Wish that preparing for the SAT or ACT didn't require costly books and programs? Here are a few free options online: 

• MajorTests.com, which doesn't require sign-up (no usernames and passwords to remember!), features hundreds of practice questions and answer explanations. You won't be able to take a full-length test on the website, but you'll be able to perfect your strategy. Check out the especially helpful vocabulary lists which are downloadable.
• Test prep publishers also have some free online options. Peterson's offers full-length, timed practice tests, while Princeton Review sends out a "detailed score report analyzing your strengths and weaknesses" after you complete their online demo.
• Number2.com is a free test prep haven with a vocabulary builder, personal progress reports, and tutorials adjustable by skill level.

If you're singing the thin envelope blues, it might be time to change your tune. A rejection letter isn't always the end of the road. For students who play their transfer cards right, what seems like an absolute NO can be turned into a not right now. But if you want to trade up and attend a better college later, then you are going to have to step it up for the next few years.

Lately, the New York Times has been chock full of great college admissions advice so let me share yet another must read article that gives you great strategies for getting a second shot at your dream school:  

Make sure future transfer is an option. At some elite colleges like Harvard, Princeton and Stanford, students admitted as freshmen typically don't leave the school, so there are very few openings for transfers to fill their seats.  Check into the transfer opportunities at the colleges that you are considering and make sure that your goals are realistic. Transfer admissions, just like freshmen college admissions, can be super competitive. Think of it like the Olympic tryouts: if you didn’t make the team in 2009, you need to continue to train and perform better the next time around. You need a stellar GPA and relevant courses in order to successfully transfer. Hint: Bowling 101 might not be your ticket to your dream college.

Colleges often hope their transfer students will bring diversity, maturity and experience to their campus culture. As you are deciding how you are going to build a competitive transfer application for admission, keep in mind that you are more than a great GPA and course transcript. Colleges will want you for your work and character inside and outside of the classroom. Chances are your dream college has enrolled students who know how to party and maintain a good GPA. As a transfer candidate, you need to show that you are going to bring qualities that the college values to the table.

If you want to jumpstart your transfer plan, check out http://www.collegetransfer.net for awesome tools that will help you determine if your dream college is transfer-friendly and how to choose courses that will be a good fit for transfer credit.
 

My advice: There are many paths to success in all facets of life. The key to finding the right path is a commitment to personal progress and defined goals. If you thought that an acceptance or rejection letter was a final verdict, you are delightfully mistaken. You will succeed with either if you are determined to set and achieve your goals.

Try to think of the whole admissions process as a strategy game. Your goal is to get into your dream college. The college's goal is fill every seat in their incoming class with top players, the ones that will help meet their season objectives. They may want students with particular expertise (writing, music, science, etc.) or students who come from unique backgrounds (ethnic or regional diversity). Those accepted in the first round are the college's “draft picks” and are, presumably, the applicants with the strongest applications overall. 

What the colleges don’t know, however, is which draft picks will choose to play on their team. The colleges need to fill each place on their roster but they cannot “overbook” by accepting too many students. Because they can't be entirely sure how many will enroll, they build a wait list. To sum it up, you are on the waitlist as a backup, if a position becomes available.

So, how do you get off the waitlist and get a position on the team? Forbes' writer Emily Schmitt gives this advice: “Emphasize your accomplishments and your interest. Be persistent, not annoying.”

• Show the colleges that you really want a spot in their classes. Remember, the reason that they have a waitlist is because they are nervous about filling all their spots. Look carefully at the waitlist instructions that they sent and then review your college application. Did you leave out anything that would have demonstrated unique strengths or qualities that are not typical of average high school students? Mike Moyer, college admissions expert, describes an extraordinary accomplishment as a “non-teenage activity” meaning something above, beyond or different than normal high school stuff like athletics and student government.

• After you have reviewed your application, call an admissions officer and ask what your application lacked. Consider their feedback carefully and don’t beg or harass them. They may ask you if anything has changed since you first applied. If so, have your strength list ready with new (and better) grades since your application was submitted, new awards and any (previously unsung) “non-teenage activities” that make you stand out as a strong applicant.

• If the phone conversation goes well, offer to send a letter with a list of new developments. Ask if you should send or email it to them directly.

• Finally, ask if you could have a short appointment to meet with them after they have reviewed the letter.

For more tips on how to win the waitlist game, check out  Kathleen Kingsbury’s advice from college admission departments, high school guidance counselors and college planning coaches.

For many high school seniors and their families around this time of year, spring fever feels a lot more like "admissions fever". If your big college decision is causing night sweats, chills, and anxiety, then consider the following tips:

• What counts most is not where you go to school, but what you do when you get there, according to a recent article in Forbes. Students tend to seek out the “best” colleges (i.e. highest ranking, hardest to get in to) because that is where they think they are going to learn the most, have the most fun, make the best friends, have the most growth opportunities, etc. But do students who go to the best colleges always have the best college experiences? Let’s think about this for a second: does choosing the most expensive and most prestigious resort ensure that you will have the best vacation? Not if you stay in the room and watch cable- you could do that at a budget motel. At any school, there will be students who have more or less positive experiences and better or worse social lives. Some of your classmates will graduate happy and successful and others will not, but that’s mostly on them, not on the school.  
• Can you afford to commit to this college for over four years? This is a very important factor. Many good students never realize their dreams because they run out of money and give up. Make sure you choose a college where you can financially complete your education.
• How does this college work for your lifestyle? Kate Scozzaro recommends considering the weather, freshman parking, meal plans, places of worship, visitor policies and opportunities to pursue your favorite activites. In short, choose a college that matches the whole you- not just your inner student.
  
• Go where you can be you! Culture is so much more important than a ranking in the Princeton Review. You need to set up your own college ranking system. Does this college feel like the type of place where you could belong? Your future college will have a distinct culture similar to the way that cities tend to have their own cultures. Do you think that a New Yorker would feel at home in a Louisiana Bayou town? Maybe, but they better visit the swamps more than once to see if they could trade their taxis for fanboats! 

My advice: Keep your college choice a personal decision that is based upon who you are and what you want and need. There are a lot of uncontrollable factors like what your dream college costs and what your family can realistically afford. However, the most important factor is completely within your control: how you make the most of your time at the school you choose.

Image by Eszeter and used under a Creative Commons license.

Everyone says that college admissions is super competitive, but so is enrollment apparently. The tables have turned and the colleges are ready to turn on the charm to roll your acceptance letter into a real enrollment at their institution.  Just like you worried about your chances of getting in, your future college is worried about getting you to enroll after they accept you. The percentage of students who matriculate out of all of those accepted is a concept called “yield”, which factors into how colleges are scored in rankings.  (Institutions with higher yield are considered more desirable and therefore, are ranked higher.) Now it’s your turn to see which college, vying for your enrollment is the right fit for you.