At Vidya Consulting, we firmly believe in aligning one's skills, interests, passions, grades, and financial capacity before embarking on the college application journey. Aspiring applicants should focus on and consider several key factors:

·         Do my grades align with my skills, interests, and passions?

·         If they do, what are my best college choices?

·         Do my parents have the financial capacity to cover the total cost of my dream college?

·         If not, am I prepared to explore student loans as an option?

Additionally, in our age of Artificial Intelligence, where I have authored a book on the subject, students must be aware of AI's profound impact on our lives and the job market.

For those considering student loans, it's worth noting that the cost of education has surged in recent years due to inflation, with student loan interest rates reaching double digits. The colleges increased their fee as they always do. Superselective colleges such as the University of Pennsylvania’s tuition was $51,000 in 2019 and in about 5 years the tuition increased by 30% to $66,000. This cost will most certainly increase in the near future.

Such an astronomical increase in cost has made paying for college a big challenge. One could afford to pay for the college, but with the wrong major, and college can lead you to significant challenges, such as a challenging job market, low salaries, burdensome student loans, the impact of AI, or high-stress employment.

Applying to colleges involves juggling all these factors, and when a student applies to multiple institutions, the task becomes even more complex. Let us not overlook the daunting task of crafting 20+ essays during the application process and maintaining the grades!

Careful planning is paramount; you and your parents can undertake this task themselves. It requires substantial time, energy, commitment, and knowledge.

With years of experience in admissions counseling, we are well-equipped to guide you in selecting the right college and major. We prioritize efficiency and value over excessive paperwork and emails to maximize your experience and reduce the cost. We will provide you with the necessary tools and support throughout the process, making it cost-effective and highly valuable.

Here are some benefits of working with Vidya Consulting:

• Assessment of your skills, interests, and passions

• Alignment of the above with your grades and test scores

• Support in identifying the right extracurriculars and leadership activities

• Selecting colleges to apply

• Support in developing the application

• Review your essays

• Strategy for paying for college

• Support in selecting the college after admissions.

  No matter where you are in your search college we can help. But at the same time, like anything else, the earlier the planning occurs the better. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you make informed decisions about your college journey.