Campus Tower Consulting can shed light on what college admissions officers are looking for in an applicant and help you plan accordingly. We provide counseling to guide you through high school course selection and timeline, extracurricular activities, volunteering, summer experiences, and jobs and internships. We also bring it all together in the form of a resume that you will use in the application process.

Campus Tower Consulting can help you determine which entrance exams are best for you given your academic strengths. We can also help you plan your timeline for taking the SAT or ACT if you are an aspiring college student, or GRE, MCAT, GMAT, or LSAT if you are a graduate student, allowing ample time to improve your score before submitting your application.

Prospective college students are applying for admission to more and more colleges and universities.

The National Association of College Admissions Counselors’ annual State of College Admissions report (2014) found that 32 percent of applicants in 2013 applied to seven or more colleges and universities, up from only 9 percent of applicants in 1990. Given there are over 2,300 four-year and 1,100 two-year institutions in the United States, how will you determine which colleges you should apply to?

Fit is Essential, Transferring is Expensive

College fit is fundamental to your success as a student. Attending an institution that aligns with your goals and provides the services and experience that you are seeking will help you attain the right degree with the best network and set of skills for your future.

Over twenty percent of bachelor’s degree holders graduate from a different college or university than they started. The cost of transferring is high, with increased time to degree, wasted money on courses that don’t transfer, as well as the cost of getting re-established with faculty, program culture, friends, and roommates—all the more reason to find the best fit from the start.

CTC Can Help

Campus Tower Consulting will spend time with you and learn what your goals are for your college experience, provide criteria in which to sort your options, inform you of alternatives you may not have known about, and will help you to shape priorities when selecting an institution. Leaning on years of industry experience, we will introduce you to a set of institutions that match your priorities. Together, we will establish a balanced list of schools for you to consider and evaluate.

Campus Tower Consulting can provide professional project management structure to the process of applying to your selected colleges. We will guide you through the steps and keep you on track with personal reminders and texts, so that you can meet all of the deadlines.   

Do you know what to write in your college application essays? How do you best present yourself? We can help you draw out the personal stories that will bring your application to life. Our services include suggestions for the best way to tell your story in your application, reviewing and editing your essays, as well as reviewing your entire application before submission. 

Visiting campus is an important part of determining the fit of the institution. We can help you coordinate your campus tours, connect you with current students who will serve as your guide, and give you a checklist of things to look for during your visit. 

The sticker price of tuition and fees is not the real price most students and families pay. Often, the net price paid by families is less than the sticker price because of institutional grants, or tuition discounting, from the college or university. Campus Tower Consulting has spent years working for chief business officers and presidents of colleges and universities.  We know the higher education business model and can give you and your family the edge on understanding and bringing down the sticker price.

CTC can help you determine a realistic budget for the entire college experience, so you aren’t depending on the college’s generic suggestions for living expenses, which often underestimate total cost of attendance.

Financial Aid

What sources of financial aid will you be eligible for?  Will the source of the funds come from the state, institution, federal, private organizations, or a combination? Is your aid package negotiable?

As the former author of the industry leading Tuition Discounting Study, which tracks institutional grants awarded to students at private colleges, Natalie Pullaro Davis has the unique understanding about the trends in scholarships and grants awarded by the college including how much you can expect in an average institutional grant award from various colleges.

When it comes to federal student loans, CTC can translate the federal financial aid formula and Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula. We can help you understand how your taxes from two years ago will impact your student’s application for federal student aid.

Less than 40 percent of undergraduate students earn their degree in four years

The idea that a college student will earn their degree in four years is fading. In 2006, only 39 percent of undergraduate students earned a bachelors degree in four years. When given two more years, 59 percent of students in this same cohort earned their bachelor’s degree. The cost of a fifth or sixth year can be very pricey due to extra living, tuition and fee expenses, and also delayed entrance into the job market.

CTC Can Help

Arrive on campus with a plan to increase your likelihood to finish in four years and help you select a major that aligns with your passion­—and the job market.