quote.  That is probably one of the best descriptions of how so much learning occurs; we all have the scratches to confirm it! Often this is the most effective way of learning – it definitely stays with you for future reference.  But there are certain instances when navigating a learning curve can be an obstacle to reaching an objective, and college application time is one of them.  These days so many colleges have their pick and choose of an abundance of accomplished students, and we are proud of each and every one of them.  But because of this, college acceptance can be contingent on small details in the individual application, and quite often the essay becomes the deciding factor. As an educational consultant, a main component of my job is making sure the essays express what needs to be expressed, while showing the student in the most favorable light possible. After countless hours spent strategizing topics, reading and proofreading, and encouraging students to broaden or narrow the scope of the essays, I can offer, with utmost conviction, a guarantee for an improved essay when my red pen is laid down for the final time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am currently offering a special reduced hourly fee of $110 for rising seniors. During an individual session I can help develop essays, go over the Common Application, optimize the résumé, strategize letters of recommendation and supplemental submissions, sharpen interview skills, or look over the entire application and enhance where needed. When high school guidance counselors and college advisors have case loads of hundreds of students, and, in addition to that, many other non-college counseling responsibilities, your student may not get the personal attention that he or she deserves. The College Concept offers personal attention and individualized assistance with every aspect of the college admissions process.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;get expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes up to 75 outgoing e-mails from The College Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                                                   Only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Concept also offers:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Private sessions for essay enhancement and customized strategies&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:  &lt;/strong&gt;get in to your top pick colleges!&lt;strong&gt;       $125 per hour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                   &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;2011 senior special rate&lt;/span&gt;        $110 per hour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3-hour workshop                                         only $185 per student&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You may request your own workshop date if you have 3 or more students &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;or sign up for &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Current Workshop Dates&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;August 12, August 14, September 18, October 16          3 - 6 PM&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few potential topics we can cover in a workshop:&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt; take it from ordinary to extraordinary! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt; be a “must have” applicant for colleges&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Interview&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt; get savvy&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;with our insider tips&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Selective College Application&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;; &lt;/strong&gt;differentiate yourself!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept/Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;www/thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3550120/Why_consider_an_educational_consultant</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 3 Aug 2010 17:32:03 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The College Application Essay - What Works, What Doesn't</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information as well.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Website; www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the Day&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is no way of writing well and also of writing easily.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                         ANTHONY TROLLOPE&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I chose this quote to emphasize the purpose of my blog today.  The college application essay is possibly the most time consuming portion of the application, and it can be pivotal to the decision process.  In a highly competitive admissions situation, with SAT scores and GPA numbers being similar between a group of student applicants, the essay will become a deciding factor.  What is it that the colleges are looking for in this enigmatic essay requirement?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a couple of suggestions;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Make it personal – a story from a unique perspective with distinctive insights. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Brag a bit within the context of the story, i.e. “It was humbling to be chosen as the MVP from the many great players on the team.” Overt bragging does not reflect well on the writer.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;One option is to choose a topic that relates to the student’s possible major, such as the building of a robot as told by a potential engineering major.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Think of the essay as a literary work, not as an essay for English class.  Make the language vibrant and the images vivid.  It is not as much about the form, more about the personality (of course the language, grammar, and spelling must be excellent!)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Character has become an integral component in the current application climate; find a way to reflect integrity and a willingness to be an active participant in improvement of the campus/community in the essay.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If your rising senior is applying for college this fall, &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt; can help! Here are a few recent letters from parents:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Holly,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;We’ve been out of town with ABC this past week for 4 days, but wanted to let you know …he got in UT!  He found out Friday when we were in Austin!  He is only one of about 7 or 8 he knows about, &lt;strong&gt;non-top 10&lt;/strong&gt;, who got in.  ABC is so thrilled!  I can't thank you enough for your help - you saved his first essay after the English teacher pronounced it "ready to go"!  HA HA- that was a joke!  And you started with him from scratch on the second one...   I guess the optional 3rd essay did a good job of showing his true colors- burnt orange and white! I just wanted to close the loop with you - I really appreciate you taking ABC on at such a late date and when he was so up against a wall.  I have another student coming in to HS next year - I will know better than to wait on the English department this time around!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Thanks again,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;XYZ&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Holly,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The decisions are made......yeah! We hit the target!!!  We are so thrilled! Now we are busy with graduation parties, and so the fun begins. We love and appreciate you so much. Look forward to visiting with you soon!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Hugs,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;WXY&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are some great &lt;strong&gt;College Concept&lt;/strong&gt; options for rising 2011 seniors- Please pass this information on to anyone you know with a rising senior!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Parents; these classes or private sessions are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious. Please see my website at &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check, along with a choice of workshop dates, private sessions, or X-treme E-mail to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept/Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster Avenue, Suite 316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX  75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;One 3-hour workshop                       only $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Workshops dates&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;August 12, August 14, September 25, October 16          3 - 6 PM&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few of the topics we will cover in &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;each&lt;/span&gt; workshop:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay;&lt;/strong&gt; take it from ordinary to extraordinary! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application;&lt;/strong&gt; be a “must have” applicant for colleges&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Interview;&lt;/strong&gt; get savvy&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;with our insider tips&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;differentiate yourself!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Concept also offers:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Private sessions for essay enhancement and customized strategies&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;: &lt;/strong&gt;get in to your top pick colleges!&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;2011 senior special rate&lt;/span&gt;                               $110 per hour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-treme E-mail: &lt;/strong&gt;get expertise via e-mail exchange on your essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills and anything else you’ll need to accomplish an “x-traordinary” college application.  Up to 75 comprehensive outgoing e-mails per month.     &lt;strong&gt;                                              &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3559663/The_College_Application_Essay_-_What_Works_What_Doesnt</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:03:10 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How Your Student Can Be a Standout College Applicant</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                           ~Theodore Roosevelt&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now on to the topic.  As a bit of background info, the students who graduate high school these days are competing for a spot in college with the largest pool of college applicants in the history of the planet, as well as the most accomplished, competitive, and savvy.  A bit scary for us - loving parents who want the very best for our hardworking students!  So what can our students do to stand out, distinguish themselves, and get the attention of the admissions office at their dream college?  Here are a few of my suggestions;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Get started as early as possible.  Begin making plans and strategizing at the beginning of high school, not the end.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Encourage your student to pursue a “passion”, no matter how atypical it may seem to you.  If she loves to batik cloth, or he is an avid ornithologist, encourage the hobby.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Have your student to research the dream colleges in depth, so if and when there is an interview, your student can ask intelligent, specific questions of the interviewer.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are many more strategies that can help your student stand out in the crowd of applicants.  My goal at The College Concept is to formulate a strategy designed specifically with your student’s accomplishments, interests, and college choices in mind.  Those of you with high school students, please continue reading to find out what we offer, and where our students have recent acceptances.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with.  Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;1/2   YALE &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;2/2   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2   UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept offers a series of reasonably priced workshops to give your student a jump start on the college application process, &lt;strong&gt;now enrolling online.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is probably no story that I have not encountered; I can help your student present themselves in the best light possible in their application process.  I can also work with students individually on high school course selection, extracurricular planning, essays, the Common Application, college choice and admissions strategies.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Please contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get help online! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes up to 75 outgoing e-mails from The College Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                                                  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Workshop&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;New:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;  comprehensive workshop format &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;and dates – have a look!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, now is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, 3-hour workshop that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;One 3-hour workshop                        only $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Workshops dates&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;August 12  *  August 14  *  September 25  *  October 16&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3 - 6 PM&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; Here are a few of the topics we will cover in &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;each&lt;/span&gt; workshop:&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay;&lt;/strong&gt; take it from ordinary to extraordinary! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application;&lt;/strong&gt; be a “must have” applicant for colleges&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Interview;&lt;/strong&gt; get savvy&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;with our insider tips&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;differentiate yourself!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these workshops are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check along with the selected workshop date to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Private hourly or multiple hour packages available - please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Please email me with any questions at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3555951/How_Your_Student_Can_Be_a_Standout_College_Applicant</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:28:40 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How Important is the College Admissions Interview?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                CHINESE PROVERB&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tip of the day:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Just how important is the &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;interview&lt;/span&gt; to the college application process?&lt;/strong&gt;  Only 5 to 10 % of the overall decision…so is it actually all that important?  Picture this; a huge portion of the applicants at a particular selective university all have similar GPA’s and SAT scores (the first component of an application that is pinpointed by the admissions officers).  By the way, this is a very common scenario these days with such a bright and competitive applicant pool.  So, how does an admissions office make the difficult and lengthy process of elimination from many thousands of applicants to only a few thousands or even hundreds of students happen?  Yes, you are right.  It is the other aspects of the application process that become the determining factors; the interview becomes extremely important at that point.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have an amazing opportunity for any of you with a Class of 2011 senior. On July 31&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt;, from 3 – 6 PM, and for one time only, Paris Rutherford, an alumnus of both USC and Harvard University, and former interviewer for Harvard, will be part of The College Concept Application Action session.  He is the CEO of his own urban development company, and was the spokesperson chosen to represent that topic on CNN after the Katrina disaster. He will spend individual and group time with students on that day going over how to promote yourself to the interviewer, what to say and how to say it, and what to expect from the interviewer.  He is a fantastic instructor and amazingly knowledgeable.  Please don’t miss this chance to give your student the insider’s view of the college interview. You may sign up online at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;. Please pass this information on to anyone you know with a rising senior!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept offers a series of reasonably priced summer workshops to give your student a jump start on the college application process, &lt;strong&gt;now enrolling online.&lt;/strong&gt;  It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;1/2   YALE &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;2/2   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is probably no story that I have not encountered; I can help your student present themselves in the best light possible in their application process.  I can also work with students individually on high school course selection, extracurricular planning, essays, the Common Application, college choice and admissions strategies.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;You may contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;get expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes up to 75 outgoing e-mails from The College Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                                                           Only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20, August 14, and Sept. 25; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                                  $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You may email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3556772/How_Important_is_the_College_Admissions_Interview</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 5 Jul 2010 13:39:24 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How many schools should my rising senior apply to?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Parents of high school students; please join my blog on BubbleLife by signing up for my community.  Get important information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I do not try to dance better than anyone else.  I only try to dance better than myself.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                             MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Okay – we are in the throes of college application panic time, or at least nearly there.  Parents!  Word of advice…don’t let the little darlings wait until the last minute to get going on this.  It is a lengthier process than it seems, and you will lose your last nerve if you wait too long.  Remember, the senior year is already chock full of activities; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1. Parties&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2. Parties&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3. ummm…oh yes – More Parties.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Breaking news…it is doubtful that your dear senior will forego one of these to double check the punctuation on his/her personal statement essay.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tip of the day &lt;/strong&gt;– apply to more than one college, but don’t apply to more than 7 or 8.  The work load to do so is formidable, and your student can probably identify and remove one or two schools that are similar to others on the list, or can eliminate one or two after really contemplating the realities of living there for 4 years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My recommendation on assembling the list of schools to apply to is a bit different from most. I feel that most of the schools on the list should be the schools that are going to be more challenging to gain admission to, i.e. “reach” schools.  Reason; if your student already has a safety school and a “most likely could get in” school, why not aim higher with the other applications?  It is a numbers game with the more selective schools.  Chances are your student will get accepted to one of them if he or she is in the ballpark with SAT scores and GPA.  Then it comes down to having a great application.  &lt;strong&gt;Guess what!  That’s what I do!&lt;/strong&gt;  Please read the classes and other great options I currently have available to help your rising senior &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;rise to the top&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept offers a series of reasonably priced summer workshops to give your student a jump start on the college application process, &lt;strong&gt;now enrolling online.&lt;/strong&gt;  It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;1/2   YALE &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;2/2   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is probably no story that I have not encountered; I can help your student present themselves in the best light possible in their application process.  I can also work with students individually on high school course selection, extracurricular planning, essays, the Common Application, college choice and admissions strategies.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;G&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;et expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes up to 75 outgoing e-mails from The College Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                                                   Only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2011 Senior Special&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Private Sessions for customized strategies            &lt;span style="text-decoration: line-through;"&gt;$125&lt;/span&gt;    $110 per hour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                                  $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious. Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Feel free to email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3556873/How_many_schools_should_my_rising_senior_apply_to</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:09:22 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How Colleges Select Their Students</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may also be able to use the information?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the week&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;…so now, we will entrust to you the free inquiry of future generations.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                      &lt;strong&gt;Drew Faust, president of Harvard University,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                To the 2010 graduating class&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Isn’t that an exquisite and stirring farewell for a group of young people setting off to a new life? Hopefully you have noticed that my blog has been absent from BubbleLife these past few weeks.  Oh, what a wonderful time I have had!  My eldest son is now a proud member of the 2010 graduating class of Harvard University, and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the ceremony.  A beautiful and inspiring ceremony it was; giant crimson banners fluttering in the breeze. Christiane Amanpour, CNN international correspondent extraordinaire and the commencement speaker, touched and amazed us all with her phenomenal stories.  Meryl Streep was awarded an honorary doctorate, and Supreme Court retired judge David Souter challenged us with interpretations of constitutional law. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But here I am, back and ready to rock, with my College &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Application ACTION! Workshops&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; starting up soon. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, what mysterious formula is it that the colleges really use to determine which students will be admitted and those who will not? I have the straight scoop from the Dean of Freshman Admissions at Harvard;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. SAT scores &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. GPA &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. everything else included in the application.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BTW, because of this sequence, the application essay can often turn the tide on an admission decision, everything else being equal.  So…I don’t do SAT prep, but there are plenty of options out there, ranging from do-it-yourself books (for self-motivated students only!) to classes, to one-on-one services.  And as far as GPA goes, it is what it is.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;However, I deal with; #3. everything else included in the application!  Résumés, essays, supplemental material; every word on every page is important.  Remember; the current college applicant pool is the largest and most competitive in history.  When potentially 75% of the UT class is the top 8% of Texas students, you can bet things are a little crazy around the admissions offices these days.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Please forward my blog to a friend with a high school student!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You may email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt; offers a series of reasonably priced summer workshops to give your student a jump start on the college application process, &lt;strong&gt;now enrolling online.&lt;/strong&gt;  It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;1/2   YALE &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;2/2   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is probably no story that I have not encountered; I can help your student present themselves in the best light possible in their application process.  I can also work with students individually on high school course selection, extracurricular planning, essays, the Common Application, college choice and admissions strategies.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;You may contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Special one-on-one rates for 2011 seniors&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$110&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: line-through;"&gt;$125&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; per hour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;get expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes up to 75 outgoing e-mails from The College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                            Only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Résumé&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; &lt;span style="text-decoration: line-through;"&gt;July 10&lt;/span&gt;; 3-5 PM                            $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                                  $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You may email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3556913/How_Colleges_Select_Their_Students</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:26:36 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Some College Application Tips for Parents and Students</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Take a look at the bottom of my blog for the college application services I offer, and why not send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information as well?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Personal note;  excitement builds as I prepare to leave next week for Boston to see my son, Alex Doubet, graduate as a member of the 374&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; class of Harvard University!  I can’t wait!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://thinkexist.com/quotation/continuous_effort-not_strength_or_intelligence-is/161330.html"&gt;Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential&lt;/a&gt;.            &lt;/strong&gt;    &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;                                                                                                                                          &lt;/em&gt;WINSTON CHURCHILL&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Okay – parents of rising seniors; you are probably still feeling relaxed about your students approaching college application process.  Enjoy…this too shall pass!  The first half of the senior year becomes a marathon of essays, résumés, transcripts, and final SATs, not to mention the daily rush of normal school life.  This is true particularly with students who are applying to multiple schools, often the case in these competitive times.  Here are a few tips for you from both my professional and parental perspective.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Get an early start.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;  It seems like there is still plenty of time, but it becomes very taxing and worrisome as the deadlines draw near and there are still incomplete applications remaining.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Be active with your student in the application process.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;  Help organize, make suggestions, do a bit of research, whatever your student may need to smooth the busy time a bit.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The early bird, etc…&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;  The deadlines are absolutes, but try to get the applications in earlier; consider making November 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; your student’s personal deadline, and the deadline for early decision or action applications even earlier, perhaps October 1st.  The admissions officers are going to be more unhurried and careful reading your student’s application when there are only 20 on his/her desk as opposed to when there are 2,000. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ask for teacher recommendations early on – even now, before the school year is over.  &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;This task is not necessarily a requirement for teachers, and is very time consuming for them. I recommend that the requests be made;  &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                       a. to 2-3 teachers who know and &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;like&lt;/span&gt; your student!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                       b. with a nice hand-written card.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                       c. with an attitude of gratitude!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; The College Concept offers a series of reasonably priced summer workshops to give your student a jump start on the college application process, &lt;strong&gt;now enrolling online.&lt;/strong&gt;  It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;1/2   YALE &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;1/1 GEORGIA TECH&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is probably no story that I have not encountered; &lt;/strong&gt;I can help your student present themselves &lt;/strong&gt;in the best light possible in their application process.  I can also work with students individually on high school course selection, extracurricular planning, essays, the Common Application, college choice and admissions strategies.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;em&gt;You may contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;get expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes up to 75 outgoing e-mails from The College Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                                                           Only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Résumé&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM                            $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                                  $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You may email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3554141/Some_College_Application_Tips_for_Parents_and_Students</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 May 2010 18:30:05 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Class of 2010 grads; Acceptance Statistics</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Parents of high school students; please join my blog on BubbleLife by signing up for my community on this page.  Get important information on maximizing your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Action is the real measure of intelligence.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                                                                                   NAPOLEON HILL&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here’s an innovative and expedient way to get help with upcoming college applications;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;X-Treme E-mail service&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;get expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. Includes u&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;p to 75&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; outgoing e-mails from The College Concept per month. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                               only $200 per month&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                                                           &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;…Kids applying to college today face a perfect storm of admissions demographics. For the past decade the number of high school graduates has steadily risen; at the same time grants, loans and scholarships have made higher education accessible for more families. But the number of desks at the top-tier schools has stayed relatively flat, leaving more kids battling for the same coveted spots. The colliding trends were evident in admissions rate this spring: Yale turned down or waitlisted a record 92.5 percent of applicants; Stanford, an all-time high of 92.8 percent. And the applicant glut has only been aggravated by the popularity of the Common Application (now accepted be 391 schools, including Harvard and Princeton), which lets students apply to multiple schools using just one form. The percentage of kids applying to six or more schools has risen to over 25 percent, with an ambitious few submitting a carpal tunnel-inducing 20 apps or more.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;                                                                                                                                      -exerpted from &lt;strong&gt;Smartmoney Magazine&lt;/strong&gt;-&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Class of 2014 Admissions Statistics – Selective and Highly Selective Schools&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td width="12%"&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td width="88%"&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Harvard&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Harvard admitted record low &lt;strong&gt;6.9 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Harvard received 30,489 applications this year. 2,110 students were accepted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Duke &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Duke admitted &lt;strong&gt;15 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Duke received 26,770 applications this year, 3,972 students were accepted, 18% admitted last year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Yale &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yale admitted &lt;strong&gt;7.5 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yale received 25,869 applications this year.  1,940 students were accepted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Princeton&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Princeton admitted &lt;strong&gt;8.18 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Princeton received 26,247 applications and admitted 8.18 percent. 2,148 students were accepted. This is a drop from last year's admit rate of 9.94 percent, and 9.25 percent in 2008.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Stanford&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Stanford admitted &lt;strong&gt;7.18 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Stanford received 32,022 applications this year.  2,300 students were accepted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Vanderbilt&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Vanderbilt admitted &lt;strong&gt;16.3 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;21,817 students applied, 1,600 were admitted. There was a 2.3% drop in acceptance rate from last year’s class.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;UT Austin&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As of this year UT Austin automatically admits the top &lt;strong&gt;8 percent &lt;/strong&gt;of the graduating class, filling 75% of the available spaces.  There were over 31,000 applicants.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Universtiy of Virginia&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;UVA admitted &lt;strong&gt;30.7 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;UVA received 23,280 applications this year. 6,900 students were accepted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Penn&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Penn admitted &lt;strong&gt;14.2 percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Penn received 26,938 applications this year.  3,830 students were accepted.  The acceptance rate dropped 2.9% compared to last year’s acceptance rate of 17.1 percent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Brown&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Brown admitted &lt;strong&gt;9.3 Percent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Brown received 30,136 applications this year, compared to 24,988 applications last year.  2,804 students were accepted, or 9.3 percent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Parents of Class of 2011 seniors – consider getting a head start on your student’s college application process.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Résumé&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM                            $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                                  $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You may email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3567421/Class_of_2010_grads_Acceptance_Statistics</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 11 May 2010 17:36:29 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Summer suggestions for high school students</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 10px; float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3560031/holly.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="147" /&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Parents of high school students; please join my blog on BubbleLife by signing up for my community on this page.  Get important information on maximizing your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out my new X-Treme E-mail service at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;get my expertise and suggestions via e-mail exchange on course selection, essays, extracurriculars, supplemental submissions, résumé, interview skills, and anything else your student will need to accomplish an "x-traordinary" college application. The reasonable $200 monthly fee includes up to 75 comprehensive outgoing e-mails from The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Knowledge is, indeed, that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;                                                                                                                                                                           JOSEPH ADDISON&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to contact me!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;Holly O'Brien/The College Concept    214.369.8055    &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;    &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Tip of the Day:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The lawns are a tender green, the air is full of fragrance -- ahhh, the lazy days of summer are nearly here.  If you are the parent of a high school student, however, summer is a great opportunity to team up with your student and design a season that is truly unique and of great benefit to your student.  Some suggestions:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Create a personal reading list and have a goal to complete it. This list can include books as well as articles, research papers in a field of interest, enrichment magazines such as Discover and Smithsonian, old documents, etc.  With the extra time summer allows, encourage your student to really delve deeply into a topic of interest. Be sure and keep a record of books and other significant material read for future reference.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Organize a community service project.  Not only does this enhance your student’s view of the importance of giving back to the community, but it also provides organizational skills, leadership expertise, and a great sense of accomplishment.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Gain a new skill.  Some examples are EMT, teaching, lifeguarding, and working with animals. Many new skills require a training period, and this training can be a great addition to a college application, as well as to future employment possibilities. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Take an advanced level course that enables your student to augment an interest or complete a requirement.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Write a novel or a book of poetry.  Writing has become significant, and can be a key component to many college acceptances these days with so many students being deficient in this area. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Colleges these days are looking for leadership, initiative, creativity, and compassion. As a parent you have the experience and insight to guide your student into a fun AND meaningful summer.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Parents of Class of 2011 seniors – consider getting a head start on your student’s college application process.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Résumé&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM                            $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                    $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction regarding the application timeline, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send a check (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You may email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3563534/Summer_suggestions_for_high_school_students</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 4 May 2010 15:42:50 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Hush-Hush but Handy College Admissions Factoids, and more</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is my weekly goal to reveal important and useful information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies. Parents of high school students; please sign up for my community in BubbleLife on this page and get my blog directly into your e-mail. Please send this link to a friend who may be able to use the information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;On a personal note; excitement is building in my mind and heart as I prepare to attend my oldest son’s graduation from Harvard University!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the day – &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;                                                                                          WOODROW WILSON&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept offers a series of reasonably priced summer workshops to give your student a jump start on the college application process, &lt;strong&gt;now enrolling online.&lt;/strong&gt;  It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;1/2   YALE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;2/2   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I can also work with students individually on high school course selection, extracurricular planning, essays, the Common Application, college choice and admissions strategies.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;You may also contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Things are really starting to hum around the College Concept sphere of influence – all the soon-to-be-senior juniors are starting to ruminate about the leviathan task that lies ahead. In fact, these days applying to college is a whole different animal than it used to be; leaner, meaner and more competitive than ever.  The applicant pool is breathtaking! Kids these days are accomplished beyond anything we saw in the dark ages…oops, I mean when I was in high school. Let’s see…topic, topic, what’s the topic.  I know – a useful but quick blog (for all you portmanteau enthusiasts out there… a quog) I will call “Hush-Hush but Handy College Admissions Factoids”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As stated in last week’s blog; the essay can be the “make or break” component to an application. Take it very seriously.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Don’t let the cost of a school dissuade you from applying.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Financial aid is not as hard to get as one would imagine. The colleges need good students and understand that to get them enrolled, financial aid is often a necessity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As a flip side to the previous bullet; I have it from an &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;extremely&lt;/span&gt; reliable source that a full tuition student will be given a priority in the admissions process if they are anywhere close to the parameters acceptable to the school, i.e. money talks!  (Like we didn’t know that!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If your student has a desire to pursue something unusual in his/her studies, such as ancient Greek, this can be a big selling point to colleges, which often have trouble filling the less popular majors. This can be a good way to gain acceptance to a highly selective college.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It’s okay, in fact it’s a great idea, for parents to be involved in their students activities that culminate in the information submitted to colleges.  With the huge (largest ever) applicant pool these days, it is a College Concept recommendation!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If your student is as busy as most are these days, they need your help, despite what they may say. The application process is almost like a part-time job, and parents can help with planning, organization, and research.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college applications! I offer an intensive, but fun, series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Résumé&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM                            $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31; 3-6 PM. One session only                    $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to get a head start &lt;strong&gt;and&lt;/strong&gt; minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction surrounding the application timeline, often a difficult issue at college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; to enroll. You may also send checks (along with a list of class choices and dates) to;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3419 Westminster, #316&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dallas, TX 75205&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O'Brien/The College Concept&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3563152/Hush-Hush_but_Handy_College_Admissions_Factoids_and_more</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:00:34 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Importance of the College Application Essay</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3560031/holly.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="147" /&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Parents of high school students; please join my blog on BubbleLife by signing up for my community.  Get important information on all matters concerning your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email. And please send this link to a friend who might benefit as well!  Thanks!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I invite you to visit my website at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;or contact me at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Phone; 214.369.8055  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;E-mail; holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the Day&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                                                 ALBERT EINSTEIN&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Tip of the Day&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 10px; float: left;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1034/852164591_4f67f3fb2c.jpg" alt="college campus with students" width="169" height="133" /&gt;I have had many parents ask me which component is most important these days when it comes to the college application; the standardized test scores, the GPA, or the essay.  My answer is “YES”.  And my point is to emphasize that all components to the application process are extremely important, due to the sheer numbers of applicants, and definitely worth the student spending preparation time and effort on.  However, with so many accomplished students competing for spots at the most favored universities in the country, and with standardized test scores and GPA’s being comparable, often times the essay can be the pivotal factor in the acceptance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What are the admissions officers looking for in an essay?  Keep in mind that individual essay readers may read thousands of essays during the admissions process at the larger or highly selective schools.  So essays that become a deciding factor in a student’s successful admission are distinctive in some way; an exceptional imagination, an engaging story or a unique writing style.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Get registered now for my series of College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, summer is a great time to start working on the college application! Your student can complete the extensive application process before others even get started.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have a series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest.  Enroll online at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;. My camp sessions include;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Résumé&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM                   $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Essay&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; .&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14, 3-6 PM                  $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Common Application&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;how to&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7, 3-6 PM                    $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Interview&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;July 31, 3-6 PM. One session only                       $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Highly Selective College Application&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12, 3 - 6 PM                            $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information, and you can email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are just a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;2/2   YALE (one waitlisted…my fingers are crossed)&lt;br /&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;1/1   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;5/5   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2  UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2  UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here’s what two of my most recently accepted students have said;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;…I was accepted into TCU, Santa Clara, and Sewanee. I am going to attend Santa Clara University in California!! I am so excited about it!! Thanks so much for all your help with my application. I really appreciate it! I hope you are having a great year and I'll let you know how Santa Clara turns out!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;…It's so good to hear from you! I have been accepted to Alabama, Ole Miss, and College of Charleston, and wait listed at SMU. I haven't decided where I'll be attending next year, once I decide I will let you know! Thank you for all your much needed help and encouragement.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I also work privately with students.  There is probably no story that I haven't encountered, so I can help your student - no matter what the circumstance - present themselves in the most convincing way possible to their colleges of choice.  I can help find the schools that are right - where they have the best chance of admission, where they will prosper, where they will be on the road to a bright future.  If your student starts working with me early in his or her high school career, I can help them get the most of that experience while at the same time shaping their course of action to put them in the best possible position when it comes time to apply.   &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3568393/The_Importance_of_the_College_Application_Essay</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:24:16 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Timeline suggestions for current 11th grade students</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hello to parents of high school students.  It’s &lt;strong&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/strong&gt; of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;. Welcome to my blog on all matters concerning the college application process. Please join “my community” on this BubbleLife page to receive my informational weekly blog directly into your email.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the Day;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="right"&gt;ALLAN K. CHALMERS&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me at&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;These days many students apply to upwards of 7 colleges, particularly in the selective or highly selective range.  This becomes a huge job when coupled with the regular schoolwork of a senior in high school. Please take a look at my website, &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;., for five reasonably priced summer sessions that will get your student well on the road to completing that enormous, and oh-so-important, task. Enrollment for the sessions is limited, so please don’t wait too long to sign your student up!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Our recent successful college acceptances include: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;Harvard*Duke*Princeton*Yale*University of Texas&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;MIT*UPenn/Wharton School of Business*Georgia Tech*TCU&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;Vanderbilt&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 10px;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3562864/writing22.jpg" alt="" width="109" height="90" /&gt;Timeline Suggestions for current 11&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; grade students;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Spring of Junior Year&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Select senior year courses. Remember to continue challenging yourself academically. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Register for May/June SAT I and SAT II. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;If you plan to take the ACT exam, register for it.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Begin thinking about summer plans; consider visiting colleges over the summer or sooner. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Prepare for and take appropriate AP exams. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Make early “heads up” requests of teachers you would like to have write recommendation letters.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;July/August of Junior Year&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Identify 6–10 colleges that you would like to apply to; start applications/supplements/essays. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Common Application is available in August.  Get a jump start and begin working on it.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Set up your college applications filing system; keep track of all correspondence with colleges; note deadlines. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Visit colleges that interest you. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Consider taking a summer course. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Work – save money for college. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Complete your community service hours. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"&gt;September of Senior Year&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Maintain good study habits. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Take Advanced Placement courses and study. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Continue drafting any incomplete college essays. Review the essay with your counselor, English teacher and parents. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Take final SAT, SAT II and other required tests. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Prepare/ refine your resume. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Check your course schedule with your guidance counselor. Make sure you are taking all required courses. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Remember to request letters of recommendation as early as possible from teachers and guidance counselor.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Review your transcript.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Develop college application plans with your counselor/educational consultant. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Register for any additional SAT I, SAT II or TOEFL exams. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Look for scheduled visits of college representatives. Schedule is posted in and near the guidance department office. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Attend all guidance department-sponsored programs about college admissions. Be aware of your guidance department’s college application procedures. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;When a college rep comes that you want to talk to, sign up. Get a pass. Get permission from your teacher to leave class for the appointment, if necessary. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Plan campus visits and interviews, or take “virtual tours” and make appointments to have interviews locally. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Look for and attend college fairs. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Complete all guidance department information that facilitates your application process. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Submit requests for transcripts and counselor recommendations from your counselor at least three weeks before the application deadline. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;October of Senior Year&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Take SAT I or SAT II, if needed. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Continue preparing and finalizing college list. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Continue meeting college reps, visiting colleges (if possible) and interviewing. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;If applying Early Decision, prepare application, request all necessary documents. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Submit Early Decision transcripts requests to the registrar office by October at the latest. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Begin researching financial aid and scholarships. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;November of Senior Year&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Visit colleges. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Attend college rep visits. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;November 1st and November 15th are the deadline dates for some colleges’ Early Decision. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;November 1st is a priority deadline at state universities with Rolling Admissions. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Take SAT I or SAT II. You are running out of chances to take the tests. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Visit guidance department as needed. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Complete college applications and submit them to your counselor. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Keep copies of all forms and applications you complete. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Maintain grades and extracurricular activities. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Finalize college list and complete the application process. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3568012/Timeline_suggestions_for_current_11th_grade_students</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:45:32 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Secrets of SAT timing and more</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 10px; float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3560031/holly.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="147" /&gt;Hello to parents of high school students.  It’s &lt;strong&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/strong&gt; of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;. Welcome to my blog on all matters concerning the college application process. Please join my community on this BubbleLife page to receive my informational weekly blog directly into your email. And please send this link to other parents who might benefit from college application information for their student.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;April 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; was the day the colleges offer their acceptances, and the exciting success stories from my students are rolling in; Duke, UT Austin, Vanderbilt...my students worked diligently to gain acceptance, and I am glowing with pride!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the Day:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;     Nine-tenths of wisdom consists of being wise in time. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                                                                                                                &lt;span style="color: #0066cc;"&gt;Theodore Rosevelt&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I invite you to contact me at&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt; Parents of juniors&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;  Get a jump start on the time-consuming college application process this summer. I am offering five &lt;strong&gt;College Application ACTION!&lt;/strong&gt; Sessions, each one essential yet reasonably priced, that are now available for enrollment online at &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;www.shop.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Essay&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;; your student can launch a winning essay with an engaging topic, first sentence and paragraph.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Common Application&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;; present your student’s important accomplishments in the most advantageous way.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Résumé&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;; assemble a “get noticed” résumé to elicit the best recommendation letters and get the attention of the admissions department.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Interview&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;; get crucial interviews tips from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Highly Selective College Application&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;; find out how to stand out from the very competitive crowd at highly selective colleges.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can visit my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; as well for dates and times.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tip of the Day:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;When is the best time to take the SAT?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During the junior year, and after studying extensively for the test, the January or March SAT is the best time to take the initial test. This allows the student to recognize the areas that need more study and provides plenty of time to do so.  Then sign up for the 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt; SAT test in May or June after a good dose of preparation. (Personally I prefer May, as this leaves June open to take the SAT Subject test directly after the AP exams.)  Hopefully the student will hit their target score at this second SAT testing.  If a third test is still needed, this allows the fall of the senior year to take it again.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;An addendum to the tip of the day:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SAT scores are extremely important!  This is the first process the colleges utilize to accept or reject applicants.  Generally, if the student’s scores are not in the desired range of the college’s specifications, the student will not be considered as a serious applicant. Moral of the story…encourage your student to prep, prep, prep!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;College Spotlight&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 10px; float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3562601/amherst.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="100" /&gt;                                                      Amherst College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A beautiful campus, and always a top-ranked liberal arts college in the country.  There is no core program or distributional requirement for the students here; the only requirements are to select and fulfill the requirements of the selected major, and to take a freshman seminar. The close proximity of three other liberal arts colleges and a major state university offers a unique opportunity to cross-register in a broad range of fields.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Location: Amherst, MA&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Strongest programs: English, Psychology, Political Science, History, Economics&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SAT Range: V 660-760  M 660-750&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Undergraduate enrollment: 1,631&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Acceptance rate: 19%&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3568674/Secrets_of_SAT_timing_and_more</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 6 Apr 2010 16:04:58 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Importance of the College Application Essay, SAT dates</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 10px; float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3560031/holly.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="147" /&gt;Hello to everyone, in particular to parents of high school students!  It’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Welcome to my blog on the college application process.  Please join my community by signing up on this page of BubbleLife; get important information on maximizing your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quote of the day –&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nine tenths of education is encouragement.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;                                                                      Anatole France&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A Reminder;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today, March 30th, and tomorrow, March 31st, are the last days to sign up for the upcoming SAT test on May 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; without paying a late registration fee.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tip of the day –&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The essay portion of the college application can absolutely be the determining factor in acceptance.  It offers the applicant a chance to shine while communicating elements of his/her life, accomplishments, and experience that are not immediately obvious in other portions of the application. However, the essay must be interesting to an admissions officer who oftentimes will be reading thousands of essays; the topic, opening sentence, and style of the essay should be engaging from the get-go.  The College Concept is offering two three-hour summer sessions on writing successful essays, on July 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; and August 14&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, from 3-6 PM.  Please go to &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept&lt;/a&gt; for a full schedule of summer sessions and for enrollment information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;College Spotlight&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Harvey Mudd College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Known as a top ranked technical institution, this small college is unique in its commitment to a well-rounded education with knowledge in the humanities. In fact, graduates of Harvey Mudd have about one third of their course work in the humanities. Harvey Mudd College is part of the Claremont Colleges consortium, which is comprised of five distinctive and separate colleges that offer reciprocal opportunities for their students.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Location; Claremont, CA&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Strongest programs; engineering, math, physics, chemistry&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SAT range; V  670-740, M  720-790&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Undergraduate enrollment; 695&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;42% acceptance rate&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It is wonderful to hear success stories from the students I have worked with.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;2/2   YALE (one waitlisted…my fingers are crossed)&lt;br /&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;1/1   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;4/4   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my series of College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14; 3-6 PM                           $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, it’s time to begin preparations for the college application!  Summer is a great opportunity to do this, and I have an intensive series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest.  My other camp sessions include;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Résumé&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM                            $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7; 3-6 PM                             $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Date to be announced. One session only                    $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12; 3-6 PM                          $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information, and you can email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3562381/The_Importance_of_the_College_Application_Essay_SAT_dates</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:26:55 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Make the most of college campus visits and more</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px 8px; float: left;" src="http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/viewimage/key/3560031/holly.jpg" alt="" width="69" height="108" /&gt;Hi everyone – it’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  Parents of high school students; please join my blog on BubbleLife by signing up for my community.  Get important information on maximizing your student’s high school years and college application strategies sent directly into your email.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Quote of the day –&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;“&lt;a href="http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/it_is_not_enough_to_have_knowledge-one_must_also/261224.html"&gt;It is not enough to have knowledge, one must also apply it. It is not enough to have wishes, one must also accomplish.&lt;/a&gt;” &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Goethe&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Many of you are considering visiting colleges now.  Here are a couple suggestions on choosing colleges that suit your student’s needs, as well as what to do while you are on campus.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Have the confidence to aim high. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;“100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in”&lt;/em&gt;- Wayne Gretzky. With so many accomplished students these days, college acceptance is often based on submitting a great application. So encourage your student to “think big” when considering college choices, and then make sure to begin the application process early to give your student the best opportunity for acceptance success.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Find out about colleges that offer what your student wishes to pursue. &lt;/strong&gt; Golf course management? Equine studies? Blacksmithing?  With the wide variety of choices in majors these days, chances are, with a little research, your student can find a college that offers the desired major no matter how unique. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Try to make appointments with relevant people on campus.  &lt;/strong&gt;For example, the admissions representative for your area, the heads of the department in your student’s chosen field, the band leader, crew coach, or anyone else who might be an advocate for your student in chosen areas of interest. Research and contact these people ahead of time if possible.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Talk to the students on campus while visiting.  &lt;/strong&gt;This is a great way to get the culture of the college first hand.  Be sure to ask the students about their likes &lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;and&lt;/span&gt; dislikes regarding the college. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Find out how often college tours run, and if you have to sign up in advance. &lt;/strong&gt;You can do this online.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;To save time, get a map of the school.&lt;/strong&gt; You don't want to spend half your day trying to park or find the admissions office! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Remember - What is the #1 mistake high school students make on their college application? Not taking the application process seriously enough!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get registered now for my first in a series of College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Résumé&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn how to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments.&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM           $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, it’s time to start working on your college application!  Summer is a great time to do this, and I have an intensive series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest.  My other camp sessions include;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14, 3-6 PM   $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7, 3-6 PM     $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Date to be announced. One session only        $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12, 3 - 6 PM             $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information, and you can email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Your student’s future is important, and worth his or her very best effort.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There is probably no story that I haven't encountered, so I can help your student - no matter what the circumstance - present themselves in the most convincing way possible to their colleges of choice.  I can also help find the schools that are right - where they have the best chance of admission, where they will excel, where they will be on the road to a bright future.  If your student starts working with me early in his or her high school career, I can help them get the most of that experience while at the same time shaping their course of action to put them in the best possible position when it comes time to apply.   &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It is wonderful to hear results from the students I have worked with.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are a few:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1/1   HARVARD&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PRINCETON&lt;br /&gt;2/2   YALE (one waitlisted…my fingers are crossed)&lt;br /&gt;1/1   MIT&lt;br /&gt;1/1   DUKE&lt;br /&gt;1/1   PENN/WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS&lt;br /&gt;4/4   UT AUSTIN&lt;br /&gt;2/2   TCU&lt;br /&gt;1/1   GEORGIA TECH&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2/2 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And quotes from parents:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;…I wanted to let you know he got in UT!  He is only one of about 7 or 8 he knows about (non-top 10) who got in.  He is so thrilled! ...I can't thank you enough for your help - you saved his first essay after the English teacher pronounced it "ready to go"!  HA HA- that was a joke! I just wanted to close the loop with you - I really appreciate you taking ------ on at such a late date and when he was so up against a wall.  I have another son coming in to HS next year - I will know better than to wait on the English department this time around!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;…Thank you so much for all your help. My daughter would never have made it through the application process without you! …I am pleased to recommend your services!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3562533/Make_the_most_of_college_campus_visits_and_more</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Reasons for a College Application Resume</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi! It’s Holly O’Brien of &lt;strong&gt;The College Concept&lt;/strong&gt;.  If you have a student who will be applying to college this year or next, please join my BubbleLife Blog.  Be the first to know when I post tips, advice and summer camp information!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parents and High School Students&lt;/strong&gt; - many of you are as busy as little bees right now; preparing for spring break and the end of the school year, and lots of senior students are planning to buzz out of the comfy and familiar “hive” and into your new one in college! Congratulations to all the seniors I worked with this year who have already gotten their outstanding college acceptance news – you earned it!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;My tip of the day for high school students and parents&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Keep a comprehensive, purposeful, and up-to-date running list of activities, awards, interesting people met who may be relevant to the student’s career or college choice, and any remarkable efforts or events in the student’s life from freshman year forward.  Although it seems otherwise, when it is time to recall this information for college applications and essays it is very easy to forget all the details.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;From this list, I advocate assembling a well thought-out student résumé at college application time, whether or not the colleges request one.  It is a proactive and concise format for the student to communicate his/her accomplishments at a glance, and provides a very impressive method for making that significant initial contact with admissions officers.  It is also a great way to provide counselors, teachers and others who may write a recommendation letter to have all the pertinent details on the student in hand. Get information about my 2-hour summer résumé sessions below.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;College Spotlight&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img style="float: left;" src="https://www.finance.emory.edu/home/Procure%20and%20Pay/how_to_buy_in_the_marketplace/emory-university-medical-education-building-1.jpg" alt="Medical Administration" width="120" height="88" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Emory University &lt;/strong&gt;(&lt;a href="http://www.emory.edu/"&gt;www.emory.edu&lt;/a&gt;) &lt;strong&gt;– &lt;/strong&gt;great location in a suburb of&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;Atlanta, Georgia&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Strongest programs;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Business, psychology, natural sciences, political science&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SAT range V 640-720, M 660-740&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ACT range 29 – 33&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Undergraduate enrollment; 5,630&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;42% acceptance rate&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055 &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Get registered now for my first in a series of College Application ACTION! Camps&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;The Résumé&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; – get that “wow” factor that will set yours apart.&lt;/em&gt; AP classes, extracurriculars, standardized test scores – your résumé is your opportunity to shine.  Learn the best way to assemble a “short list” of your significant accomplishments that will get you noticed.&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered June 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; &amp; July 10; 3-5 PM           $135 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a student who will be applying to college this year, it’s time to start working on your college application!  Summer is a great time to do this, and I have an intensive series of 2-3 hour camps that will give your student a head start and set him/her apart from the rest.  My other camp sessions include;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Essay&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;em&gt;take it from ordinary to extraordinary&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 20 &amp; August 14, 3-6 PM   $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Common Application&lt;/strong&gt; – how to &lt;em&gt;present&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;your accomplishments so that you are a “must have” applicant for colleges. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 21 &amp; August 7, 3-6 PM     $185 per session &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Interview; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;what to expect, what to talk about. Participate in mock interviews and get tips you can use for &lt;strong&gt;any&lt;/strong&gt; college interview from a former Harvard interviewer.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Date to be announced. One session only        $185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Highly Selective College Application; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to differentiate yourself&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offered July 14 &amp; August 12, 3 - 6 PM             $185 per session&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;Class size is limited - register ASAP. Convenient Park Cities location.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Parents; these classes are a great way to minimize stress by reducing the amount of parent/student interaction, often a difficult issue surrounding college application time when everyone is somewhat anxious.) Please see my website at &lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information, and you can email me at &lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holly O’Brien&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:holly@thecollegeconcept.com"&gt;holly@thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thecollegeconcept.com/"&gt;www.thecollegeconcept.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;214.369.8055&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://parkcities.bubblelife.com/community/collegeconcept/library/358844/key/3560053/Reasons_for_a_College_Application_Resume</link>
      <pubDate>Fri, 5 Mar 2010 19:31:04 GMT</pubDate>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>