An Evening with Admissions Expert Mark Montgomery

How Not To Apply to College:
Avoiding Big Mistakes on the Road to Acceptance


An Evening with Admissions Expert Mark Montgomery, PhDOctober 24, 2017, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Mark Montgomery, a national college admissions expert, offers his advice on how to avoid the pitfalls and pain of applying to college.

Burlington HS

Filled with good humor, a healthy dose of reality, and concrete examples of real students who avoided these mistakes, the presentation addresses these crucial questions and more:

          • How do you calculate “return on investment” in higher                                          education?

          • What is the right way to shop for colleges?

          • What are the 12 factors in the admission process?

          • What are the “hidden” parts of the Common Application?

          • Why is it so important to start early in this process?

          • How can you develop a personal strategy for success?

          • How do you preserve sanity in your household?

Dr. Montgomery earned his BA at Dartmouth College and his Masters and Doctorate at Tufts University. He has been an instructor at Harvard and a consultant at Yale. He specializes in demystifying the ways in which colleges recruit and admit students. His views and advice have appeared in US News & World Report, Money, USA Today, Forbes, The Apple Daily (Hong Kong), The Huffington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Denver Post. He also writes a popular blog on university admission at GreatCollegeAdvice.com.

Montgomery Educational Consulting is a full service educational firm that assists students and their families as they select and apply to the best and most appropriate universities. With offices in New Jersey, Hong Kong, Oregon, and Colorado, Mark works one-on-one with students to guide them in their choices in secondary school, to articulate which educational environments lead to academic success, and identify how personal and family needs, preferences, and ambitions can be combined to help them pick the right universities—and get in.

College Topics Breakfast for Senior Parents

The Guidance Department will host a breakfast called “College Topics for Senior Parents” on 10/25/17. The purpose of this breakfast is so the counseling staff can give a very brief overview of important tasks associated with the college selection and application process. This event is geared for parents that missed the Senior College Planning Night on 9/28/17. Please join us for this informative event on October 25th at 8:30 AM in the BHS Guidance College and Career Center. Parent's MUST RSVP by calling 781-270-1780.

Financial Aid Night Review

                                                                   

Financial Aid Night for Senior parents was well attended with roughly 50 parents. Many aspects of the financial aid process were covered by Amy Staffier from Harvard University. We encourage parents to get familiar with the MEFA web-site. MEFA provides a wealth of free, accurate and up to date information. Amy encouraged parents to try the MEFA tools page, which has a number of tools you can use such at the EFC Calculator. The EFC calculator can estimate the figure that colleges will use to determine eligibility.

Two very important forms were mentioned. The FAFSA and the CSS profile. We encourage parents to investigate both applications ASAP. Don't forget you can take advantage of  a FAFSA on the web work-sheet. This can be helpful as you navigate through the FAFSA process. 

Please remember that the BHS will be a host site for FAFSA Day on Sunday January 28th beginning at 1PM. Parents MUST register for this event in advance. FAFSA Day is a volunteer driven effort which allows parents to get free assistance on how to complete the FAFSA form.

        

College Fair at the Shriners Auditorium

On Wednesday October 18th from 6:30 -8:00p.m., a college fair will be held at the Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. The Burlington High School Guidance Department co-sponsors the event with many other Middlesex League High Schools. Usually over one-hundred colleges will attend. A college fair can be a very overwhelming experience for parents and students. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) has developed a very helpful tips. We also recommend bringing a pre-determined list of colleges. Make it a priority to visit the schools on your list, then time permitting check out some others. Please remember you are not obligated to stay the whole time, many students spend about an hour at the event.  Below is the most up to date list of colleges attending:

Albany College of Pharmacy

Albertus Magnus College

Anna Maria College

Assumption College

Babson College

Becker College

Benjamin Franklin Institute

Bentley College

Boston University

Brandeis University

Bridgewater State University

Bryant University

Caselton University

Catherine Hinds Institute

Champlain College

Clark University

Clarkson University

Colby-Sawyer College

Colgate University

College of Mount St. Vincent

College of Our Lady of the Elms (Elms College)

College of the Holy Cross

Curry College

Dean College

Dickinson College

Eastern Nazarene College

Emmanuel College

Endicott College

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

Fisher College

Fitchburg State University

Framingham State University

Franklin Pierce University

Gordon College

Hamilton College

Hampshire College

Hartwick College

High Point University

Hofstra University

Husson University

Johnson and Wales University

Keene State College

Lasell College

LeMoyne College

Lesley University

Marist College

Mass College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

Massachusetts College of Art & Design

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Merrimack College

Middlesex Community College

Mount Holyoke College

Mount Ida College

New England College

New England School of Photography

Newbury College

Nichols College

North Shore Community College

Northern Essex Community College

Northern Vermont University--Johnson

Northern Vermont University--Lyndon

Norwich University

Pennsylvania State University

Pine Manor College

Plymouth State University

Quinnipiac University

Regis College

Rivier College

Roger Williams University

Rutgers University--New Brunswick

Sacred Heart University

Saint Anselm College

Saint Joseph's College - Maine

Saint Leo University

Saint Michael's College

Salem State University

Salve Regina University

Savannah College of Art & Design

School of Fashion Design

Simmons College

Smith College

Southern New Hampshire University

Springfield College

Stonehill College

Suffolk University

SUNY Stonybrook University

SUNY-Geneseo

SUNY-University at Albany

Syracuse University

Temple University

Thomas College

Unity College

University of Connecticut

University of Maine-Farmington

University of Maine-Orono

University of Massachusetts - Boston

University of Massachusetts-Amherst

University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

University of Massachusetts-Lowell

University of New England

University of New Hampshire

University of New Haven

University of Rhode Island

University of Saint Joseph's

University of Scranton

University of Southern Maine

University of Vermont

Vermont Technical College

Villanova University

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Western New England University

Westfield State College

Wheaton College

Worcester State University

Financial Aid Night

The BHS Guidance Department strongly recommends that senior parents attend a presentation on Thursday, October 12th, 2017 beginning at 6:00 PM in the BHS Auditorium. MEFA will host and give an overview of the financial aid process, specifically in regard to completing the FAFSA. The FAFSA is an on-line form that must be completed for seniors to be eligible for state and federal loans and grants (https://fafsa.gov/). This form is NOW available.