- As high school graduates set their sites on starting college in the fall, they may want to consider internships and studying abroad as ways they can get ahead even when they are just getting started. Continue reading

Monica Matthews shares scholarship tips weekly on SmartCollegeVisit.com. This week, tip #24 on the value of tracking dollars and award dates. Continue reading

Jenz Johnson, author of MOBO BRAIN: A guide to mobile brain power, will be my guest on #CampuChat, May 15, 2013. #CampusChat is hosted by SmartCollegeVisit and happens every Wednesday at 9PM ET on Twitter. Follow @collegevisit and use “#CampusChat” to participate. Jenz is the editor of “Going MOBO” an online and print magazine devoted to the new mobile lifestyle. Companion site http://goingmobo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @goingmobo. Continue reading

What does your social media presence say about you and who is or will be looking? Danielle Hatfield, Hootsuite Ambassador, shares social media tips for teens and college students with Kelly Queijo, founder of Smart College Visit at #HootUpROA. Continue reading

Smart College Visit announces partnership with Martin Travel to provide an added level of service: full "concierge" travel planning for college-bound families who need extra help nailing down the travel logistics of their campus visits. Continue reading

Not all scholarship deadlines are created equal. Here's why you need to apply early! Continue reading

Planning to tour the campus of U-M's Ann Arbor campus? Spend the day or the weekend and take in some of these top destinations for teens and families. Get to know Ann Arbor and all there is to see and do! Continue reading

What every college kid should know about car care: Takeaway tweets from #CampusChat on May 1, 2013 with Ginnie Pritchett from AAA. Continue reading

How do the college choices made in your household compare to what students and parents represented in this infographic say is important? Continue reading

Details matter when it comes to scholarship applications. Scholarship Mom, Monica Matthews, recommends double and triple checking the spelling and name of the scholarship referenced in the application and in letters of recommendation. Continue reading

Caring for a car properly is equal in importance to safe driving which is why we've invited Ginnie Pritchett, from AAA to join us tonight on #CampusChat. Ginnie will be tweeting from @AAAauto and sharing car care tips for teens and college students. Continue reading

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for: your son or daughter is finally graduating from college and will soon be a wage-earner! So pack your hankies and get ready for one of the most memorable trips of your lifetime: college graduation. Here are a few tips to make this weekend easy and stress-free. Continue reading

Neither technophobia, a busy schedule, or a tight budget should stand in your way if you want to make a video essay. Give your subject some thought, but once you’ve nailed down your idea, you can go to the privacy of your room and produce, direct and star in your own magnum opus. Continue reading

High school juniors, this tip is just for you! Well before you leave school for the summer (Hint: NOW), ask for letters of recommendation for scholarships from teachers or other school staff. Give them a scholarship resume and ask for a letter with specific examples of your hard work and/or leadership skills. Having your letters of recommendation in hand will allow you to apply for scholarships over the summer and get a jump-start on the whole scholarship process. Monica Matthews is our favorite scholarship mom! After helping her son win $100,000 in scholarships for his college education, she founded How2WinScholarships.com... Continue reading

Parents often tell us that the time they spend with their teens visiting colleges is often about more than the college visit. Other things such as choosing the hotel, the drive time, exploring the surrounding community and having some fun along the way are all part of what makes the family trip about much more than the few hours spent touring campus. "Getting there" and "being there" are both part of the journey and the fun! For more insights about choosing a hotel on your college visit, check out Kim's story on TravelingMom: Residence Inn Offers Space You Need for... Continue reading

The most photographed spot at Clark Univeristy is the statue of Sigmund Freud located in the University's main square, just outside iconic Jona Clark Hall. In September 1909, Sigmund Freud delivered his ground-breaking Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis at Clark University--his only speaking engagement in the United States. Focal Points focuses on the most photographed place on a college campus. To inquire about having your college featured, contact us at Smart College Visit. Click here to explore Clark University's profile on Smart College Visit and plan your campus visit travel to Clark. Continue reading

What's Your Story? Share It! On many scholarship applications there is a place to explain “extenuating circumstances” or share “anything else you’d like us to know about you”. Always take the time to fill out these boxes! This is one more chance for the judges to get to know you and understand why the scholarship money is so important to you. Tell the truth and resist the urge to write a sob story. If you are trying to win college scholarship money, there has to be a real reason why you cannot afford to pay for college on your own.... Continue reading

Tweet by @PHSCouns #CampusChat, April 10, 2013, from the Pikesville High School Counseling Department . Continue reading

Collegiate donation drives are abundant and each year save hundreds of thousands of tons of usable goods from going into the waste stream. And, not only is it good for the environment, it also is putting needed cash into the hands of local charities. Continue reading

After all of your hard work filling out a scholarship application and writing the essay be sure to make copies of each page. You can use this information for other scholarships and if the application gets lost in the mail, it will be easy to reproduce. Also, if you are called by the scholarship provider with questions about your application or essay, you can whip out your copies and refresh your memory with exactly what you shared with them. The extra minute it takes to make copies can be worth thousands of scholarship dollars! Monica Matthews is our favorite scholarship... Continue reading

Tonight on #CampusChat: Setting the Right Expectations for College - 9PM ET From the time we are children many of us are asked the proverbial question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And, we are often told "You can be anything you want to be" which is often preceded by or sometimes followed by "work hard" or "study hard." Suzy Lee Weiss did work hard and study hard and believed that she could get accepted into an Ivy League school. Apparently, things did not go the way Suzy expected. Were her expectations wrong? With Harvard's 7%... Continue reading

College Fairs are typically regional events where students from nearby high schools converge for the opportunity to meet admissions counselors from colleges already on their list or to explore colleges they'd like know more about. Here are Smart College Visit's top 5 tips for getting the most out from a college fair. Continue reading

The most photographed building at San Diego State University (SDSU) is the iconic Hepner Hall. Dating back to 1931, Hepner Hall was built in the Mission Revival style of architecture featuring horseshoe arches and an open-faced bell tower with five campanario bells that are rung just once a year, during commencement. Hepner Hall, San Diego State University San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor's degrees in 85 areas, master's degrees in 76 areas and doctorates in 21... Continue reading

by Erin Westerman I thought I was all set. It was the beginning of the second semester of my freshman year in college and I had my classes all lined up. But then I made a decision. I wanted to change majors from Marketing Communication to Hospitality Management. So, even though it was a very inconvenient time, and it swamped me with work to catch up on because I joined the classes a week late, I loved it! Here are some tips if you’re thinking about changing your major, or declaring a major at all. Talk about it Discuss with... Continue reading

Parents: Got a minute? Click to play this week's College Mom Minute (episode 74): Decision Dilemmas -- Decision making strategy To listen to more of College Mom Minute, please explore our archive of Dr. Nancy Berk's podcasts for parents - it only takes a minute! Nancy Berk, Ph.D. is the author of College Bound and Gagged: How to Help Your Kid Get Into a Great College Without Losing Your Savings, Your Relationship, or Your Mind. An accomplished psychologist, speaker and award-winning lifestyle humorist, she is a former full-time university professor, and the mom of a college graduate and college sophomore.... Continue reading