Andy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee – Page 2 – Elite4usa.com

The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship (up to $55,000 a year) is added in the Common App just like a college. Emory needs one checkbox; WashU and Vanderbilt ask for essays in a separate portal after you apply; and the Financial aid section can match your student to outside awards. Here are the scholarship deadlines that are not your application deadlines: Nov 11, Nov 15, Dec 1, Dec 16.

College Admissions | Scholarships

Scholarships You Can Apply for Through the Common App — The Process Is Simple. Missing It Is the Problem.

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 29, 2026September 29, 2026

Once the early applications are in, alumni interview requests start landing in late October. Here is what your interviewer does not know about your student, how four groups of colleges handle interviews differently, the 24-hour reply rule, and the questions that quietly cost points.

College Admissions | Interviews

The Alumni Interview Email Just Arrived — How to Prepare, and What Not to Ask

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 25, 2026September 25, 2026

The day after the application goes in, senior grades become a second application. Here is how first-quarter grades enter early review, why fall semester grades decide a deferral, what the counselor sends in January, the three reasons an offer gets rescinded, and how to report a schedule change.

College Admissions | Senior Year

Filing the Application Is Not the Finish Line — Senior Fall Grades, the Mid-Year Report, and Rescinded Offers

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 23, 2026September 23, 2026

UC reads no recommendation letters and considers no test scores. What reaches the reader is what your student types: courses and grades, twenty activities, and four Personal Insight Questions. Here is the filing window, the GPA math, the fees, and how to plan November.

College Admissions | UC Applications

The UC Application Plays by Different Rules — October 1 to November 30

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 19, 2026September 19, 2026

Georgia Tech, UNC, UGA, UT Austin, Clemson, South Carolina, Florida and Florida State close their early rounds on October 15, two weeks before everyone else. Here is the full list, the new binding Early Decision plans at both Florida publics, the separate document deadlines, and a four-week plan to make it.

College Admissions | Early Applications

The Deadline Isn’t November 1 — Eight Universities That Close on October 15

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 17, 2026September 17, 2026

The October 3 SAT is the last SAT with scores back before November 1 early deadlines. Which colleges require scores again this year, how to use the middle-50% range to decide whether to submit at a test-optional school, the difference between Score Choice, superscoring, and all-scores policies, and what sending official scores costs and takes — a practical guide for senior families.

College Admissions | SAT

October SAT: Send the Score or Not? The Last Test Before Early Deadlines and How to Decide

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 15, 2026September 15, 2026

College Admissions | Financial Aid

October 1: Two Financial Aid Forms Open, Not One — A Filing Guide for Senior Families

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 11, 2026September 15, 2026

A complete guide to the PSAT/NMSQT. National Merit eligibility comes only from the score your student earns as a junior. Test window October 1-30, how the Selection Index is calculated (Reading and Writing counts double), state-by-state cutoffs, and what three weeks of prep can realistically do.

College Admissions | Standardized Testing

The PSAT Only Counts in 11th Grade — What to Know Before the October Test

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 9, 2026September 9, 2026

The University of California application is a separate system from the Common App: no test scores, no recommendation letters, no interviews. What UC reads beyond the transcript is the Personal Insight Questions — four answers of 350 words chosen from eight prompts. What each prompt really asks, how to choose four, how to structure 350 words, and the mistakes readers spot instantly, for families facing the November 30 deadline.

College Admissions | College Essays

The UC Application Isn’t an Essay — It’s Four 350-Word Answers. Here’s How to Choose Them

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 9, 2026September 9, 2026

A final pre-submission checklist for the Common App. Once submitted, a student cannot edit it. Activities character limits, the Honors trap, FERPA and recommender assignment, how deadlines are timed — a practical guide for families ahead of the November 1 early deadlines.

Application Materials | College Admissions

Before You Hit Submit — A 10-Point Final Check for the Common App

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 6, 2026September 6, 2026