By: Dr. Raymond J. Huntington, Co-Founder of Huntington Learning Center

As a parent, you’ve probably heard it time and time again: College admission is becoming increasingly competitive. The number of high school seniors applying to colleges and universities in the United States is on the rise, and top tier schools are harder to get into than ever before. But what exactly does this mean for your child?

Here are some of the most notable trends in college admission (as reported by the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s 2006 State of College Admission reports):

*Both high school graduates and college enrollments are expected to increase until at least 2014.
*College applications are on the rise, due to the population bulge in the U.S., the ease of applying to colleges online, and the increase in students submitting applications to several colleges.
*Only 35 percent of students placed on wait lists were ultimately admitted, and 35 percent of colleges use a wait list.
*Fifty-eight percent of colleges that offer Early Decision admission (where a student makes a commitment to a first choice institution where he or she will enroll if admitted) reported an increase in applications from 2005.
*Eighty percent of colleges that offer Early Action admission (where a student applies to a preferred institution and will receive a decision well in advance of the institution’s regular response date) reported an increase in applications from 2005.
*Approximately half of colleges recalculate GPAs to standardize grade comparison amongst applicants.

Despite the intimidating statistics, colleges report that the top three factors in the admission process continue to be (in order) grades in college preparatory courses, standardized admission tests, and high school GPA. Colleges consider a student’s interest in attending their institution as one of the key “tip” factors in that applicant’s admission decision. Indications of interest include a campus visit, interview, a specified academic interests, contact with the admissions office and contact with faculty.

The college application process is an exciting, yet stressful, time for many students and their parents. By taking challenging courses, doing well in school and preparing for the SAT and ACT exams, your child will stand out from the heap of other applicants and most importantly, have a greater chance of acceptance at the school of his or her choice.

What can you do to give your child a competitive edge to get into the college of his or her choice as well as scholarship opportunities? Call the Huntington Learning Center, of course! Huntington offers individualized instruction, utilizing actual SAT and ACT materials, proven teaching methods, and specially trained teachers. Working one-to-one with our students, the program features personalized study plans and full-length practice test. We also offer comprehensive strategies for every section of, and question type on, the SAT and ACT so that our students can confidently tackle every test question. The majority of Huntington parents polled felt that their children were more confident and better prepared academically for college after working with Huntington.

Testimonial:
“I am writing to thank you and your staff for the outstanding services that you recently provided to my son, Jeffrey. As you know, he completed a sixteen week program with Huntington that was designed to improve his performance on the SAT. For several months he attended weekly classes where he received support in reading, writing, and mathematics. We were very pleased to learn that he improved nearly 200 points! While we are pleased with his academic growth at AI du Pont High School and his maturation in terms of work ethic, we attribute much of his growth in his SAT score to his Huntington experience.

During my experiences as a high school principal at AI du Pont High School and Dickinson High School, I have become increasingly impressed by the services your program offers. At a time when earning a post-secondary degree is critical, your program offers young people the opportunity to improve their chances of admittance to their choice college &/or university.

Again, on behalf of myself and my family, I thank you!”
~ Sincerely, J. A. Lawson, Ed.D.

Dr. Raymond J. Huntington is co-founder of Huntington Learning Center, which has helped children achieve success in school for over 31 years. For more information about how Huntington can help your child call 1-800-CAN-LEARN.

Maggie Lage is the Executive Director of the Huntington Learning Center in Newark, 34 Liberty Plaza, Kirkwood Highway, Newark, DE 19711. For more information or to schedule a consultation at the Newark location call 302-737-1050 or visit www.newark.huntingtonlearning.com.

Jay Weiss is the Executive Director of the Huntington Learning Center in Wilmington, 3500 Naamans Road, Tally Ho Shopping Center, Wilmington, DE 19810. For more information or to schedule a consultation at the Wilmington location, call 302-478-4242 or visit www.wilmington.huntingtonlearning.com.