Articles

James speaks to animating director TJ Sullivan. With experience working at Dreamworks, Nickelodeon and Lucas Film Animation he has a lot of insight into the animation industry.  Sullivan gives advice about securing internships and work in the animation industry.  What training/education to look for and the best online tools to help students on their way to a job in animating.

Resources mentioned in the infographic

• http://www.animationmentor.com 
• http://goingboldly.blogspot.com

Online College Planning gives guidance and insight to make informed decisions to students academic future. They are active in developing new and innovative solutions to help families in the college planning process.

James continues a discussion from a previous episode talking to admissions officer Jackie Jewett.

The final installment of James’s interview with Jackie Jewett, brought to you by Online College Planning. Jackie gives advice for athletes, looking at applying to college.

Jackie discusses her own experience both as an admissions officer and as a parent who has experienced the process first hand.

Online College Planning gives guidance and insight to make informed decisions to students academic future. They are active in developing new and innovative solutions to help families in the college planning process.

Listen to episode 8 below:

It is staying light later, and while it may seem like it will take an eternity to get here, spring is not that far away. With spring comes standardized test season for high school juniors. In this month’s article I am going to focus on the key differences and similarities between the SAT and ACT.

First, let’s start with timing. Here is a breakdown of the length of each section, and number of questions, for both tests.

You will notice that there is much less time per question on the ACT than there is on the [...]

James continues a discussion from a previous episode talking to admissions officer Jackie Jewett.

In this second part brought to you by Online College Planning. Jackie gives advice for parents who have children with learning difficulties.

Jackie talks about the importance of having a “go to person” for students. James also asks Jackie to give her best advice

Online College Planning gives guidance and insight to make informed decisions to students academic future. They are active in developing new and innovative solutions to help families in the college planning process.

Listen to episode 7 below:

People say that junior year is critical for the college admission process since it is the last full year of grades that colleges will see when making the admission decision.  But that doesn’t paint the whole picture.  Students need to think about more than just good grades.  In fact, most college admission officers will tell students that from January of their junior year on it is “Full tilt towards college!” all the way.  But, what does that mean exactly?  In this article, I outline a timeline for students to follow for the remainder of their junior year of high school and highlight some of the important tasks that need to be completed.

College Visits:

If a student hasn’t visited a college yet, now is the time to do so.  The campus visit has taken on more importance than it used to.  Many colleges now look at demonstrated interest when making their admission decisions.  It also [...]

In this episode, James speaks to David Dorfman, dance professor at Connecticut College and founder of David Dorfman Dance.

Interested in studying for a major in dance, or the performing arts? David gives his advice to students applying to a liberal arts college  or conservatory as well as the all important audition.   Lastly he gives a run-down on what options students might have after graduating with a major in dance and general advice for students preparing for a career in dance.

Listen to episode 6 below:

In the 5th episode of the College Tips Podcast, we discuss the college admissions essay.

Jacqueline Jewett Director of education outreach, parent engagement, student relations at Mitchell College in New London, CT.  Jewett gives her advice for students writing their admissions essay, and what admissions officers look for.

Listen to episode 5 below:

Members of the class of 2020 and 2021 will be able to access their PSAT scores online on December 9.  After seeing their son or daughter’s scores, many parents will ask the same question: What do these mean?  

Parents who have an older child may find these scores strangely unfamiliar.   The scores have gone back to the future and returned to the 1600 scale instead of the 2400 scale.  There are two scores on the test now: A math score and an evidence based reading and writing score.  Each of these is scored from 160 to 760, and those scores are combined to give you a score from 320 to 1520. A PSAT score is on the same continuum as the SAT, so your score reflects what you would achieve on the SAT [...]

In the 4th episode of the College Tips Podcast, we discuss the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

James speaks to Todd Kelly, financial planning expert and founding partner of onlinecollegeplanning.com.  Kelly talks about why all students should be filing for the FAFSA and what to expect when filing the form,

Listen to episode 4 below: