Free College Advice!!!

Merit is Offering the First Consulting Session On the House!

Must Act Soon - Offer Expires September 31, 2009

-Make an appointment for your child today!
-Ask all your pressing college admissions questions.
-Take advantage of a chance to sit down with a seasoned advisor.
-Merit admits students to the most selective college institutions.

Applying for college can be overwhelming and stressful, but don't get discouraged because it is an extremely important part of your young adult's life.

Merit highly recommends that you do a thorough investigation before jumping into a 4-5 year lifestyle decision- Know before you go!

Important Directions:

To redeem this consulting session with Susan Tatsui-D'Arcy, the Director at Merit Educational Consultants:

1. Click on this link or the picture above

2. Fill out:

• a. "Personal Details"
• b. "Billing Address" - (Reminder: This session is 100% FREE, we don't charge you for it)
• c. "Contact Info" - (Phone number)

3. Use promo Code: giftforafriend

4. Ask a free question or set up an appointment.

You may also call to make an appointment!

Susan Tatsui-D'Arcy
831.462.5655
Take control of your future with a Free Consulting Session!

How does Obama's 'Race to the Top' affect my children?

President Obama announced his education reform plan yesterday. His 'Race to the Top' is designed to provide federal grants to schools by linking teacher pay to student achievement, easing limits on charter schools, and setting up national academic standards. By requiring states and districts to compete for the $4.35 billion, Obama hopes that this will "incentivise excellence and spur refurm and launch a race for the top in America's public schools." Concerned with how the US will compete with India and China in the future, Obama plans to start the race now.

What does this mean to you? For now, nothing. If Obama's incentives work and teachers strive to win the grants, your children may benefit from the competition created amongst the teachers/school districts. But for now, the federal government will be mired in politics and committees. So how can you ensure that your children receive a comprehensive education that prepares them for college and/or successful careers? Support your teachers, schools, and president, but you'll need to take your own children's education into your hands. With recent budget cuts in education, guidance counselors have received pink slips so many parents will be responsible for setting up their children's academic plans. Your children need a well-thoughtout program that begins with preschool and ends with 12th grade. Meet with your school's principal to discuss the curriculum framework and what will change with the impending cut backs. Unless you know what your high school requires for graduation and colleges require for admissions, your child may miss important classes and other requirements.

While waiting for educational reform, you can set up an after-school program in your home to give your children the academic skills they need. Assess what your children are learning in school and supplement their education with an enrichment program after school. Merit Academy offers curriculum for parents to use to enrich their children's academic foundations and build necessary skills. Our Educational Consultants can help you assess your children's academic levels and develop individual programs to improve their skills. By taking control of your children's education now, you won't have to worry about budget cuts or educational reform. Support Obama's Race to the Top so that future generations will benefit from it.

Do state and federal cuts hurt my child's educational future?

When you hear about states issuing I.O.U.s to employees and states borrowing moneys from local government, you've got to wonder how your child's schools are going to deal with the budget deficit. As your child's only true advocate, you need to get involved. How? Call your school's principal and set up a meeting to discuss on what areas the school plans to cut back. If these budget cuts will directly affect your child, take action. Don't sit back and complain about these changes, you can ensure that your child gets an excellent education, even in tough economic times.

If your child will benefit from an enrichment program that builds reading, writing, math, science or foreign language skills, then set one up! You don't need to pay high costs for tutoring or expensive programs, set it up for your child, right in your home. I did just that for my daughters and they're now at Stanford Medical School and Claremont McKenna College! Use Merit Academy's Preschool or Elementary School Curriculum and set up an after-school program. That way, you don't have to worry that your school or teachers aren't teaching specific concepts. Just have your own teacher work with your children at home.

You can set up this program just the way I did. Read about how I set up the most amazing preschool for my children, right in my home, and I didn't have to pay a penny for it! I even wrote a book to show other moms, just like you, how to do it. Check out "The Working Mother's Guide to FREE Child Care in Your Home!". By using Merit's curriculum and this book, you'll be able to set up the perfect program for your children.

Besides giving your child a first-class education, you'll also receive extra benefits from your teacher like preparing dinner, doing laundry, and running errands. I did this for 9 years and all of my friends thought I was a millionaire! Don't let state or federal budget cuts hurt your child's chances of getting a solid education! Start your own program now!

Merit Sent Students Off to the Following College Institutions

Our List of Selective Colleges Speaks for itself:

Stanford University
Harvard University
Yale University
Johns Hopkins University
Cornell University
Brown University
Duke University
MIT
Princeton University
Claremont McKenna College
Pomona College
Scripps College
Harvey Mudd College
Pitzer College
University of Southern California
University of Pennsylvania
University of California Los Angeles
University of California Berkeley
University of California San Diego
University of California Santa Barbara
University of California Davis
University of California Santa Cruz
University of California San Francisco
University of California Irvine
University of California Riverside
Santa Clara University
Lewis and Clark University
Cal Poly
Mills College
Occidental College
Chapman University
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
Pepperdine University
Wesleyan University
Georgetown University
Emory University
Morehouse College
Northwestern University
University of Chicago
Bates College
Berklee College of Music
Boston College
Brandeis University
Boston Conservatory
Emerson College
Northeastern University
Tufts University
Columbia University
New York University
Juilliard School
Marist College
Syracuse University
Wake Forest University
Oberlin College
Reed College
Whitman College

How to Beat the College Admissions Odds!

Want to boost your students’ acceptance percentages to selective colleges? As you know, colleges are looking for outstanding students – those who strive to take the most rigorous courses and ace the SATs. But why aren’t those students admitted? Colleges are accepting students who are “engaged” and “interesting.” That’s why successful students start projects. I would be happy to give a seminar (for free) for your students and families to show them how projects will help with college admissions. Preview a video of my seminar.

If each of your college-bound students should do a project, their acceptance into top-choice colleges would increase significantly. Your percentage of seniors accepted at selective universities will double. To learn more about projects, check out this book Beat the College Admissions Game: Do a Project! to see how powerful a project can be in the admissions game. The book is very affordable and it walks the students through every step to complete a project. And, if they hit road blocks, they can work with Merit’s College Online Advisors to get over the hump! It won’t require that you or your teachers add more on to your already overwhelming workload, and it will double your students’ acceptance rates!

Besides helping your students to get into their first-choice colleges, your students will be taking the initiative to fix problems in our society. Please contact me at 831.462.5655

Give your students this tip to give them the edge they’ll need to get into their first-choice colleges!

Seniors: Start your college application essays now!

If you're a college-bound senior, use your summer break to get started on your college application essays and personal statements. Go online or call the admissions department at your prospective colleges to get the prompts. Spend a few days brainstorming about what you would like to discuss and how you want to position yourself. Draw up an outline and a rough draft, then write several drafts over the next two months. Ask your high school English teacher and other good writers to edit your essays. Give yourself several days between edits so you have time to get away from them and take a fresh look each time you work on them.

The Common Application, used by almost 400 colleges and universities nationwide, is online (collegeboard.com) and ready to start now. This requires one 150-word essay and a second essay that is minimum of 250-words. Each college's supplemental application form will also require essays; check with each college's website or the CollegeBoard.com's website to organize your supplemental essay topics. The UCs and CSUs will be ready to start in September but you can only submit between November 1st and 30th. The CSUs don't require any essays; the UCs require two. Go online to universityofcalifornia@edu/admissions to get essay topics. The UC essays/personal statements allow a maximum of 1000 words for both essays.

If you have any questions about essay topics and need help writing your essays, Merit offers excellent tutors who help students find their voices and polish their writing skills. Call (831) 462-5655 or use our online College Advisory service.