Blog – Elite4usa.com

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

A complete guide to teacher recommendation letters for U.S. college applications. How many you need, whom to ask, when and how to ask, what goes in a brag sheet, and why you should waive your FERPA rights — before the November 1 early deadlines.

Application Materials | College Admissions

Teacher Recommendation Letters: September Is Your Last Real Window — Whom to Ask and How

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 2, 2026September 6, 2026

"I don't know what to write about" is rarely a shortage of experiences. Here are 14 questions that surface ordinary material, the sequence that gets you the story before the lesson, and three tests for choosing which story to write.

Application Essays | College Admissions

How to Brainstorm a College Essay: 14 Questions and Three Tests

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

"Let the colleges get to know you" is the most common essay advice — and the least useful. Here are the 5 questions that actually surface a topic, why impressive isn't the goal, the rule against proving what your application already proves, and how to show instead of declare.

Application Essays | College Admissions

What Should You Write Your College Essay About? It Doesn’t Have to Be Impressive

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 26, 2026August 26, 2026

Georgia Tech, UNC, UGA, Tulane and others cut supplemental essays for 2026-27, and Yale dropped "Why Yale." Fewer essays does not mean an easier application. Here's how to research and write the "Why Us" essays that remain, why brochure language fails, and what to cut inside 150 to 350 words.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Supplemental Essays Are Disappearing — Which Makes the Remaining “Why Us” Heavier

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 12, 2026

The 2026-27 Common App prompts are unchanged, which means August is for writing, not researching. How to choose a topic, structure 650 words, open the first paragraph, run three to five revision passes, and avoid the trap that erases the student from their own essay.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Finish the Common App Essay Draft in August — From Blank Page to First Draft

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 6, 2026

The Common App renamed its Activities section to Activities and Experiences this year. Here's why ten slots is a ceiling and not a quota, how to order them so the first three carry the story, and how to write inside the 150/50/100-character limits.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Ten Activity Slots: Don’t Fill Them All — The Top Three Are the Application

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 5, 2026

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College Counsulting

Elite Prep – August Academic Master Plan

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 1, 2026