In a Tough Market, Some Counseling & Tutoring Agencies Going Bankrupt

Recently we learned that College Focus ceased operations leaving many clients hanging, and no refunds available for their clients.

The College Trail's strong track record and financial backing have positioned us for success. If you were a College Focus client, please contact us at connect@thecollegetrail.com.

College Focus clients will receive special, custom tailored plans to meet student's needs.

Connecting with the Teenage Brain: Elizabeth Explains Why She Chose The College Trail

Elizabeth, a mother of three explains why she chose The College Trail tutoring services to help her children with mathematics. Click the play button below to watch and listen.

The College Trail participates in WACAC college admissions roundtable

College admission standards were the topics of discussion during a roundtable The College Trail attended at the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC) at Chapman University. Shawn Abbott, the director of undergraduate admissions at Stanford University, and Greg MacCandless, associate director of college counseling at Sage Hill School, led a panel of experts through a case study to determine what college admissions officers look for in a candidate. They said that admissions officers look for reasons to admit a candidate, but it is up to the candidate to supply the necessary evidence - like test scores, grades, and extracurricular activities - in his or her application. One of the ways for a candidate to enforce this evidence is to tell a consistent story and allow his/her personality to shine throughout the entire college application. An intriguing outcome of the case study was that the strongest applicant, based on test scores with a 2250 combined SAT, lost out to other candidates with lower scores based on his overall application. For more information on The College Trail’s college admissions and counseling program, contact us today.

California’s budget cuts hit state's college admissions

California is looking to cut state college admissions at all its junior colleges and universities. The UC system just announced today that it cut its freshman admissions by almost 7 percent. These cuts are part of a larger effort to try to balance California’s $24-billion budget shortfall. The University of California and California State University systems are faced with $2 billion in cuts for this school year alone, and the state’s community college system is facing an $800 million shortfall in state funding. All three have been asked to trim even more out of next year’s budget, and so freshman class sizes have been one of the first items on the chopping block.

UC President Mark Yudof, according to the UC Newsroom, outlined the consequences of these cuts to the state’s budget committee. The UC system will not be able to hire the faculty and offer all the classes needed for their existing student body. He said they will also look increasing student fees in addition to the cuts to freshman admissions.

“The long-term solution for our economy is to heighten investment in UC, the CSU and the Community Colleges,” Yudof said. “In the near term, unfortunately, the utter severity of the cuts proposed leaves us only difficult options to consider.”

These budget cuts also come at a time when enrollment is increasing at these campuses. Community College’s Chancellor Jack Scott said that enrollment hit a record-breaking 2.8 million at the state’s 110 junior college campuses this year, according to the Sacramento Bee.

"This is the time when California community colleges are most needed, and it's demonstrated by our enrollment," Scott said.

If these budget cuts continue, admissions to all of California’s universities will become much more competitive than they already are. The original plan for California’s K-12 students was that there would be a spot for each at one of the junior colleges or universities. That guarantee may no longer be the case.

For more information on The College Trail's college counseling program and college admission strategies, contact us today.