College Fair Alert! Colleges That Change Lives

By CIT Consultant Susan Whalen College Fairs & Information Sessions Colleges That Change Lives is several things at once: A bestselling college admissions book by Lauren Pope, now in its fourth edition; a related nonprofit 501C organization that provides research-driven data on student satisfaction and the college experience; and, at its heart, a consortium of…

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Congratulations to Jia Rydholm, American University Class of 2027!

CIT congratulates Jia Rydholm on her acceptance into American University’s Class of 2027! American is the home of the Women & Politics Institute, two topics about which Jia cares deeply. She has been accepted into the selective Politics, Policy, and Law Scholars Program, a rigorous, multidisciplinary three-year program. Within the PPL program, she will major…

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The College Search x 4: Meet the Fallenstein Family!

College Inside Track values developing relationships with the families we work with. This is especially true for consultants who work closely with students and parents. So when CIT founder and consultant, Jay Benanav, received this Christmas card from a family, we couldn’t help but share their story. Julie Fallenstein knows a little about the stress…

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FAFSA changes

FAFSA changes passed by Congress

  The COVID relief bill passed at the end of 2020 also included some significant changes to the FAFSA. The changes go into effect for the 2024-25 school year. The FAFSA for that school year opens on October 1, 2023 and will use tax information from 2022. And because the FAFSA is completed each year…

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Congratulations to Ivy Mills, Northwestern University Class of 2027!

Congratulations to Ivy Mills, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism’s class of 2027! Ivy is a soccer-playing future journalist whose smile and personality light up a room and zoom call. Ivy’s terrific personality and thoughtful way of looking at things made working with her a terrific experience. She’s also very dedicated, as one of her…

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What’s in a Name? Names and College Documents

This article is written by Heather McCowen, Ph.D., CIT Consultant. There are many reasons why students may not have all their naming ducks in a row. While working in both public schools and in independent consulting, I’ve encountered countless situations in which the sort of name issues have arisen that can cause the college admissions…

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Highly Selective College Deferring and Suggesting EDII? Here’s What to Know

Deferred at your highly selective school, with an option to choose Early Decision II?  Here’s what you need to know. Numbers of applications submitted to Highly/Most Selective Colleges continues its strong upward trend during the currect application cycle.  Admissions officers have speculated a number of reasons for this much higher rate of applications.   Online learning…

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Deferred: What to Know and What to Do Next

1.5 MIN VIDEO: “Why Was I Deferred, and What Do I Do About It?”   Deferred: What to Know and What to Do Next This is the season for colleges to release Early Action/Early Decision/Restrictive or Single-Choice Early Action decisions. We know that this is both an exciting and nerve-wracking time. Year over year, the…

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