Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. With her own MBA private consulting firm as well as experience on the admissions committees for both the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Stacy Blackman has helped thousands of students master the application process for the world’s most selective MBA programs.  Read on for the incredibly valuable advice she has to offer about the business school admissions process. VT: How much time should be set aside to adequately prepare for and comple... Read More About Ask an Admissions Expert: Stacy Blackman

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. He gave us some brilliant Law School admissions advice, but now he is back with information on his primary area of expertise. Founder of the elite mbaMission consulting service, Jeremy Shinewald is one of the most highly recognized experts on the MBA admissions process.  A graduate of the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where he also served as an admissions interviewer, Jeremy has provided his services to MBA applicants all over the world. He has been quoted in major media outlets including the Wall Street Jo... Read More About Ask an MBA Admissions Expert: Jeremy Shinewald

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Chioma Isiadinso is a former Harvard Business School Admissions Board member as well as the former Director of Admissions at Carnegie Mellon University. She is the CEO of EXPARTUS, a worldwide MBA admissions consulting service, and has also written a book of insights on the MBA admissions process called The Best Business Schools’ Admissions Secrets. VT: How much time should be set aside to adequately prepare for and complete the application for an MBA program?   Chioma: Ideally you want to start to seriously think of the... Read More About Ask an MBA Admissions Expert: Chioma Isiadinso

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Michelle Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. Upon completing her residency at Harvard, she moved up as a faculty member and eventaully became the Assistant Residency Director for Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she interviewed many applicants and reviewed countless applications, personal statements, and resumés. Dr. Finkel is currently a board-certified Emergency Physician and the founder of Insider Medical Admissions. VT: What is the single most important thing applican... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Dr. Michelle Finkel

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences with you as well. Anne is a New York City tutor specializing in Grammar & Mechanics, Pre-Calculus, SAT Math prep, and more. She graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with a degree in Economics. See what she has to say about her alma mater: VT: How easy or difficult is it to get around on your campus? Is it hilly, do lots of people bike, are there buses, etc. Anne: Supposedly Stanford has the biggest campus in the country, and there's a reason we call it "The Farm." Everyone has a bike and it's not considered nerdy. Fro... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Stanford University?

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Having founded his admissions consulting firm, The MBA Exchange, in 1996 after serving as an admissions interviewer for his alma mater Harvard Business School, Dan Bauer and his firm have helped over 3,000 individuals gain acceptance from the world’s most selective MBA programs. Read on for the valuable advice he has to offer about the business school admissions process. VT: How much time should be set aside to adequately prepare for and complete the application for an MBA program? Dan: Depending on the candidacy, this can take any... Read More About Ask an MBA Admissions Expert: Dan Bauer

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Emma is a New York City tutor who helps students with Spanish, Writing, SAT prep, and more. She is currently a sophomore at New York University majoring in Economics. Check out what she had to say about her school: VT: How easy or difficult is it to get around on your campus? Is it hilly, do lots of people bike, are there buses, etc. Emma: The NYU campus is essentially part of Manhattan. One of the most distinct characteristics of NYU is that there is no campus, and the buildings are quite diffuse. As a freshman, you'r... Read More About What is it Like to Attend New York University?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Michelle is a Houston-based tutor and a senior at Rice University. She is a History major with a minor in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities. Michelle specializes in many tutoring subjects including ACT prep, SAT prep, and Spanish. Check out her review of Rice: VT: How easy or difficult is it to get around on your campus? Is it hilly, do lots of people bike, are there buses, etc.  Michelle: It is really easy to get around on my campus. It isn’t hilly, and we’re a small school, so it is only a fif... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Rice University?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Julia is a New York City tutor and 2012 graduate of Columbia University. She majored in Ecology and Evolution & Environmental Biology. Julia tutors several subjects including Geometry, Statistics, and Organic Chemistry. Check out her review of Columbia: VT:  Describe the campus setting and transportation options. How urban or safe is the campus? Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Julia: Columbia is in New York City, of course, so public transportation is excellent. The 1 line on the subway wi... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Columbia University?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Dennis is a 2012 graduate of Dartmouth College who currently tutors in Houston. He holds a degree in Government and Cognitive Science and teaches several subjects including Chemistry, World History, and Phonics. See what he had to say about Dartmouth: VT:  Describe the campus setting and transportation options. How urban or safe is the campus? Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Dennis: Dartmouth is in Hanover, New Hampshire, which is right on the Connecticut River and Vermont border. It’s a... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Dartmouth College?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Daniel is a New York City tutor specializing in SAT prep, Grammar and Mechanics, Elementary Math, and much more. He graduated from Brown University in 2012 with a Linguistics degree. Check out his review of his alma mater: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. How urban or safe is the campus? Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Daniel: Brown University is nestled in a more upper-middle class, suburban neighborhood within Providence, RI. Generally, it's very safe, and I've never felt unsafe ... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Brown University?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Emily is an Atlanta tutor and 2008 graduate of Vanderbilt University. She holds a degree in Classical Languages and currently tutors several subjects including SAT/ACT prep, Geometry, and Reading. See what she had to say about her time at Vanderbilt: VT:  Describe the campus setting and transportation options. How urban or safe is the campus? Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Emily: Vanderbilt is a walking campus in the southwest side of Nashville. All of main campus is walkable within ten minut... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Vanderbilt University?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Angela is a Houston tutor and graduate of Yale University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Film Studies and currently tutors Literature, Writing, Spanish, and more. See what she had to say about her experience at Yale: VT:  Describe the campus setting and transportation options. How urban or safe is the campus? Are there buses or do you need a car/bike?  Angela: Yale is a great, urban campus in a small city, New Haven. The transportation options are fantastic, with a Yale shuttle readily... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Yale University?

When it comes to financial aid, few people will be able to point you in right direction as well as national expert Mark Kantrowitz can. As the publisher of the very resourceful FinAid and Fastweb websites and the author of the bestseller Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, Mark has developed quite a name for himself as the go-to source for all financial aid inquiries. He has been featured in numerous prestigious publications and media outlets such as The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, and much more. Read on for the incredibly valuable insights and advice Mark shares on financial aid options and the future of higher education. VT: Wha... Read More About Ask a Financial Aid Expert: Mark Kantrowitz

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Erin is a 2012 graduate of Syracuse University where she studied English and Communications. She currently tutors in New York City and specializes in many subjects including Essay Editing, Literature, and Phonics. See what she had to say about her alma mater:  VT:  Describe the campus setting and transportation options. How urban or safe is the campus? Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Erin: Everything on main campus is within a 20-minute walk. The school uses some facilities for design stu... Read More About What is it Like to Attend Syracuse University?

The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach – they’re sharing their college experiences as well. Sarah graduated from Princeton University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. She currently tutors in Phoenix, specializing in numerous subjects including Calculus, MCAT prep, and SAT prep. See what she had to say about her time at Princeton: VT:  Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Sarah: Princeton is a campus that is very easily navigated. The vast majority of students walk to class, and I would say on average, it took me 5-10 min... Read More About What is it like to Attend Princeton University?

Many of our tutors at Varsity Tutors are more than just highly effective teachers; they have significant professional accomplishments and experiences to share with their students. Evan Benn, a Varsity Tutors tutor specializing in undergraduate and graduate school admissions essays, is a successful journalist with an impressive professional track record. Evan graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2004 and went on to work for The Miami Herald as a hard-news reporter for five years. He later relocated to St. Louis where he landed a position at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, moving through severa... Read More About Journalism Career Experiences of a Northwestern University Alumnus

The following piece was written by Cassie Kosarek. Cassie is a Philadelphia tutor for Varsity Tutors and 2012 graduate of Bryn Mawr College. When the inevitable question came up during my undergraduate years – “So where do you go?” – my answer was often met with disbelief followed by looks suggesting I was crazy. “Bryn Mawr, one of the Seven Sisters. It’s a small women’s college outside of Philadelphia.” Why, whoever I was talking to wanted to know, would I ever choose an “all-girls’ school?” Did my parents push me into it? Did I know when I was applying? I’d quickly corr... Read More About What is it Like To Go To a Women's College?

The following piece was written by Rachel Korn. Rachel has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer, as well as the founder of her own admissions consulting firm. In your search for your right college, there is no better single piece of data to collect than how you feel with your feet on a campus. Here’s how to maximize your visits:1.     Research beforehand. Visit school websites to get information about their scheduled visitor activities and plan ahead. If you have to pre-register for a tour, an information session or an interview, do that well in a... Read More About Top 10 Tips For College Campus Visits

The following piece was written by Dr. Michelle Finkel. Michelle has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former Harvard Medical School faculty member. She is the founder of Insider Medical Admissions. At first glance, medical school admissions might seem a far cry from the subjects of reality television confessionals. The players are stalwart, steady characters who live restrained lives and channel their passions with extreme discipline. Yet the admissions game is arguably one where the drama is real, the intensity is palpable, and the stakes are high. There are winners and losers, with thin margins separating one group fro... Read More About How to Write a Personal Statement for Medical School

The True Cost of College How much is the average American spending on higher education? More than you might expect. This infographic goes beyond tuition and offers a comprehensive breakdown of the real costs of college, as well as what goes into financing a degree, including the realities of student loan debt. Get the info you need to plan and pay for college.... Read More About The True Cost of College Infographic