Lee Bierer

Not being certain of your college major or your future career path is neither a cause for concern nor a free pass to assume you don’t need to think about academics as you research colleges.

There’s still hope. If things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped and your child finds themselves staring at an assortment of rejection and wait-list letters, you’ll want to read further.

Last week I wrote about the entertaining and interactive presentation I attended that featured Robert (Rob) Franek of Princeton Review. His main message to students and parents is that the college admissions process can go from painful to pleasurable if you approach it as savvy shoppers.

The build-up was big, but boy, did he deliver. Robert Franek, Senior Vice President/Publisher at Princeton Review and author of “The Best 376 Colleges” and “The Best Value Colleges,” was recently a guest speaker at Myers Park High School in Charlotte. (Full disclosure: I sit on the Princeton Review National College Counselor Advisory Board.)

Does the rejection letter really mean it’s the end of your quest for admission to Dream U? Do colleges ever change their minds? The short answer is “no.” When desperate families try to appeal a rejection, their efforts almost always end in more disappointment.

You probably heard about the SAT cheating scandal on Long Island where 20 teenagers were arrested; five weresuspected test-takers and 15 accused of paying from $500 to $3,600 for someone else to take their standardized tests. New security measures have been initiated in response to this unfortunate story. Beginning in September, students will be required to upload a photo of themselves when they register for the SAT and the ACT. The uploaded photograph will be printed on a student’s admission ticket and on the roster at the test center.

“Ridiculously competitive.” That’s how college counselors, students and parents describe this year’s admissions cycle.

The March Madness of NCAA basketball and college notifications may be over, but for high school seniors, April is the month for difficult decisions. “I have six acceptances, how do I decide where do I go?” “I got wait-listed at my top choice, do I move on and forget about it? I don’t want to go anywhere else.” “I don’t like anywhere I got in, what do I do?” “I received a lot of money at my safety school, that’s good, but I got into my reach school, but of course with no financial aid. Is it worth it to take out loans to attend my dream school?”

While we all recognize that the college admissions process is dramatically different today than it was just a generation ago, little has changed more than the campus visit.

Now that college students have returned from their beach breaks and campuses are back in full swing, it’s time for families with high school students to break out the atlas for the annual ritual of spring break campus visits.