Akil admissions

Do You Need a Private College Counselor? I Asked the Pros

Several times in the past month I’ve gotten the same question “should I hire an independent college counselor?” I’ve been asked about it by super wealthy families and middle income families (poor families tend not to ask about purchasing luxury goods). Since this has come up so much I figured it was time to stop replying in private spaces accessible to only a few.

Before I answer, let me define what we’re talking about. IECs. Independent college counselors. Private college counselors. Sometimes called college consultants, college coaches, even educational consultants sometimes. Basically, it’s folks you pay to help you figure out your kids educational pathway. You might remember the Operation Varsity Blues scammer Rick Singer. 

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Akil admissions

AI Cheating: The SAT-ACT Em dash Controversy

The newest “AI” boogeyman is the em dash. Apparently, the large language models (LLMs) have a tendency to use em dashes. This tendency, like the use of particular vocabulary words, is being used to identify AI writing. And of course, in our modern nuance-free age, the use of AI is framed by AI-haters as cheating and by AI-lovers as appropriate use of technology.

But what if I told you that the same high school and college kids being accused of cheating because they use em dashes had been forced to learn that punctuation mark and encouraged to use that punctuation mark by ACT and College Board. Let’s delve into it!

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Akil admissions

The Myths of GPA in College Admissions Explained

In the last few weeks, I attended and presented at both the NJ and NY Association of College Admission Counseling conferences where I spoke to lots of colleagues and friends about the admissions process. One consistent theme that emerged is that while the inputs from students are similar (classes, grades, sometimes APs and scores, sometimes essays and recommendations), the way colleges consider them is vastly different. Understanding this might be one of the biggest misunderstandings in the national conversation about admissions. We’ve all seen the stories of the student with the seemingly high GPA getting rejected from multiple schools. We’ve probably even clicked the clickbait and empathized with that student. The problem is that this narrative is just wrong.

There is no such thing as “a GPA.”

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Akil admissions, Admissions Tests, college admissions

Should You Take the SAT/ACT in 2025?

Slide the handle to see the second image.

Four years ago, I first answered this question, but since 2021 might as well be the Age of the Pharaohs an update is due. This question still looms large and seems particularly confusing given that more than 85% of colleges remain test optional but news outlets obsessed with certain highly rejective colleges, test prep companies with revenue goals, economists at Dartmouth trying to justify their president’s wishes, and far too many educational consultants keep screaming that “testing is coming back.” So let me step once more into the void and venture to give some guidance on whether (and when) to prepare for and take the SAT or ACT.

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Akil admissions

It’s So Hard (to get into college)!

Not long ago, a friend asked me, “Was it hard for your son to get into college?” This question took me aback. My answer: “No. He applied, we waited, colleges answered. Some said yes. Some said no. There was nothing hard about it.”

I’ve never thought that “hard” was the right word for the college application/admissions process. Laying asphalt in the hot summer sun is hard. So is teaching 35 rambunctious 12-year-olds for 6 hours. And running a marathon. Waiting for a politely worded yes or no? Not hard.

That might sound flippant, so let’s dig in a bit deeper.

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Akil admissions, college admissions, education

What is a good college?

We need to have a serious discussion about what we call a “good college.” Having recently gone through the college application process with my oldest child—and now starting it again with my youngest—I’ve been thinking a lot about choosing a college and what makes a good college. We need to reconsider the better define what and who gets to define a best, top, good, or (god-forbid) elite colleges. Who can we trust to tell us which colleges are best? How should a family define what makes a college “best”? Is it the educational experience, rankings, social life, brand/reputation, cost, or something else entirely?

Let’s explore this …

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Akil admissions

First Black Graduate

Since about 2022, as the SFFA case was gaining steam, I decided to take a look at the when colleges that considered legacy status in admissions graduated their first black student. I started the project to attempt to quantify the disadvantage that considering legacy in admissions has given black families. Admitting only white families for 75 years before admitting the first black families means at least 3 generations have benefited from the economic boost of going to college before a black family has a chance.

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Akil admissions

College Sports and College Search

So your kid is great at a sport and wants to play at the next level. Great. That’s awesome! We all want our children to do what they love for as long as they can. Supporting them is the role of the parent and extends beyond all the miles we put on our cars driving to stuff and the money we spend signing them up for stuff. Since the Operation Varsity Blues scandal, I’ve learned more about the interaction of sports and college admission. This blog (and others) should help give you some guidance about navigating that interaction. I’ve also only really paid attention to basketball, so this is focused on that. Other big sports, like football and volleyball, probably have similar patterns and ideas though different specifics. Smaller sports I’m much less sure about, so as you read this, think of it as a rough guide and list of resources not the gospel or unassailable truth.

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Akil college admissions, media

HBCU vs HRC: The value of culture

This past week I was talking to a family about college admission and we had a brief venture into the never-ending PWI (predominantly white institution) vs HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) debate. I wanted to bring a few thoughts (really one particular comparison point) about that to the blog . . . so here we are. Let’s go . . .

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Akil admissions, Admissions Tests, college admissions

The P in PSAT doesn’t stand for practice

Recently almost 4 million students around the country received their scores back from the PSAT. I have a child in 11th grade and I tutor the SAT (which is the same as the PSAT for all intensive purposes ) and other bubble tests, so I talk to students and parents almost daily about testing and what it means. So I’ve been talking to a lot of parents in the past few weeks about the PSAT. Thus this blog. . .

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