Athena College Advisors, LLC

04/10/2024

Another round of college admissions is in the books though there may be changes of plans based on waitlist movement, which might be a bit delayed based on the FAFSA delays! In this, my 15th year in practice, I am again gobsmacked by the changes in admissions. What’s astonished me most is how complicated the calculus is of who gets in where, who is suddenly no longer test optional, the volume of apps, institutional priorities, what I learn in conversations with admissions officers and directors while visiting campuses and what I hear from currently enrolled students about issues ranging from being a Jewish student on campus right now to the value (or not) of Greek life to how they chose that school and major. I had contact with more than 800 individual apps to more than 100 schools in this round and that confirms my belief that every student is unique. Not gonna lie; this round took a lot out of everyone (parents, students and me!) but I am thrilled with all my students’ choices and the need-based and merit awards they received. Herewith, a sampling of schools to which my students were admitted:

American University of Arizona, Arizona State University Amherst College (pro bono student) App State Babson BU, BC Brown Barnard SUNY Bing SUNY Buffalo SUNY Brockport SUNY New Paltz Bucknell Brandeis Princeton Bentley College of Charleston University of Colorado Boulder CSU SLO Purdue Cornell Wisconsin Michigan Indiana South Carolina Alabama Florida FSU University of Tampa University of Georgia University of Tennessee University of Texas-Austin UIUC University of Minnesota McGill Toronto Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Yale MIT Harvey Mudd Claremont McKenna University of San Diego University of Santa Clara Loyola Maryland GWU Drexel Villanova NYU UNC-CH UVA Lynn Rice Northeastern BC BU Michigan State Pitt CMU Case Western Penn State Lafayette Lehigh JHU F&M Dickinson UMass-Amherst Bentley RIT U Rochester Vanderbilt WashU Northwestern Vassar (pro bono student) Colby Bates Colgate Tufts Hamilton Hampshire Wellesley UVM Providence Syracuse Quinnipiac Davidson Carleton Macalester UCSD UCSB OSU NC State College of Charleston Ithaca Hobart UMaine UNH and a bunch more I cannot recall!

Pic for attention and because it was a breathtakingly beautiful day when I was visiting schools in Tennessee!

03/24/2024

FYI:

Administrators from 75 colleges and universities, including all 10 University of California schools, now participating in Hillel’s program to counter antisemitism WASHINGTON – As Jewish college students across the United States and Canada experience an unprecedented rise in antisemitism followin...

03/18/2024

Looking for a music business major that isn’t NYU @ 90k a year. I was so impressed with Middle Tennessee State University’s impressive programming. Alums go on to win Grammy awards and the facilities are state of the art. And there’s plenty of rah rah, DI sports and Greek life for under 50k.

05/12/2023

One of my takeaways from my IECA conference and many conversations with some wonderful colleagues is that I should share the schools my Class of 2023 students will be attending. I hope this serves to communicate that I work with all kinds of students and that support during the application process can be helpful for the most achievement-oriented to those that need more nurturing and supportive college settings. Below is a list, in no particular order, of the schools that the Class of 2023 students I supported in the list building and app process will be attending! So excited for all and know they will do brilliantly! When did I sleep?

University of Florida
Purdue University
Manhattanville College
Northeastern University
College of Charleston
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
Vanderbilt University
University of Vermont
Syracuse University
Tufts University
Harvey Mudd College
Boston College
George Washington University
Vassar College
Wesleyan University
Lafayette College
University of Chicago
Cornell University
University of Pennsylvania
Penn State University Schreyer Honors College
Drexel University
University of Rochester
University of Richmond
Colgate University
Boston University
University of Wisconsin
University of Michigan
University of South Carolina
Emerson College
Yale University

PHEW!

05/08/2021

The list on the school profile may be telling the wrong story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/your-money/high-schools-college-lists.html?fbclid=IwAR1Rs6jUVJxAgb1mffmjLt9mQwd6JF5PGjsCdsjtVs01ARCbGWTh1Aqks4M

The rosters showing where seniors are headed say little about the role that money and value played in their decisions.

05/04/2021

NACAC annual list of colleges with openings for fall 2021: note that Chapman U in CA still has openings for freshmen and BU for transfers!

The College Openings Update is designed as a tool for counselors, parents and teachers as they assist students who have not yet completed the college admission process.

05/03/2021

Including faculty vax requirements:

More colleges are announcing that they will require students to be vaccinated. Here are the ones we know about.

04/20/2021

For anyone thinking about studying in the UK, this event will provide some good background info and answer questions about how to navigate the app process.

04/19/2021

As colleges look toward the fall-2021 semester, they’re grappling with whether to require — or just strongly encourage — students to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Here’s a list of institutions that have decided to require students to be vaccinated in order to enroll this fall:

American University, in Washington, D.C.
Assumption University, in Massachusetts
Bennington College, in Vermont
Boston University, in Massachusetts
Bowdoin College, in Maine
Brown University, in Rhode Island
Claremont McKenna College, in California
Columbia University, in New York
Cornell University, in New York
Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire
Duke University, in North Carolina
Emory University, in Georgia
Fairleigh Dickinson University, in New Jersey
Fordham University, in New York
Fort Lewis College, in Colorado
George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.
Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.
Grinnell College, in Iowa
Harvey Mudd College, California
Holy Cross College, in Indiana
Ithaca College, in New York
Johns Hopkins University, in Maryland
Lasell University, in Massachusetts
Manhattanville College, in New York
Northeastern University, in Massachusetts
Nova Southeastern University, in Florida
Oakland University, in Michigan
Paul Quinn College, in Texas
Pitzer College, in California
Pomona College, in California
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in New York
Roger Williams University, in Rhode Island
Rutgers University, in New Jersey
St. Edwards University, in Texas
Saint Mary’s College, in Indiana
Samuel Merritt University, in California
Seattle University, in Washington
Syracuse University, in New York
University of Notre Dame, in Indiana
Vassar College, in New York
Wesleyan University, in Connecticut
Yale University, in Connecticut

04/16/2021

Updated list. Interesting that the list includes schools of all different shapes sizes and settings.

More colleges are announcing that they will require students to be vaccinated. Here are the ones we know about.

04/15/2021

Finally a blog entry re: this calamitous round!

The Year of Living Dangerously, or How I Survived the COVID Admissions Round Often when I tell someone about my business, I end up having to...