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Personalized College Admissions List Evaluation

Is your college list balanced? Get a detailed, data-based college list evaluation from a college consultant & learn the 'why' so you can make corrections if needed! (Fee includes 2 hours of work by teacher outside class per student.)

Carissa Hoitenga, College Consultant & Mentor

Average rating:

5.0

Number of reviews:

(66)

What's included

2 live meetings

1 hrs 20 mins in-class hours

Homework

1-2 hours per week. IMPORTANT: Students must submit the requested information detailed in the description/Welcome Message/first class. This information MUST be sent to the teacher at least 4 days prior to the 2nd class. If all items are not sent by this deadline, the teacher cannot guarantee the student's personalized evaluation will be ready by the 2nd class. It is the student's responsibility to provide all requested items. If even one requested item is missing, I cannot provide an evaluation. Students should reserve up to two hours of time to enter the requested data. I take this seriously; students are expected to as well and thoroughly answer all items.

Class Experience

US Grade 11 - 12

Is this the first class you'd take with me? If so, message me for a $45 coupon!

First Outschool Course? Get $20 towards any Outschool class (even if it's not this one)! Enter this code when enrolling: CARISSAH20

COURSE INCLUDES 1 -2 HOURS OF WORK BY COLLEGE CONSULTANT OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME FOR EACH STUDENT.  CONSULTANT UTILIZES PERSONAL EXPERIENCE & MULTIPLE PROPRIETARY SYSTEMS TO EVAULATE COLLEGE LISTS.

*Students should have at least 2.5 years of high school completed before signing up for this course. 
**This course WILL happen if there is only 1 student.

DESCRIPTION:
Note: This course is recommended for students who have thoroughly looked at who they are, what they want in a college, and carefully considered these factors other than just the 'name' of the college while building their list.  If a student has not yet done this or is not confident about knowing what they want in a college, I strongly recommended that those students complete my Prepping for College Admissions: Myths, Majors, and (Discovering) Me course before enrolling in this Personal College List Evaluation course.
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Ever wonder if you're creating a 'good' college list? How do you know if it is balanced, ensuring you have enough colleges listed where you are likely to be accepted and that are a target for someone with your grades, activities, and courses? Many well-known colleges are becoming increasingly competitive, and in many cases, colleges that may have been a target or reach 5 or 10 years ago today are lotteries for everyone simply by their lower acceptance rates. Having a well-balanced list is essential for today's senior applying to college.

While this is a small group course, each student receives their own personalized college list evaluation, which includes a detailed excel sheet of admissions data along with data from a college list proprietary program I use in my college consulting business and my personal report, including suggestions to improve your chances of acceptance if applicable.

First Day of Class:
During the first class, we'll go over the 5 items students will need to provide in order to have their list evaluated, which will include a brief discussion on the importance of these factors in admissions along with instruction on how they'll need to submit the items (listed below) in a way that complies with Outschool's privacy policy.  (The information is submitted through a google form, which protects students from sharing any personal identifying information. This form is provided upon enrollment in the Welcome Message. Students are welcome to begin working on this prior to the first class if they understand what to do.)

Students (or parents) provide the following:
- List of their high school courses and grades (may be a transcript with personal info blacked out) along with GPA and weighted GPA if available
- High School Profile
- Best test scores (ACT and/or SAT including the breakdown if available)
- List of high school activities (this could include sports, clubs, music, community or religious organizations, volunteer work, employment, etc)
- Current college list (at least 5 and no more than 15 colleges)

Second Class:
Students will be given an excel sheet containing my best estimate as to if each college is a Likely, Target, Reach, or Lottery, along with lots of admissions/acceptance data for each institution. In addition, each student receives a personalized written evaluation with suggestions on ways to improve their list/improve their chances of acceptance, if possible. As a group, I'll explain how to read the documents and what the information means. Students will be able to review their individualized report after class and message me with any questions within 2 days after class. Or, if a student prefers, they may arrange a 15 minute individual session with me to discuss their results and ask questions.

Additional Important Information:
Please know that if a student plans to be a college athlete or is applying to a fine arts school, the review will be focused solely on academics, as athletic and artistic talent are very unique and so much depends on the ability of the student in these areas. For that reason, students in either of these categories may not get much out of this course, as I cannot take into consideration their abilities.

As an Independent College Consultant, I approach each student's list with no bias towards any college and instead focus on which colleges could best serve the needs of each particular student.

Due to the extensive out-of-class work required by the teacher, no refunds will be given outside of Outschool's policy.

Other Details

Parental Guidance

My role is to provide personalized guidance based on my professional knowledge, experience, and data; my role is not to make decisions for students or parents nor to create a student's list for them. ***It is possible that my evaluation of a student's college list may upset or frustrate them if it's not what they want to hear. Many colleges have become extremely competitive in the past few years, and acceptance rates are not what they were when parents were in college. Also, many students overestimate their acceptance chances at many colleges. My goal is to be as realistic as possible so students can plan as best as they can. The good news is that there are also so many excellent colleges out there, and one does not need to attend an Ivy League or "top 50/100" college to receive a great education.*** *I cannot make any guarantees that students will be accepted at the schools on their college list (regardless of how I categorize them as Likely, Target, Reach, or Lottery) or at any schools I may recommend they check into, as that decision is solely determined by the institution and based on each student's unique qualifications. In evaluating lists, I am making a future prediction based on past data that may not be accurate for the student's admission year. This is simply how admissions works. However, I can offer you that data to help you and your student make the best decisions that you can for their college applications. The world of Admissions can sometimes result in unexplained surprises of acceptances or rejections, which is another reason why having a balanced list is important to maximize college opportunities. Many colleges in the USA are affiliated with a religious organization. If one of these colleges is discussed in class because it is on a student's list, we will focus strictly on the admissions and academic aspects.

Supply List

Students must have their transcript/grades so they can copy their grades into a google sheet.

Language of Instruction

English

Carissa Hoitenga, College Consultant & Mentor

Joined June, 2020

5.0

66reviews

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

Master's Degree from Inter American University San German Campus (Universidad Interamericana)

I own and run a college consulting business, and I hold an Independent Education Consultant Certificate, an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language, and a B.A. in Sociology (with minors in English and Spanish). 

I've worked with students making education transitions (from a foreign high school to an American high school, from high school to college, and from college in home country to college in foreign country) since 2010 through both my professional career and through volunteering at two non-profit organizations. I have been assisting students specifically with applying to and starting college since 2014. I have worked as an advisor at a university for over five years as well as taught general education English courses at a university for one year. In addition, I have been a reviewer for two different Department of State competitive scholarship programs.

I regularly take classes and attend professional conferences and workshops to improve my skills in helping students evaluate, select, and apply to colleges.  As an independent college counselor, I visit college campuses (both in-person and virtually) to learn as much as possible about various colleges and universities. I am also an Associate Member of IECA, the professional organization for independent education consultants.