In the world of college admissions, if you can’t be rich, famous, athletically outstanding, a veteran, or academically perfect, you might still get admissions preference for being average. How? By being local. This week, we show you how this works.

How in the world are all these people affording to send their kids to college out of state? Many people don’t know that we can qualify for cheaper tuition in a different state. While a student from California might pay $14,100 per year for in-state tuition at a UC, they can qualify for $11k per year tuition at the University of Hawaii or $7k per year tuition at Montana State University. If you want your student to get out there and explore during college without breaking the bank, read this.

While on the phone with an admissions officer this week, I heard her say, “Ugh, the Common App is so clunky and so hard to use.” This is especially true for the Activities section, where applicants brag about their extracurriculars. While students tend to have no problem accurately completing the position description and organization name, say “Varsity Team Captain” as the position description and “Main High School Swim Team” as the organization name, almost always they mess up the 150-character description section. Is your student making this mistake?

We often think that college is for those students with high GPAs, who care about report cards and transcripts, and who can somehow never get tricked by multiple choice tests. But does that mean curious young folks who love learning and hate obsessing over grades, tests, and lectures have no place in college? The answer is no. Here’s one option for those students.

For all the talk about the “back door” or “side door” to college admissions that involve bribery and other illegal acts, many students don’t know about one that is actually legal and possibly fun. This one was tailor-made for seniors with lower GPA’s who wouldn’t qualify for admission — and who are ready for a bigger adventure.

Your teenager stays up ’til 1 a.m. finishing homework, turns in assignments late, and hardly has time to eat. You suggest joining clubs, getting a job, or adding more activities to their schedule. When college applications are left until the last minute, we assume it’s those darned time management skills — or lack thereof — to blame. But what if time management simply isn’t the problem? A new idea proposes energy management as the key to high performance and success. Here’s how college applicants can manage their energy — not time — for personal happiness.

I’ve seen a lot of online resources floating around on how to write college essays. From outlines to brainstorming journals to YouTube video tips to $85k hotel lobby bootcamps, the options for college essay writing prep are boundless. But among these endless options is one that I find simple and approachable (and you’ll address what admissions officers look for). It’s called the three-part college essay. The three-part college essay involves — yup, you guessed it — three parts. We can do anything when it’s only three little parts, right? Read details of the simple three-part college essay.