Jessie's Blog
Can We Afford College? How Much Does it Cost, Anyhow? — Meet Bertha, The Financial Elephant In the Room
College aid formulas expect parents to contribute up to 47% of their after-tax income to pay for college each year. —Troy Onink SOURCE: Forbes
Last week an email came across the IECA Talklist regarding a high-achieving student who was graduating from a private high school but who couldn’t afford to attend any of the schools to which he had been accepted. He had had a significant financial aid package at his secondary school.
While we talklist folks don't know the specifics of this case, we kn…
UMass Ups Merit$ to Out-of-Staters
Photo Credit: Boston Globe, May 29, 2016Read the full article
TALKING TO YOURSELF, AGAIN? — Everyone does it, but is what you are telling yourself taking you where you want to go?
What’s that tune you can’t stop singing to yourself? We’ve all got one; in fact, I feel pretty safe in saying we’ve all got more than one. We’ve got a whole chorus of tiny voices demanding our attention, but here’s the thing: Some of our internal voices empower us, reinforce our authentic selves, and feed the greater good. Too often, though, they are the roadblocks that spring from our deepest fears about ourselves. And, they are remarkably good at keeping us stuck, especially when we don’t even…
Branding, Higher Ed, and the Right Fit
Years ago, during a shopping excursion at the Tannersville Outlet Center in eastern Pennsylvania, I wandered into the Cole Haan store. I browsed the offerings a few times but found I kept returning to a pair of strappy dress sandals. Summer is nearly here, I told myself. And just look at the lovely box complete with scripted Cole Haan on the outside!
I gave in and tried them on. The straps were toward the front of the shoe, and while the heel was just the right height, those straps felt a litt…
These Schools said, "Yes!" to Elevated Admissions Students
American University
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Bucknell University
Calvin College
Caldwell University
Cal Tech
Carnegie Mellon University
Catholic University
Clemson University
Calhoun Honors College at Clemson University
Chapman University
Dartmouth University
Elon University
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Pierce College
Gettysburg College
Georgetown University
Gordon College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Immaculata University
Ithaca Col…
Success Stories — Chester, College of Engineering at Montana State
You had better like mountains and snow at Montana State!
#trexselfie Mom's hair at least made the pic."Jessie and her team at CompassU have been invaluable in our college selection endeavors. Chester received many generous merit scholarships offers, and we are very excited that our son will attend the College of Engineering at Montana State University.
From the beginning, Jessie, using her depth of knowledge, was very helpful setting up our list of potential schools and the goals we needed to ac…
Links Worth Sharing — What Advice do Admissions Officers Give Their Own Kids?
This article appeared int the NY Times last month. Are you curious about the advice admissions officers give their own kids? I know I am, and often ask when I meet with admissions officers and IEC colleagues. The article interviews officers from Kenyon College, Penn State University, Vanderbilt University, UCLA, UNC, Chapel Hill, Allegheny College, MIT, GA Tech and University of Richmond. Good Stuff. 
Diane Anci and son, Kenyon College. Source: NY Times A Link for You — Advice College Admissions…