College Admissions

Six Tips for College Bound High School Juniors

Junior year is an extremely important year for high school students. Critical decisions will have a major impact on a student’s next five years and long beyond. College admissions officers look very closely at what a student does in junior year, so here are six tips for college bound juniors: Prepare and Take Standardized Tests Do…

10 New Year Resolutions for High School Students

The New Year is a great time to make resolutions that will improve personal growth. If you’re a high school student looking at ways to make the transition to college easier, International College Counselors offers a few resolutions that can help. Commit to getting good grades. For the majority of students, good grades are entirely…

How to Handle a Deferral

Many students who apply to college Early Decision or Early Action find that they’ve been deferred. This means they’ve neither been accepted nor rejected – a sort of college purgatory. Typically, a deferral means the college wants to compare you with the full applicant pool because your application did not shine enough for them to…

College Admissions Advisors Answer Questions on “Rigor”

One of the most frequently asked questions advisors at International College Counselors hear is on “Rigor” and what do terms like “rigorous course load” mean and how rigorous should a student’s schedule be? We’ve listed some questions below with the answers. 1. How Do Admission Officials Weigh High School Rigor? Comparisons are made when evaluating…

Tips for Getting a Good Letter of Recommendation

One of the most important parts of your college applications isn’t even written by you, and that’s the Letter of Recommendation. Most private colleges want one counselor and one or two teacher recommendations. Here are some tips for securing good letters of recommendation: Choose your recommenders wisely. When it comes to choosing whom to ask,…