Welcome to our monthly newsletter!

Welcome back to our monthly newsletter! Below, you will find a link to a page on our website highlighting what students should be working on this month, important news in higher education, new blog posts, and other resources we feel are important to share. Enjoy!

Monthly College Updates! Welcome to our monthly update on the college search and application process. Each month, we'll be updating the link below to our webpage and including it in our newsletter, so that all of our subscribers can access summaries of what they should be thinking about at this point in the college search process. These updates will mostly focus on the junior and senior classes. Freshmen and sophomores should focus on maintaining good grades, academically pushing themselves, getting involved in extracurriculars, and making sure their summers incorporate meaningful experiences for growth. View Monthly College Updates!

Haven't joined our mailing list yet? Virtual College Counselors believes every student and family should have access to expert advice on the college search and application journey, regardless of any financial or time constraints. By signing up for our newsletter, in addition to monthly college search and application updates, you will also receive a Free College Search Starter Kit PDF containing the following starter guides: ​ ​- The College Application Timeline - Discovering College Fit - College Essay Tips - Common College Essay Pitfalls - Introduction to Financial Aid 101 Send Me The Starter Kit!

New Blog Posts:
Finding Your Voice: A Guide to Mastering Personal Writing Before College Essays

Our blog this month was written by essay specialist and former assistant director of admission Sam Bergeron! Since leaving college admissions, Sam has been hard at work assisting independenn college counselors as an essay specialist (including us here at Virtual College Counselors!). This month, we're fortunate enough to have Sam provide insights on how students can develop a personal writing voice before working on the personal statement. This concept in particular is very important, as writing a personal essay is one of the three major differences for high school students working on college essays.

"The college admissions process, for a lot of students, involves learning how to write in a completely new way. The personal statement essays that you’re asked to write in this process are vastly different from the kind of writing most students are doing in school, unless you happen to be taking a creative writing class – which means that many students get to their junior or senior year and have absolutely no idea how to approach a personal essay.

No matter where you are in the process, learning how to practice personal writing will add a number of fabulous tools to your toolbox. In this guide, you’ll be given skills, tips, and practice writing prompts to jumpstart that introspective thought process before you tackle the personal statement essays."

Higher Education in the News

• ​Schools Face Ultimatum to End DEI Programs: The Trump administration’s Education Department has issued a 14‑day ultimatum requiring schools and universities to eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or risk losing federal funding. This policy shift could reshape campus policies nationwide and impact everything from admissions practices to classroom programming—a key issue for families and counselors tracking federal influence on higher ed.
• ​Ohio Senate OKs Bill Banning College DEI Programs and Curtailing Faculty Rights: In a contentious session, the Republican-led Ohio Senate passed legislation that bans DEI programs at public colleges and trims tenure and collective bargaining protections for faculty. The bill—which now heads to the Ohio House—could fundamentally alter campus operations and funding models, affecting student services and the overall educational environment.
• ​Linda McMahon’s Mandate as Education Secretary: Nominated by President Trump, former WWE co-founder Linda McMahon’s first assignment as Education Secretary is to dismantle the Department of Education. Her mandate to shift many federal education functions to state control could radically alter college admissions, financial aid processes, and regulatory oversight—factors that directly impact students and families.
• ​Pell Grant Budget Faces Significant Shortfall: The Pell Grant program, which provides need-based financial aid to over 30% of U.S. college students, is facing a $2.7 billion budget shortfall in the next fiscal year, with projections showing a $10 billion gap by 2026-27 unless Congress intervenes. This unexpected deficit stems from higher-than-anticipated college enrollments and FAFSA changes that increased the number of Pell recipients by 12.6%. With growing federal spending cuts, advocates fear that without congressional action before the September 30 deadline, low-income students will face reduced access to higher education, worsening affordability challenges already exacerbated by rising tuition costs and inflation.
• Community Colleges, Roses and Thorns: Recent developments in higher education highlight both challenges and advancements for community college students. A survey by Public Agenda, Sova, and the Beyond Transfer Policy Advisory Board revealed that nearly 40% of American adults encountered negative experiences when attempting to transfer credits toward a college credential. These difficulties can hinder academic progress and deter students from completing their degrees. In a positive move, the Common Application has, for the first time, extended its platform to include community colleges focused on granting associate degrees. This inclusion aims to simplify the application process for a broader range of students, potentially increasing access to higher education opportunities.

2024-2025 FAFSA Officially Opened!

Don't forget to keep tabs on financial aid application deadlines (for FAFSA, the CSS Profile, state-specific, and institution-specific forms, whichever are applicable for your specific schools of interest), in addition to general admission application deadlines.
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It is also critical that students check their email inboxes daily for any correspondence from schools to which they've applied or intend to apply. Lastly, students should be sure to set up their prospective student portals for each school as soon as the login information is sent to them to ensure all application materials are received by the appropriate deadlines.

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is officially open!
• ​Some schools use the CSS Profile to determine eligibility for institutional aid. It's a doozy of a form! The list linked at the beginning of this bullet point is the most complete one that exists. Every school has its own deadline when the form needs to be received for aid consideration, so this is a friendly reminder to pay close attention to those deadlines.
• We've been strongly encouraging all students to pay close attention to application requirements for each school and to submit their applications at least a week before institutional deadlines for three primary reasons:
  • Once the application is received and processed, schools will provide students access to a prospective student portal. This is important because it's where students can track which materials have been received and which are still outstanding. Most schools provide a cushion of a few days for counselors and teachers to submit their materials, but some don't.
  • Some schools have additional essay prompts or requirements that can only be accessed through the portal! The most common additional requirement is the Self-Reported Student Record. Information about all requirements can be found on each institution's website, but it never hurts to have another set of eyes double-checking for these important pieces.
  • The application systems tend to get overrun and often crash on the days of major college deadlines.

That finish line is right around the corner, and we are excited to be crossing it with you on this journey! Our wonderful colleagues at Big J Consulting have broken down the important information you need to know when completing these forms for the first time in this helpful blog. We highly recommend using this as a guide as you navigate the forms.

If you'd like more information on the current discourse about the FAFSA delays, we'd suggest looking into the following articles:

Relevant Virtual College Counselor Blogs:

• ​How to Understand Your Financial Aid Letter
• ​Applying for Financial Aid: A Step-by-Step Guide​
• ​What is a Financial Aid Appeal?​
• ​Can You Stack Scholarships?​

Relevant Outside Blogs/Resources:

• ​Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)​
• ​College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile)​​​
• ​Big J Educational Consulting's blog page (this is a helpful resource to have all of your questions answered about the changes to FAFSA for this year, and what to expect in subsequent years.
• ​A helpful infographic from studentaid.gov​​
• ​How to determine if the parent is a contributor on the FAFSA​
• ​Information about Taxable Scholarship Reporting​

Academic Coaching Highlight:

Calibrate Academic Coaching

We want to once again express our gratitude to all of our students, their families, other professionals, and even strangers who have taken the time to peruse our newsletter. As always, if you have questions OR if you have a topic you'd like to see discussed, please don't hesitate to reach out.

info@virtualcollegecounselors.com

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