CPS In the News
and On the Road!

College Planning Services, Inc. In the News

When College Turns Gloomy (Kathleen Megan 1/8/08)
"...by the time second semester begins, the fanfare is over, the non-stop socializing is subsiding and the first semester grades may have signaled a need for more library time. In addition, the warmth of having been home during the holidays may make the return to a dorm room seem all the more bleak. ... Or after comparing notes with their high school buddies, [students] may start thinking that their friends' colleges sound better. ... Or maybe a first semester full of accounting courses has made a student see that it's not business college they wanted, but rather art school.

Whatever the reasons, college experts say the gloom of the early winter months often prompt a healthy percentage of freshmen to call home — or in some cases to call their educational consultants — and start talking about transferring or even simply coming home.

"I've seen it happen," said Marilyn Emerson, an educational planner based in Chappaqua, N.Y., and New York City, "and usually I let parents know in advance that it might happen and they might get the phone calls — especially from kids at schools where the weather is freezing cold and it's snowy.

"A lot of activities become indoor activities and it's just not the same, but I also caution parents that it's going to change again with the spring ... I tell parents they should listen and be supportive, but not rush into talking about transferring."

Barry Schreier, director of counseling and mental health services at the University of Connecticut, said he always reminds parents to remind students that "uncomfortable feelings don't last forever" and that they are not the only ones having trouble.

When spring arrives, almost everyone — except perhaps the seniors — starts to feel better.

The Perils and Perks of Helicopter Parents (Lucia Graves 12/18/07)
"Helicopter," "hovercraft," "hummingbird." They're terms used to describe parents who micromanage their children, especially during the college application process. ... The question is at what point does a parent go from "helpful" to "helicopter"? If secretarial help is acceptable, is it OK to work on the essay? How extensively? To come up with the essay topic? It's hard to know where to draw the line.

"Parents should realize that admission folk are experts at reading applications and can recognize when an essay has been written or edited heavily by a parent," says Marilyn Emerson, a New York-based college admissions consultant. "For example, a 17-year-old would not use the word 'relish' except in reference to a condiment on a hotdog."

Marilyn Emerson contributed to America’s Best Colleges for B Students by Tamra B. Orr. The book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other outlets.

  Comparing City Colleges
Says NY Resident in its Dec 3, 2007, issue, "Picking the right college can sometimes feel like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle...education experts [Marilyn Emerson among them] give the lowdown..." Click here for the Comparing City Colleges chart.

  Marilyn on Fox News - October 2007
Marilyn Emerson, founder of College Planning Services, was interviewed by Fox News recently for a TV segment. The segment will air around the country at times determined by the affiliates. The Fox News station in Orlando, among others, has aired the segment.

  Jennifer Gonzalez 10/22/06
Parents hiring consultants to help decide on a college
On a recent October afternoon, a group of 20 college consultants walked across the leafy campus of Hiram College, snapping pictures and asking questions. College 360, a project of the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, had brought them to six campuses in Northeast Ohio to pitch the virtues of local colleges.
The sales job seemed to be working on Marilyn G.S. Emerson, who runs College Planning Services in Chappaqua, N.Y. She said Hiram's articulate students and the close relationship between students and faculty were especially impressive. Emerson said her job "is to encourage students to think outside of the box. If they want to attend a large school, I still encourage them to visit a small school."

  October 3, 2006
Small Biz: Admissions Consultants for a Song
by Jeffrey Gangemi       Click here for the entire article
Business for ed-consulting firms is booming. Many don't try to repackage students but instead aid them in finding the right fit.
In an article about the educational consultant industry, BusinessWeekOnline's Jeffrey Gangemi profiled a group of successful moderately-priced independent admissions consultants around the country, including Marilyn Emerson of College Planning Services, Inc.

  July 30, 2006
Southbound by Abigail Sullivan Moore
Marilyn G. Emerson, an educational consultant in Chappaqua NY, says fewer families will consider less familiar states like Alabama and Mississippi. "There are just some preconceived ideas about what these areas are like," she says. "People vacation in North and South Carolina and Florida. Maybe that’s why people are more willing to go."

More Students Going South For College by Heather Zimar
(Article based on NYTimes July 30, 2006 issue)
Northern families are often reluctant to [embrace] Southern culture, especially states that are less familiar, like Alabama and Mississippi. "There are just some preconceived ideas about what these areas are like," said Marilyn G. Emerson, an educational consultant in Chappaqua, N.Y. "People vacation in North and South Carolina and Florida. Maybe that’s why people are more willing to go."

IECA Insights, Aug/Sept 2004 Edition
College Bound with a Chronic Illness
Article by Marilyn Emerson, MSW

2004 Edition, America's Best Colleges
How Schools Get Hot..."Some schools do an excellent job with marketing. They're constantly in touch with students, and they create warm and fuzzy feelings."

How to Get Into College, 2004 Edition
Roommate Roulette?...Marilyn Emerson of College Planning Services Inc. in Chappaqua, NY says her students often talk about dorm rooms after their first campus visit, but over time that attribute "gets relegated toward the bottom of the list" as students think more about class size and location.
Is That My Toothpaste?...Marilyn Emerson of College Planning Services Inc. says that when her clients matriculate at schools that offer both suites or old-style dorms to freshmen, the ones who wind up in smaller quarters are initially disappointed. But after they move in, she says, "The feedback I get is they much prefer the older dorms-they're surprised at how social they are."

November 11, 2004, special insert
Making the Final Decision..."Students tend to look at a school differently once they know that a given school wants them."

November, 2004
How to De-Stress College Planning...Visiting colleges is an important step in the process, says Marilyn Emerson, an independent educational consultant in Chappaqua, specializing in college admissions. "Before setting out, parents and children should meet to discuss the 'ground rules.' For example, some teens like their parents to ask questions during a tour while others are mortified. Parents need to go out of their way to make their child feel comfortable." "Dress comfortably, try to visit in decent weather, and don't visit more than two colleges a day," Emerson recommended.

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College Planning Services, Inc. On the Road

"May you frequently travel beyond the places that are comfortable and familiar, the better to appreciate the miraculous diversity of life." - J.S.Lehman, President, Cornell University, Commencement 5/30/04

College Planning Services, Inc. is committed to bringing students and families the most up-to-date information.

The following is a list of schools Marilyn has visited, with those she visited in 2008 highlighted in green.

Agnes Scott Air Force Academy Albertus Magnus Allegheny American Amherst Antioch Arcadia Arizona State Austin College Babson Bard Barry Bates Baylor Belmont Beloit Bentley Bloomfield Boston College Boston University Bowdoin Brandeis Brown Bryant Bryn Mawr Bucknell Cal Tech Caldwell Carleton Carnegie Mellon Case Western    Reserve Centenary Champlain Chester Chestnut Hill Claremont    McKenna Clark Colby Colby-Sawyer Colgate College of    Notre Dame College of    St. Elizabeth College of Wooster Colorado College Colorado School    of the Mines Colorado State Columbia College Connecticut Cornell Culinary Institute    of America Curry Daniel Webster Dartmouth Denison DePaul DeVry (AZ) Dickinson Drew Drexel Duke Duquesne Eckerd Elon Embry-Riddle Embry-Riddle (FL) Emerson Emory Endicott Fairfield Fairleigh Dickinson Fisk Flagler FL Institute    of Technology Florida Southern Fordham College    at Lincoln Center Franklin and    Marshall Franklin Pierce Full Sail Gannon George Washington Georgetown Georgia Tech Georgian Court

Gettysburg Goucher Guilford Gustavus Adolphus Grove City Hamilton Hampden-Sydney Hartwick Harvard Harvey Mudd Haverford Hiram Hobart &    William Smith Holy Cross Hood Ithaca Jacksonville John Carroll Johns Hopkins Johnson and Wales Keene State Kent State Kenyon Lafayette Lake Forest LaSalle Lawrence Lehigh Lesley Loyola     (Chicago) Loyola (MD) Loyola    (New Orleans) Louisiana State U. Lynchburg Lynn Macalester Marietta Marist Marquette McDaniel MD Inst    College of Art Mercer Mercyhurst Miami (OH) Minneapolis College    of Art and Design MIT Mitchell Middlebury Monmouth Morehouse Mt.St.Joseph Mt.St.Mary's Muhlenberg Museum School    (Boston) New England Northeastern Northwestern Northwood Oberlin Occidental Oglethorpe Ohio U. Ohio Wesleyan Olympic Training     Center Otterbein Oxford Palm Beach    Atlantic Philadelphia Pine Manor Pitzer Plymouth State Pomona Prescott Princeton Providence Quinnipiac Randolph-Macon    Women's Regis (CO) Rensselaer Rhodes Rice Rider Ripon Rivier

RI School of Design Roanoke Roger Williams Rollins Sacred Heart Saint Leo Saint Peter's Salve Regina Savannah College     of Art & Design School of the     Art Institute     of Chicago Scripps Seton Hall Sewanee Shepherd Siena Simmons Skidmore Southern CT State Southern Methodist     University Southern NH Southwestern Spelman St. Anselm St. John's St. Olaf Stetson Stevens Institute    of Technology Stonehill SUNY Albany SUNY Binghamton SUNY Cortland Swarthmore Sweet Briar Syracuse Texas Christian     University Towson Trinity (CT) Tufts Tulane Union U Akron U Arizona U of the Arts U Chicago UCLA U Colorado    - Boulder U Dayton U Denver U Minnesota UNH U New Haven U Northern Arizona U Northern    Colorado U Pennsylvania U Pittsburgh U Puget Sound U Rhode Island U Rochester U Scranton U Seattle U South Florida USC U Tampa U Texas Austin U Virginia U Washington U Wisconsin    (Madison) Vanderbilt Vassar Villa Julie Villanova Washington &    Jefferson Washington Washington U    in St.Louis Wesleyan Westminster Wheaton Widener Williams Wittenberg WPI Xavier

Given the nature of the admissions process and the selectivity of many educational institutions, we cannot guarantee admission to any institution.