Higher Standard

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Lynn Hamilton and Wendy Mokler from Hamilton & Associates Educational Consultants. They are a wonderful resource for educational advising in the Santa Barbara community. Lynn is a certified educational planner with over 25 years experience in teaching and advising. Wendy has been a professional educator for more than 30 years and has a wealth of knowledge concerning college and university entrance requirements. If you are searching for the right school or would like personalized college counseling, definitely check out their website.

Here are a few good links for college scholarships for Santa Barbara Students:

http://www.sbfoundation.org/page30233.cfm

http://oedb.org/scholarship/california

http://www.sbscholarship.org/index.html

With the current economic situation, financial aid demands have reached new highs in Santa Barbara and throughout California. Applications are on the rise, while donor funding has decreased. According to this article, the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara will be giving less money this year. However, many programs, including those run by the federal government, maintain that funding will not be compromised by the credit crunch. This weekend, I will put a list of financial aid resources together for you. Check back for more details.

Higher Standard Education will be offering a FREE diagnostic practice SAT test on Sunday, March 8th 2009 from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at the Santa Barbara Central Library.

We will be administering a real full-length SAT test and then send each student a detailed score report outlining strengths and weaknesses. This is open to all high school students whether you are registered for one of our programs or not. This is great practice whether you want a test run before the March 14th SAT or are starting to prepare for the May SAT. Space is limited so please call (805) 298-2094 or email me at tim@hstutoring.com to reserve a spot!

What: Free Practice SAT Test

When: March 8th 2009 (4:00pm to 8:00pm)

Where: Santa Barbara Central Library (Faulkner East Gallery)
40 E. Anapamu St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

What to bring: 2 Pencils, a calculator, and yourself

The number of applications for admissions to UC schools for Fall 2009 is up 2.9% from last year. A total of 98,002 applications were submitted this year for freshman enrollment. Officials also announced that due to expected cuts in state funding the UC Board of Regents plan on reducing enrollment of California freshman by 6%. For more, check out this article.

Here is a good response from Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal on what to write for your College Admissions Essays.

As many of you have probably already heard, The College Board will be introducing a new score reporting policy for the SAT. Beginning this March, students will have the option of choosing which scores from each section are sent to admission officials at the schools they choose to apply to. This policy called Score Choice has stirred up a bit of a debate. The College Board claims it will reduce the stress students have for the SAT. However, some see this as a way for the College Board to encourage students to attempt the test more times and pay the associated fees. Also, some colleges have decided to oppose the Score Choice option. For example, The University of Southern California has stated that they want to see all scores from the SAT and ACT. The New York Times covered the new policy in this article.

Please check with your college counselor to see how this policy might affect your application process.