College Planning

The English Tutor’s unique college planning program is designed to assist students through the college admissions process through an individualized approach that helps students maximize their potential beyond high school. Families can reduce the stress of the college admissions process by choosing a comprehensive package or they can opt for help with one or more individual parts of the process. College planning services include:

• College Lists
• Applications
• Scholarships and Financial Aid
• Essays
• College Visits
• PSEO (Post-Secondary Enrollment Option)
• College Transfers

Frequently asked college planning questions.

“SHE’S “IN”!!! She found out on Saturday that she has been accepted to her top choice! She is pretty excited and we are too! I think keeping her on track with the early application was “key,” she has been excepted to EVERY school she has applied to! — Parent

“If it weren’t for Kristin’s commitment to our daughter’s progress, her observational skills, and her ability to report clearly and specifically to us as parents, our daughter would be attending a completely different college. As it is, our daughter is thrilled to be attending her first choice.” – Parent

The College List

The single most important part of the college planning process is identifying colleges that will be a good fit for the student academically, socially, and financially. At The English Tutor, our students consider nearly 100 aspects of college life ranging from size and location to academic environment and campus culture to help them identify what is most important when choosing colleges. We recommend a list of colleges that is highly individualized to meet the needs of each client—and we modify each list as needed knowing that identifying good fit colleges is a dynamic, evolving process. Kristin will typically recommend 15-20 colleges at the beginning of the process, with a goal of helping students narrow the list to a final 6-8 schools to which they will apply.

If a student already has a number of schools they are planning on applying to, Kristin can review the list with the family and recommend additional schools as needed. Because Kristin has visited college campuses from Boston to California and everywhere in between, she has first-hand knowledge of campus cultures, student bodies, campus layouts and architecture, and general insight into “the college feel” that can only be achieved through personal visits.

Applications

Achieve success as you learn how to best represent your grades, activities, and accomplishments to maximize the success of your candidacy. Kristin will guide you in creating an Activities Resume with an analysis of activities and suggestions for adding depth and leadership in areas of interest. We assist you in managing the application timeline with consistent check-ins throughout the process to make sure you are on track with all of your college application milestones. Kristin serves as a resource guide to answering tough questions about how the application process works, and what to include in applications, as well as being the point person for making sure the student stays on top of deadlines. 

Scholarships and Financial Aid

A college education is often the first or second largest investment that most people will make during their lifetime. With college costs skyrocketing, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the cost of colleges as well as how to choose schools that are aligned with your financial goals. Kristin will help you determine what your Estimated Family Contribution is, understand how to calculate the Net Price of all colleges on your list, and review and analyze all financial aid awards in an effort to make a true comparison of costs among all colleges on your list.

Kristin builds college lists that are highly sensitive to the financial considerations of each family. We are able to recommend colleges that will be affordable as well as a good fit academically & socially. We help parents and students be informed and intentional about college choices at the beginning of their college search to secure college options that match the financial goals of students in the future.

Essays

Getting into college is becoming increasingly harder, especially into a selective one. A worthy investment in the college application process is working with a tutor who has experience with college essays and knows the elements that admission officers are looking for in top-notch essays. Learn more.

College Visits

Kristin will work with parents and students on planning college visits, understanding how to maximize time on campus, and educating families on how college visits fit into the chance for college acceptance. Most families have limited time and resources to visit more than a handful of colleges and Kristin can help you identify which colleges on your list are the most important ones to visit. Not sure if you need to take the tour and sit through the info session? Kristin will be a sounding board for all of your college visit questions.

PSEO

In Minnesota, we are fortunate to have the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option available to high school students. Through this government-funded program, high school students can enroll in and complete college courses for FREE during high school. However, the process of applying for PSEO enrollment, course selection and completion, and understanding how these credits transfer can be overwhelming. Kristin is an expert in PSEO enrollment and transfer credits at various MN colleges and universities. With most college credits costing upwards of $1500 each, having your child take even ONE of these free courses can save you nearly $5000. Kristin can help you maximize free college credits during high school with some students starting college with nearly TWO years of college credits completed at no cost.  

College Transfers

Kristin has had the chance to work with many college students through the process of transferring from one college to another. While this process is similar to the high school college admissions process, many college students bring a sense of failure or frustration at their first experience in college. Kristin has a unique ability to help students understand the challenges they faced as the students look forward to their next educational endeavors. She facilitates a new college search that will bring a fresh perspective on colleges where the student will thrive and aids in the application and credit transfer process.

“I was just accepted to Northeastern University! I just wanted to thank you so much for all of your help and dedication toward my successful college search.” — Student