Is getting into TAMS a good idea?

Is getting into TAMS a good idea? By Rajkamal Rao Image Courtesy: The University of North Texas The Texas Academy of Math and Sciences (TAMS), a program on the campus of the University of North Texas, is primarily a STEM program. TAMS was designed to accelerate students through the Texas university system. Students withdraw from high school and enter UNT early for their 11th and 12th grades. Because Texas law requires state-chartered colleges and universities to accept credits earned at other state-chartered colleges and universities, credits earned at TAMS are easily transferrable if a student decides to attend a 4-year degree program, such as at UT Austin, or Texas A&M, and is accepted at such an institution. Acceleration is the primary appeal of the TAMS program. At the end of their 12th grade, many students would have earned 48-54 college credit hours, even as they are earning credentials to graduate with a high school diploma. Such students could take a couple of college classes during the summer at their 4-year institution and start their junior year in college. Meanwhile, their friends who stayed back in a traditional high school would be entering the same college as a freshman! Acceleration particularly appeals to students who want to pursue a medical degree, which takes 8 full years. There are Medical Early Assurance Programs which are designed to cut this to 7 years, but with TAMS, one could potentially cut it all down to just 6 years. Besides acceleration, TAMS, because of its intense stress on STEM training, is also attractive to elite schools around the country. TAMS, housed in an actual university, provides access to labs and professors not available in a high school. It has various STEM-based clubs in which students get to do real research assisting professors. Outstanding TAMS graduates often obtain admission to top tech schools such as CalTech, MIT, and Georgia Tech. With so much going for TAMS, admission is competitive (SAT scores and high math/science competencies required). Students are required to submit their school transcripts from the 7th grade, through the first reporting period of the 10th grade. Students should be on track to complete Geometry, Algebra I, and Algebra II by the end of their sophomore year (10th grade). The last SAT test that students can take for the regular admissions cycle is the October test date of a student's sophomore year. Four recommendation letters are needed - from your Science, Math, and English teachers, along with one from your school counselor or principal. Students will select one of six tracks - Health Professions, Engineering, Computer Science + Mathematics, Music, Visual Arts and Design, General Science and Mathematics. TAMS is a residential program, and charges for tuition, living, and food. The cost is about $27,000 a year. You must fill out the FAFSA form to find out for what financial aid you will qualify. Admissions Process and Interview Day If you're lucky to be selected, the first step in the process is that you're invited to attend an interview. Only students who show strong promise are invited to Interview Day. High SAT scores (1500 and above) are good predictors to getting the invitation, although students with scores as low as 1320 also have been known to be invited. Applicants must request that their official SAT/ACT score report be sent to UNT (not TAMS). Students, along with their parents, convene at TAMS on Interview Day around 9 AM. After a general session with everyone, the parents break out into a Financial Aid session, but the students are taken to a test hall for their math tests. The tests are about an hour long and are broken into Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 levels. Performing well on the math exams on interview day is an important step in getting accepted to TAMS. Use these links to help you prepare better. Successful TAMS students tell us that unless one gets a perfect score on these tests, they are unlikely to make it to the final stage. At the conclusion of the math tests, students are given a short break. Then they are grouped into units of four students each. The group interview process then starts. Students are quizzed on their personalities (if you were a fruit, what fruit would you be and why?), or world topics (such as the environment). Students are expected to build off on answers provided by other members within the group. This portion of the interview is to see how well you do as a team. Sometimes you're asked to participate in a fun activity, such as a scavenger hunt. Be mindful that UNT staff will be observing how you interact with each other, and how you contribute to your team's overall output. Towards the end of the group session, you'll be asked to write a short essay. The topic could be about the interview day, what you learned from the day's activities or some other subject unrelated to TAMS. In Nov 2019, TAMS began testing one-on-one student interviews instead of group interviews. Clients report that the interviews were about 20 minutes long. TAMS accepts students on a rolling admissions calendar, from October through April. Students who are successful in the interview are offered admission during the customary season, in March. You must accept offers of admission before May 1. The institution maintains an excellent FAQ page. <!-- replace with your text END-->

By Rajkamal Rao  

Image Courtesy: The University of North Texas

The Texas Academy of Math and Sciences (TAMS), a program on the campus of the University of North Texas, is primarily a STEM program. TAMS was designed to accelerate students through the Texas university system. Students withdraw from high school and enter UNT early for their 11th and 12th grades.

Because Texas law requires state-chartered colleges and universities to accept credits earned at other state-chartered colleges and universities, credits earned at TAMS are easily transferrable if a student decides to attend a 4-year degree program, such as at UT Austin, or Texas A&M, and is accepted at such an institution.

Acceleration is the primary appeal of the TAMS program. At the end of their 12th grade, many students would have earned 48-54 college credit hours, even as they are earning credentials to graduate with a high school diploma. Such students could take a couple of college classes during the summer at their 4-year institution and start their junior year in college. Meanwhile, their friends who stayed back in a traditional high school would be entering the same college as a freshman!




Acceleration particularly appeals to students who want to pursue a medical degree, which takes 8 full years. There are Medical Early Assurance Programs which are designed to cut this to 7 years, but with TAMS, one could potentially cut it all down to just 6 years.

Besides acceleration, TAMS, because of its intense stress on STEM training, is also attractive to elite schools around the country. TAMS, housed in an actual university, provides access to labs and professors not available in a high school. It has various STEM-based clubs in which students get to do real research assisting professors. Outstanding TAMS graduates often obtain admission to top tech schools such as CalTech, MIT, and Georgia Tech.

With so much going for TAMS, admission is competitive (SAT scores and high math/science competencies required). Students are required to submit their school transcripts from the 7th grade, through the first reporting period of the 10th grade. Students should be on track to complete Geometry, Algebra I, and Algebra II by the end of their sophomore year (10th grade). The last SAT test that students can take for the regular admissions cycle is the October test date of a student's sophomore year. Four recommendation letters are needed - from your Science, Math, and English teachers, along with one from your school counselor or principal.

Students will select one of six tracks - Health Professions, Engineering, Computer
Science + Mathematics, Music, Visual Arts and Design, General Science and Mathematics.

TAMS is a residential program, and charges for tuition, living, and food. The cost is about $27,000 a year. You must fill out the FAFSA form to find out for what financial aid you will qualify.

Admissions Process and Interview Day

If you're lucky to be selected, the first step in the process is that you're invited to attend an interview. Only students who show strong promise are invited to Interview Day. High SAT scores (1500 and above) are good predictors to getting the invitation, although students with scores as low as 1320 also have been known to be invited. Applicants must request that their official SAT/ACT score report be sent to UNT (not TAMS).

Students, along with their parents, convene at TAMS on Interview Day around 9 AM. After a general session with everyone, the parents break out into a Financial Aid session, but the students are taken to a test hall for their math tests. The tests are about an hour long and are broken into Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 levels.

Performing well on the math exams on interview day is an important step in getting accepted to TAMS. Use these links to help you prepare better. Successful TAMS students tell us that unless one gets a perfect score on these tests, they are unlikely to make it to the final stage.

At the conclusion of the math tests, students are given a short break. Then they are grouped into units of four students each. The group interview process then starts. Students are quizzed on their personalities (if you were a fruit, what fruit would you be and why?), or world topics (such as the environment). Students are expected to build off on answers provided by other members within the group. This portion of the interview is to see how well you do as a team. Sometimes you're asked to participate in a fun activity, such as a scavenger hunt. Be mindful that UNT staff will be observing how you interact with each other, and how you contribute to your team's overall output.

Towards the end of the group session, you'll be asked to write a short essay. The topic could be about the interview day, what you learned from the day's activities or some other subject unrelated to TAMS.

In Nov 2019, TAMS began testing one-on-one student interviews instead of group interviews. Clients report that the interviews were about 20 minutes long. 

 

TAMS accepts students on a rolling admissions calendar, from October through April. Students who are successful in the interview are offered admission during the customary season, in March. You must accept offers of admission before May 1.

The institution maintains an excellent FAQ page.

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2019-20 Automatic Admission Colleges and Universities

By Rajkamal Rao  

Texas A&M's AIS. Image Courtesy: Texas A&M

Texas high school students know that a good class rank can help you get into many Texas public universities and colleges without much effort. Students in the top 6% of their class are automatically admitted to the state's flagship university, UT Austin, without regard to their SAT/ACT scores or extracurricular activities.

Here's our breakdown of the various automatic admission options which Texas high school students enjoy. Schools generally do not publish class ranks below the top 10% but are supposed to provide the weighted average GPA cutoffs for the top 25%, top 50%, and top 75%, by Texas state law. Simply ask your counselor for the cutoffs and look at your own transcript to find out which quartile you fall into. Also, in the list below, when ACT or SAT scores are mentioned, these are minimum scores.

1. If you're in the top 6% of your class, you automatically get into UT Austin.



2. If you're in the top 10% of your class, you automatically get into any Texas public university, including Texas A&M, UTD, UT Arlington, Midwestern, Tarleton State, Texas State, Texas Tech, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Woman's, University of Houston (Top 15%) and UNT.



3. If you're in the top 25% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 21 OR SAT score of 1070], you automatically get into Midwestern University.



4. If you're in the top 25% of your class, you automatically get into Tarleton State and UT Arlington.



5. If you're in the top 25% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 20 OR SAT score of 1000], you automatically get into Texas State.



6. If you're in the top 25% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 24 OR SAT score of 1180], you automatically get into Texas Tech.



7. If you're in the top 25% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 21 OR SAT score of 1080], you automatically get into the University of Houston.



8. If you're in the top 25% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 20 OR SAT score of 1030], you automatically get into UNT.



9. If you're between 25% and 50% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 24 OR SAT score of 1170], you automatically get into the University of Houston.



10. If you're between 25% and 50% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 26 OR SAT score of 1260], you automatically get into Texas Tech.



11. If you're between 25% and 50% of your class AND [have an ACT score of 22 OR SAT score of 1090], you automatically get into Texas State.

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Seniors: How do you request recommendation letters?

By Rajkamal Rao  

Most colleges use online recommendation platforms. Image Courtesy: UT Austin

Seniors often ask us the best way to send recommendation letters to colleges. Recommendation letters form a crucial part of your overall profile and in an age when admission tests like the SAT/ACT are becoming less relevant as more colleges go test-optional or even test-blind, essays and recommendation letters, both being subjective assessments, become ever more important.

Essays are your subjective descriptions of yourself; recommendation letters are subjective descriptions of you by someone else.

You request recommendation letters typically when you enter the 12th grade. By this time, you should have a fair idea of the list of schools to which you plan to apply. 

There are two types of recommendation letters: Counselor recommendations and teacher recommendations.

Counselor recommendations

In general, counselor letters are more important than teacher recommendations. Counselor letters represent the official evaluation of the entire school about you and includes information related to non-academic qualities, such as attendance, school-sponsored extracurricular activities, community service, tardiness, bullying, etc. A principal is unable to write such a letter for all students in a high school, so, this task is delegated to the designated counselor who oversaw your performance. Your counselor is assumed to know enough about you to write a fair fact-based opinion, largely based on grades and other data contained in the school's information systems.

Counselor recommendations are generally divided into four areas: Distinctive Qualities; Intellectual Growth and Trends; Areas of Significant Impact; and Readiness for College & Recommendation.

Here's a sample letter, courtesy of Michelle Rasich, Director of College Counseling at Rowland Hall, an independent, coeducational day school in Salt Lake City, for a fictitious female student, SueAnn. 

1. Distinctive Qualities

While SueAnn prides herself on her academic accomplishments, it is her concern for and interest in other people that are her most defining attributes. For SueAnn, “A friend in need, is a friend indeed.” She is the student who will notice someone sitting alone at lunch and encourage her friends to join the student. She is the leader among her peers who stands up for what she believes in. She is the traveler who will dive into a new culture, practicing her Spanish with pride and conversing with strangers as if they were old friends. SueAnn is the volunteer who will roll up her sleeves, create a new school club, the “Helping Hands” Humanitarian Club, and work with refugee students in our community. She is the artist who loves writing poetry or prose and sketching for class or pleasure. She is the soccer player who, despite being plagued by a nagging injury, always brings physical and mental toughness which her coach cites as the hallmark of her game. She is the babysitter who is in top demand within her neighborhood. SueAnn will change the world because she believes in and practices the art of human connection, relationship building, and caring.

2. Intellectual Growth and Trends

In this year’s senior class, the highest total number of GPA weighted courses, including AP and/or Advanced Topics (AT) courses, taken by any student is 15 courses. SueAnn has taken a total of 10 GPA weighted courses, which is a very demanding course selection at Rowland Hall.

COVID-19 Impact: SueAnn is the only senior to take every social studies course available. She was scheduled to take additional elective courses this year that were unfortunately eliminated due to the scheduling constraints created by our COVID-19 safety protocols to reduce in-person capacity.

 SueAnn is one of seven seniors in AT French V, which is our most rigorous world language sequence that begins with about 25 students annually in French II in the ninth grade. In French V Honors, students read works by French philosophers, in French, and write a fifteen-page research paper, in French. Awards: Last year, SueAnn was awarded 1st prize in a Federal Bar Association’s National Essay Contest and was also the Utah State Debate Champion.   

3. Areas of Significant Impact

As a four-year member of our Cross Country and Track teams, SueAnn has been a constant in the running program. She is always present, cheerful, hardworking, and committed to contributing to the team’s success, which earned her the recognition of Coach’s Choice (a sportsmanship award) her sophomore year, Most Improved Runner her junior year, and team captain this year. 

Outside of school, SueAnn is drawn to volunteering with organizations that serve or support children. She is wonderful with children and enjoys spending time with them. Whether she is behind the scenes working as the Social Media Manager of our club Roots and Shoots﹣a club working towards integrating refugee children into our community through teaching them about the environment in weekly lessons﹣or she is tutoring middle school children in math and helping them develop their organizational skills, or she is creating programming for children at an after school program for “Circles Salt Lake”﹣ whose mission is to reduce poverty in the Salt Lake area through creating connections and friendships that aid people to thrive﹣or she is a summer camp counselor at the YWCA, SueAnn chooses organizations with missions that she believes in and are committed to supporting the growth and development of children.

4. Readiness for College & Recommendation

SueAnn’s growth and development academically and personally has been consistent throughout high school resulting in a strong sense of self-confidence in her ability to transition to and succeed in college, which is why I proudly recommend her.

Name | Title | Email

Teacher Recommendations

Teacher recommendations are very important too. Someone who knows you really well and can speak to your strengths (and weaknesses) is always the best choice. Recommendations from teachers are by design more personal and colleges love to see teachers providing in-person accounts of their students.

Suppose you chose Mrs. Robinson, your AP English Language teacher, to write one of your letters. [The others are your Math teacher who also dubbed as your tennis coach, and your Athletic Band Director].

You would send Mrs. Robinson a polite email requesting her to write you a recommendation letter - and why you're asking her to do so. A few pleasant words about how much you enjoyed her classes - or during your activities working with her outside the classroom - would help. Attach your resume so that she knows your entire profile. And tell her the list of schools you're applying to (including their deadlines) so that she can plan her work. If she's a good teacher, several students just like you will be approaching her for help.

Follow up on the email by walking into her office and reminding her about your email. Ask her if there's anything she's looking for which will help her write the letter. And tell her that she should shortly be seeing links from colleges and universities in your list.

Teacher recommendations are generally divided into four areas: Student's experience with the curriculum; Academic Growth and Trends; Personal Qualities; and Recommendation.

Here's a sample letter from an AP English teacher, courtesy of Michelle Rasich, Director of College Counseling at Rowland Hall, an independent, coeducational day school in Salt Lake City, for a fictitious female student, SueAnn.

1. Student’s Experience with the Curriculum

SueAnn began English 12 via Zoom while in quarantine in Baja awaiting admission to the US. Her previous English education included language classes in Italy and a semester in Dublin. Although she’s adapted remarkably well, she had deficits to overcome that students raised with American schooling did not; for instance, she’d never made a works cited list and relied upon an indirect organizational structure in her essays that’s typical in Romance languages but seems repetitive to English speakers.

2. Academic Growth and Trends        

We’ve now been in school for 12 weeks, with SueAnn attending in-person for less than half of that time due to cohorting for COVID and her quarantine in Mexico. Nevertheless, I know her better than almost any other student in the class because she’s met with me at least weekly, lingered after class to graciously ask questions, and responded as promptly and pleasantly to email as any senior I’ve encountered. Her academic growth has taken several forms:

Through composing and repeatedly revising two literary analyses, SueAnn has learned the basics of paragraphing, organization within paragraphs, quotation and attribution, and mechanics in English, and she’s done so exceptionally quickly. Every time I’ve asked her to revise to incorporate a new skill, she’s happily and promptly done so and resubmitted for more feedback.

SueAnn has met with me to brainstorm topics for her college essays, discuss the conventions of the genre, and go over mechanical questions. Together we’ve puzzled over such seemingly basic questions as “What is the difference between ‘watch,’ ‘see,’ and ‘look?,’” questions that animate her much more than they animate most students because she’s so eager to learn. 

SueAnn’s reading comprehension, speed, and fluency have improved, evidenced by her reading aloud in class (which she always volunteers to do) and her improving quiz scores. SueAnn’s conversational English has improved, both as a result of her participation in class and of forming social connections with some really wonderful seniors, who take her on local hikes and explore Salt Lake City to the degree that the pandemic allows.

3. Personal Qualities

I’ve worked with many international students. SueAnn stands out as the most resilient, pleasant, diligent, curious international student I’ve worked with for several reasons:

Where many new students accept that cliques have already formed and fall into the social sidelines, SueAnn pushes herself to engage with others and has no trouble making friends. Her eagerness to speak English “like a native speaker” leads SueAnn to all but beg me to line edit assignments with her so that she can practice. She never backs down from a challenge, even drafting, redrafting, revising, submitting, and resubmitting a single essay until it reaches the standard that other students have had years of education in this country to reach.

SueAnn is an ideal student in her willingness to make mistakes, perhaps partly as a result of her experience as a 4-language guide in Florence. Her curiosity to learn about people and cultures trumps any embarrassment she may feel. Truly, I’ve never seen anything like it.

4. Recommendation

SueAnn’s resilience, coachability, friendly personality, and quick learning curve will make her an asset to your institution both academically and socially. I recommend her without reservation.

Teacher’s Name | English 12 Teacher | Email

Optional recommendations

Sometimes you may want to request additional recommendation letters beyond the two teacher and one counselor recommendation letters typically allowed on college application portals, such as the Common App. Perhaps you served for a local charity whose leader is willing to write you a letter and is asking you for a format. Worse, the person may ask you to self-write a letter and send it so that that person can submit it in as though he/she wrote it. You should avoid this at all costs. Self-written recommendation letters violate student code of conduct and are inherently dishonest.

Before you ask your external reviewer to proceed, you should ask your target college if they even accept such letters, and if they do, how such letters can be sent. UT Austin allows you to request a recommendation letter link from within MyStatus (see below). Other colleges may direct you to their website or an email address.

The format that each institution uses for external recommendations can be different. To prepare your reviewer, have them evaluate you using CommonLOR, a format used by top graduate schools of business. Word or .pdf versions are available at the bottom of the link. Note that your target institution may not use the CommonLOR. Remember to send your recommender your long-form resume to provide some context beyond what they know about you.

Requesting recommendation links

Now that you have prepared your recommenders, it's time for you to have those links sent.  Requesting recommendation links works differently based on the application platform you're using (Common App, ApplyTex, Coalition App, etc).

Before you start filling out the Common App, check out this page for what you’ll need to gather to successfully complete your application. As you come to the end of the Common App, there is a section that allows you to select which teachers, counselors, and advisors from whom you want recommendations. At this stage, you will also waive your FERPA rights - see the UT Austin step-by-step process below to understand what FERPA is.

When you're done with the FERPA step, a link is sent to each of these people, via email. They will fill out an individual evaluation (rating you on a scale of 1 to 5 using various factors) and type in the recommendation letter into a box on the Common App form. When they "save and submit" their recommendation letters, these evaluations are stored in the Common App database and will stay there until you apply to the college of your choice. You can verify that the letters are submitted by logging into the Common App - the status will show "Submitted".

Note that the recommendation letters are designed to be generic, so your teacher should refrain from indicating the name of your desired college on the recommendation letter. This is also to prevent the hassle of asking your teachers for letters again and again for every college that is in your list.

As you complete your application to a particular college from the Common App, the tool will ask you to verify if the list of recommenders is still accurate. When you confirm, the Common App sends a notification to your target institution to "download" the recommendation letters from the Common App database. You can see the status as "Downloaded" when a college has done just that. 

Exceptions: The University of Texas, Austin (if you use ApplyTex)

For UT Austin, the process is different because ApplyTex, UT's preferred application platform, does not offer the Common App feature of sending recommendation links. So, UT designed its own "link" system from its MyStatus page. The following details apply only if you use ApplyTex. [Remember that UT and Texas A&M have both switched to the Common App (from Coalition), so if you're already applying to schools using the Common App, there's little need to use ApplyTex]. 

1. Log in to UT's MyStatus page. You can only do this after you have completed your ApplyTex or Coalition App, paid the fee, and have received your UT EID.

2. On the Admission tab in MyStatus, click on "Document Upload Requests."

3. Click on "Select Other Doc Type"

4. Choose "Letters of Recommendation" from the drop down and select the radio button "send a request to someone to upload a document for you." You can request three letters, typically from your science, language arts, math, or social studies teachers. You may also submit up to two optional letters of recommendation - from teachers, mentors, or people who know you well, either within or outside of your high school. The letter should give additional context or information to support your admission that is not already provided in your application or other submitted documents (résumé, transcripts).

5. Waive your FERPA rights to see your recommendation letter. Remember that these documents are 100% confidential between the recommender and the university of your choice. When you grant a FERPA waiver, you are freeing recommenders to talk about you without fear of being sued or otherwise harmed. Most colleges will not review recommendation letters if you don't waive your FERPA rights because colleges cannot tell if you could be in on the recommendation letter process, including, in extreme cases, if you self-wrote your recommendation with the express approval of the teacher (a common occurrence in foreign countries).

6. Fill out the details of the recommender including the email address. The college will send a secure link to the recommender when you're done with this step. When the recommender clicks on that link, a form and a text box will open up for her to complete the recommendation letter. Anything that the recommender writes will directly be part of your student record, but because you waived your FERPA rights, you will not be able to see it. And this is by design.

What About Schools That Do Not Provide Links?

Not all schools allow you to send links to your teacher to complete the recommendation letter online. In such cases, you either upload your recommendation letter after receiving it from your teacher, which means you have a chance to see what your teacher wrote about you, or you ask your teacher to mail it to the target college or university, in which case you will protect the recommendation's confidentiality.

Consider Texas A&M, which does not provide a link for third party uploads. This restriction applies only if you use ApplyTex. [Remember that UT and Texas A&M have both switched to the Common App (from Coalition), so if you're already applying to schools using the Common App, there's little need to use ApplyTex]. 

Recommendation letters can be uploaded by the student on the student's Application Information System (AIS) page. Go to the "Upload Documents" page under the "My Documents" tab. Because you are uploading your own recommendation letter, you can see its contents before upload. Texas A&M doesn't care too much about the FERPA rights of confidentiality.

If your teachers want their letter to remain confidential, they should mail it to the address below. Documents mailed to Texas A&M cannot be viewed by the applicant and will remain confidential. Be sure to have your recommender include your Texas A&M UIN ID and email address which uniquely identify you to Texas A&M.Give your recommender a postage-paid envelope addressed to:

FRESHMAN Admissions Processing
Texas A&M University
P.O. Box 30014
College Station, TX 77842-3014

Follow the same process for all the other Texas public universities: UTD, UNT, Texas Tech, etc.

The Most Important Step

Make sure you thank your counselors and teachers profusely. Their time and effort could well mean the difference between attending that first-choice college or not.

A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website.  But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions. We are indebted and privileged to have earned their trust in matters which are so important to them. Please check out our public Google reviews to see what they say about us.

Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee.  Please contact us for more information.

Are Medical School Early Assurance Programs (EAP) a good idea?

By Rajkamal Rao  

Image Courtesy: Rao Advisors

The U.S. government's Occupational Outlook for doctors has never been better. Job prospects are expected to be very good because almost all graduates of domestic medical schools are matched to residencies (their first jobs as physicians) immediately after graduating. Prospects should be especially good for physicians who are willing to practice in rural and low-income areas, because these areas tend to have difficulty attracting physicians. Job prospects also should be good for physicians in specialties dealing with health issues that mainly affect aging baby boomers. For example, physicians specializing in cardiology and radiology will be needed because the risks for heart disease and cancer increase as people age.  

EAPs are programs that provide assurance to students that they will be accepted into a college of medicine without having to complete the MCAT or other tedious admission steps. The concern is legitimate. Just over 40 percent of the 53,371 applicants to American medical schools in 2019 secured a spot, according to the New York Times.

There are two kinds of Early Assurance Programs.


EAP after you enter college

EAPs allow undergrads already in four-year institutions to apply to med school, without first completing their degree. If you have completed ten pre-med courses (two courses each in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics - all lab-based; one semester of Math; one semester of Biochemistry, Psychology, and Physiology (or Anatomy)) before the end of your sophomore year in college, you have demonstrated a strong commitment and willingness to pursue a career in medicine. If you maintain at least a 3.5 GPA in these courses, some colleges fast-track you to a medical school within the campus or one that is affiliated with another university, without burdening you to take the MCAT or go through the onerous steps of getting into a college of medicine.

Remember that most traditional medical school students take their MCATs in their late junior or senior year because they are still not certain that they want to become medical doctors. So these EAPs are generally excellent choices for committed students.

BSMDs

The second EAP is the so-called BS/MD program that you enter into right out of high school. Here you will complete your BS degree and the medical school together, in 7-8 years. One of the most common questions I get at public speaking events or when families consult with us is regarding these BS/MD programs.

BS/MD programs have been around for at least 30 years. In the early days, the program was tremendously accelerated. One program in Philadelphia offered high school students a chance to earn a medical degree in just six years. Students had no life whatsoever, taking classes in the summer semester, doing internships, and only getting two weeks off for Christmas. These days, most accelerated programs run for 7 years.


List of BS/MD programs (courtesy: Magoosh)


The online MCAT preparation website Magoosh has compiled a list of colleges that offer the BS/MD program.

1. University of California San Diego
2. George Washington University
3. St. Bonaventure University/George Washington University School of Medicine
4. Northwestern University
5. University of Missouri Kansas City
6. Siena College/Albany Medical College
7. Union College/Albany Medical College
8. University of Rochester
9. East Carolina University
10. Case Western Reserve University
11. University of Toledo
12. University of the Sciences in Philadelphia/Commonwealth Medical College
13. University of Pittsburgh
14. Brown University
15. Texas Tech University
16. University of Texas Dallas/University of Texas Southwestern
17. Albany Medical College
18. Baylor College of Medicine
19. Boston University of Medicine
20. Brown University Warren Alpert School of Medicine
21. California Northstate University School of Medicine
22. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
23. Drexel University College of Medicine
24. Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
25. Florida State University College of Medicine
26. Hofstra North Shore — LIJ School of Medicine
27. Howard University College of Medicine
28. Indiana State University
29. Medical College of Georgia
30. Meharry Medical College
31. Northeast Ohio Medical University
32. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
33. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
34. Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School
35. Rowan University — Cooper School of Medicine
36. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
37. Sidney Kimmel Medical College
38. State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
39. Stony Brook University School of Medicine
40. St. Louis University School of Medicine
41. Temple University School of Medicine
42. Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
43. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
44. The Commonwealth Medical College
45. University of Alabama School of Medicine
46. University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
47. University of Colorado College of Medicine
48. University of Connecticut School of Medicine
49. University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine
50. University of Hawaii School of Medicine
51. University of Miami School of Medicine
52. University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
53. University of Nevada School of Medicine
54. University of New Mexico School of Medicine
55. University of Oklahoma School of Medicine
56. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
57. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
58. University of South Alabama College of Medicine
59. University of South Florida College of Medicine
60. University of Texas Medical School
61. Wayne State University School of Medicine
62. Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education/Various medical colleges
63. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Albany Medical College

So what is the allure of a BSMD? Forbes magazine summarized it well in an article in Nov 2018.

Here are several counterpoints to the Forbes article:

BSMD students don't explore as much

A privilege of the U.S. college experience is that students explore various topics for their first two years before deciding on a major. At some colleges, such as Brown  University, you don't declare a major at all. Your entire college experience becomes one of exploration.

Even the Association of American Medical Colleges prescribes a fairly light pre-medical schedule for students considering a traditional medical education - where you obtain a Bachelor's degree first, and then pursue medicine as you would any other professional pathway, such as law or an MBA.

In contrast, BSMD students are committing themselves to a medical education when they're still in high school, based mainly on the experiences of family members and a few forced internships during their summer years.

AAMC does not even have formal shadow program recommendations for high school students - AAMC's guide is only for pre-medical students in college. At most clinics, labs, and hospitals, high school teenagers are refused access to patient records (for privacy reasons). One of the benefits of shadowing is that medical students can sit in on doctor-patient conversations. Here again, teenagers are not permitted this privilege because they are not adults. So how does a teenager know that a medical career is right for him or her?

BSMD teenagers are thus foreclosing on hundreds of career opportunities that exist in the real world. In many situations, students may not want to become medical doctors at all, preferring to pursue other excellent careers in a health field, such as research or biotechnology. True, BSMD students can abandon their medical careers and pursue these other fields, but the social pressure to not do so is often immense. And, if there's a chance that a BSMD student may change his or her mind, why commit to a career in the first place when a world of opportunity awaits?


Oh, the MCAT Headache!

One benefit of EAP programs is that students don't have to take the MCAT, a test administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges.  The Austin College - Texas Tech program is a good example where this fact is prominently stated as an advantage. 

While the MCAT is a hard test, it is still a multiple-choice exam. As such, it is not different from the GRE, the LSAT, or the GMAT in structure, intensity, or impact. There are plenty of resources to prepare for the MCAT, such as Magoosh, Princeton Review, and Kaplan. If you need one-on-one tutoring, you can get it online from students who have taken the MCAT and possess experience - Varsity Tutors is one such site.

The MCAT is longer and grueling, but this should not be an issue for a medical doctor who is expected to spend 30+ hour shifts during their residency programs. Also, the MCAT allows you to repeat the test in case you had a bad testing day the first time.

High school students who take the SAT already take 154 questions on a 4-hour test. The MCAT has 230 questions in a 7½ hour test (with breaks), and medical students generally take it the year they apply to medical school, which is their senior year in college. Undoubtedly, high school students would have matured in their ability to take on a harder, longer test in five years?

Also, what is the message we are sending our teenagers? That they have to fear a test five years down the road?

What about the schools' brand?

Have you noticed that the top medical schools in the country - Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke - don't offer BS/MD programs?  The majority of colleges that offer BSMDs - Texas Tech, the University of Oklahoma, Drexel University, the University of Arkansas - never make it to the top of college ranking lists.

BSMD students who are otherwise gifted in high school may be settling for education at a lower-ranked, open-admission school, simply to have the assurance that they are automatically accepted into a medical program.

If such a student dropped BSMD altogether, is it possible that he or she could get into the nation's top 40 schools for a traditional undergrad degree? Yes, of course! And, using the brand of that degree (and the recommendation letters which come with it), is it possible to get into a top medical school? Again, yes! There are no guarantees, but in career planning, no news is often good news.


What about the cost?

Most BSMD students have already worked extra hard in high school, taking AP and IB courses. Someone with 10 AP courses could exempt them all at most public schools - and save a year in college. We wouldn't recommend students that they exmpt out of pre-med courses (Physics, Chemistry, or Biology) but there's no reason why students can't obtain college credit for AP French or AP Environmental Science.

If you save a year, then, the allure of the accelerated BSMD program vanishes. Seven years is seven years, no matter how you spend them in college.

 

Are there any visa restrictions?

In general, admission to most BS/MD and EAP programs is limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. 

Students who are already in America on H-4 dependent visas will have to convert to F-1 international student visas before they turn 21 to maintain their legal status. Of the 154 institutions in the U.S. that award degrees in medicine, only 48 institutions say that they accept international students (just check the international box in the search). The list of BS/MD programs accepting international students is smaller than 48 because several of the 48 that accept international students do not offer BS/MD (such as Columbia).

It is best to confirm admissions policies with your desired school. Some schools, like the University of Toledo, specifically prohibit students on visas from applying to BS/MD programs, but it may be a good idea to check if exceptions would be made for students on H-4 status who graduated from an American high school. Please let us know if you need help in constructing a letter to contact your school.

Check out AAMC's page on other restrictions for international students, especially those students aiming to enroll in a medical school with an undergraduate degree earned from a college outside the United States.

Alternate pathways

For the many high school families that are considering medicine as a pathway, have you thought of earning a 4-year Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree?




A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical, and free advice via this website.  But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions. We are indebted and privileged to have earned their trust in matters which are so important to them. Please check out our public Google reviews to see what they say about us.

Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee.  Please contact us for more information.

In Texas, you now have to file the FAFSA to graduate from high school

By Rajkamal Rao  

Image Courtesy: The U.S. Department of Education

A quick trivia for Texas high school seniors and families: Approximately what percentage of graduating students enroll in some form of postsecondary education?

By postsecondary, we mean any Title IV institution - that is, one which participates in Federal Financial Aid. This includes career schools, vocational schools, 2-year community colleges, 4-year degree colleges, public research universities - any institution which awards a certificate or degree.

If you answered 60%, you're a little too high. In fact, the Governor's strategic plan for the state is to get to 60% by 2030, so we're still some ways away.

There are many reasons for students deciding not to pursue postsecondary education but research has shown that lack of awareness is an important factor. Many first-generation families are too scared to even attempt college concluding that it is too expensive.

Our nation's retail-store system of publishing the sticker price for colleges - and then discounting the price to those who apply - is one reason for this confusion. Most families do not know that the actual price they will pay will likely be a lot less than the sticker price. In fact, as we often repeat in our seminars and on this website, families who make $65,000 or less don't have to pay one dime for all four years at many need-blind colleges, with tuition, fees, boarding, and meals all paid for by the institution.

But colleges don't know to award these kinds of grants and need-based aid if you don't apply. That is, if you don't tell colleges your financial situation. So, starting for students graduating from high school in 2020, Texas is requiring every high school student to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form - or else, students won't graduate. This requirement is no different from mandating that students take a Health, Tech, Arts, or PE credit prior to graduation.

Draconian step? Too much government interference? Not at all. It doesn't cost the state one penny to enforce this requirement. No tax dollars are being spent. It doesn't cost families one penny because the FAFSA form is free. The idea is that if students are forced to file the FAFSA, maybe, just maybe, they will find the Net Price to be so low that they might consider going to a postsecondary institution after all.

We think this new rule is a really smart move.





A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website.  But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions. We are indebted and privileged to have earned their trust in matters which are so important to them. Please check out our public Google reviews to see what they say about us.

Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee.  Please contact us for more information.

How does block-class scheduling work?

By Rajkamal Rao  

One of the most difficult things to understand about a high school student's daily routine is the block-class schedule. Teenagers seem to embrace it fine, almost right from the day they are introduced to the idea. It's adults who have a problem in comprehending what at first glance appears to be a highly convoluted system!

School districts engage in block class schedules to maximize resources (class room space, time during a day, the availability of teachers, variety of classes to avoid boredom, and the number of school weeks in a semester). Block scheduling works well whether the school follows a semester system or a trimester system (such as HEB ISD where the year is broken down into three 12-week trimesters).

The easiest way to explain this concept is through an example. Consider Frisco ISD which works on the so-called A-B block schedule.  Here's the schedule for Wakeland High School.

Wakeland High School Day
9:00 am - 4:15 pm

Bell Schedule
1A and 1B periods   9:00 am - 10:30 am
2A and 2B periods   10:35 am - 12:05pm

Tutorial/Advisory    12:10 pm - 12:35 pm everyday

3A and 3B periods   12:40 pm - 2:40 pm
4A and 4B periods   2:45 pm – 4:15 pm

Lunch Times
(A) 12:35 – 1:02
(B)   1:07 – 1:34
(C)   1:39 – 2:06
(D)   2:11 – 2:39

Notice that both A and B Blocks have 4 class periods each, with each period lasting 1½ hours. Each Block-class combination is worth a ½ credit during a semester of 18 weeks.






During week 1 of the Fall semester, a high school student taking her favorite subject would have three A-Block classes (M-W-F) and 2 B-Block classes (Tue, Thu). During week 2, she would have three B-Block classes (M-W-F) and two A-Block classes (Tue, Thu). In effect, each student sits in a 1½-hour class period for five classes over two weeks, amounting to 7½ hours of instruction. This amounts to 7½ x 9  = 67.5 hours of instruction over an entire semester. Why 9? Because there are nine two-week blocks in an 18-week semester.

Suppose a student has the following Fall schedule:

1. Pre-AP English II (Assume A-Block)
2. AP Spanish 4
3. Pre-AP Chemistry
4. AP Computer Science (Fall)

What this schedule means is that she will sit in Pre-AP English II for three days during week 1 (M-W-F) and two days during week 2 (Tue-Thurs). Over two weeks, she will have sat in 5 English classes, consuming 7½ hours of instruction. Over 18 weeks, this would amount to 45 English classes (9 x 5), 67½ hours of classes. At the end of the Fall semester, she would have earned a ½ credit for Pre-AP English II. To earn the balance of the ½ credit, she would continue taking Pre-AP English in the Spring semester, again on the same A-B Block schedule, for an additional 67½ hours of class time. This amounts to 135 hours of instruction over an entire year, the typical depth of commitment to earn a full high school credit.

So what's the maximum number of credits that a student can earn in a year? That's easy. We know there are 6 instructional hours a day, i.e., 30 hours a week. There are 36 weeks in a school year. This adds up to 36 * 30 = 1,080 hours during a school year. Divide this by 135 hours and you get 8 credits.

What about double-blocked classes? Some subjects, such as AP Computer Science, have too much content to complete in a year through standard single-blocking. By double-blocking this course, the student ends up taking AP Computer Science every day of the week during the entire semester, and thus, the entire year. This amounts to 270 hours of instruction over an entire year. In return, the student earns two high school credits. The below schedule is of one continuing AP Computer Science in the Spring semester.

1. AP World History
2. Pre-AP PreCalc
3. AP Computer Science (Spring)
4. Debate - 2

[For the record, FISD does not list AP Computer Science as a double-blocked course, but as one that earns 2 credits, so the effect is the same. A better example for double-blocked courses is GT American Studies which integrates two Advanced Placement courses (and like AP Computer Science) is worth 2 credits. GT American Studies combines AP Language and Composition with AP U.S History; therefore, the class is double blocked over the A day/B day time block].

The summary is that students earning a full high school credit in the A-B block scheduling arrangement will take a class 3 days a week, followed by 2 days the next week. They will continue this 2-week schedule for the entire year.

A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website.  But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions. We are indebted and privileged to have earned their trust in matters which are so important to them. Please check out our public Google reviews to see what they say about us.

Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee.  Please contact us for more information.

Common questions which confront high school families

By Rajkamal Rao  

Image: Rao Advisors

 

We have cataloged below the most common questions which high school families ask us. While most families know generic answers to them, they look to us for assistance in creating strategies specific to their children.

1. How do we define a student’s interests and develop a personal brand?
2. Which high school courses/tracks/endorsements/DLAs/PA’s should we aim for?
3. What are dual credit courses and what are the benefits?
4. pSAT/SAT/ACT/All? When?
5. Should I send my child to a test-prep academy for the SAT/ACT?
6. How important is the PSAT-11?
7. What is the difference between unweighted and weighted GPAs?
8. My friend's school district uses a more generous scale of GPA bonus weights. Is this fair to me? 
9. I am relocating. How important is my target location's school district?
10. Should I consider private high schools?
11. Should I consider charter schools? Magnet schools?  
12. Is TAMS a good option for my student?
    
13. How important is class rank for college admissions?
14. How can I track my child's weighted average GPA at home?
    
15. If Naviance sends out unweighted GPA scores to colleges, how will colleges know that I took tough courses?
16. What's the college pricing ladder?
17. What's the difference between counselor and teacher recommendations?
18. What's my chance of obtaining a merit scholarship in college?
19. AP/IB/Both? When? How many AP courses?
20. What is AP Capstone and why is it so popular?
21. How to develop a brag sheet?
22. Which extracurricular activities should my child pursue? How many?
23. My student wants to be an NCAA Div 1/Div 2/Div 3 athlete. How can you help?
    
24. How can my student engage in serving the community?
25. What summer programs should I consider for my student?
26. How do we balance work experience/internship/extracurricular activities into the student profile?
27. How do we exploit the Coalition’s free tools?
28. What are key planning milestones, grades 9 – 12? 
29. Which states/regions to avoid because co-op/internship chances may be fewer?
30. Why may an out of state private college be less expensive than studying in-state?
31. How much should we rely on college rankings?
32. Which reputed resources are the best to conduct college research?
33. Which types of colleges should we avoid?
34. What are three innovative ways to lower college costs?
35. How do we group colleges into Dream, Core, and Safe buckets?
36. What selection factors are relevant to finalizing colleges?
37. Should I focus on the brand of a college or my major?
38. I received a CAP offer from the University of Texas. Should I consider it?
    
39. What’s the difference between Subjective & Objective pieces of an application?
40. How do we analyze Net Price Estimates?
41. How do we conduct scholarship searches?
42. From whom should we get recommendation letters?
43. How do we maximize the potential of a LinkedIn profile?
44. Common App or Universal College App or Coalition App or individual college app?
45. What application strategies should we employ - Rolling, EA or ED?
46. What modern tools can we use to predict and improve college acceptance?
47. What online tools can we leverage to visit schools?
48. How do you prepare for campus visits?
49. How can we help you successfully write winning college essays?
50. What social networking tools can we employ to learn about others’ profiles?
51. How does America pay for college?
52. How to leverage new FAFSA rules, including the IRS Data Retrieval Tool?
53. How to take advantage of federal tax credits and deductions?
54. How to avoid making common mistakes throughout the process? 
55. How expensive are professional counselors?
56. How many times should I take the SAT/ACT?
57. How do you prepare teenage children for the summer vacation?
58. How important is the STAAR test? 
59. How do you prepare for AP Physics? 
60. How do we fine-tune our teenager's high school course roadmap?
61. Why are Advanced Placement (AP) Courses So Important? 
62. How to improve strength of high school curriculum?
63. Is an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma a good choice?
64. Does a "good" school district mean your high school student will be successful?
65. How to interpret PSAT-11 scores for National Merit Scholarships?
66. Should High School Students Audit a Class?
67. Can you give us a primer on College Essays?
68. How do you send transcripts to colleges?
69. How do you appeal a decision made by a college?
70. Is a BS/MD program a good choice?
71. How can I leverage community colleges to transfer to a 4-year college?
    
72. I am on an H-1B visa. How will this impact my student's college career, including financial aid?
    
73. I am on an H-1B visa. How can I ensure that my student qualifies for in-state tuition?
     

A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website.  But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions. We are indebted and privileged to have earned their trust in matters which are so important to them. Please check out our public Google reviews to see what they say about us.

Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee.  Please contact us for more information.

Texas A&M: Campus Visit Observations

By Rajkamal Rao  

The Water Tank at Texas A&M. Image credit: Rao Advisors LLC.

On June 24, 2019, we visited Texas A&M (TAMU) in College Station, TX, for a campus visit and presentation program. Our verdict? If you're interested in Engineering, Computer Science, Math, Sciences, or Business, this should be on your shortlist.

All You Need To Know About Texas A&M

The best way to visit Texas A&M is to register in advance. The visitor center is easy to find and parking at the University Center Garage is $2/hour.

Texas A&M is in small College Station, easily approachable on State Highway 6 which connects Houston to Waco. The neighborhood has the look and feel of a college town: for miles on all sides, the university is the region's largest employer. TAMU is one of the largest land-grant institutions in the country, and huge in size, at over 5,400 acres, and in the size of its student-body, at nearly 65,000 students. Texas A&M is also a big school for sending cadets to the U.S. Armed Forces. In fact, other than the major military academies operated by the U.S. Government, no college sends as many ROTC officers to the U.S. Navy, Air Force, the Marines, and the Army.

An extremely proud institution, everything on the Texas A&M campus has a tradition, dating back to the early 1900's. "Howdy!" is the popular welcome. Aggie is how a TAMU graduate is known as. For many years Aggies have followed a Code of Honor : “Aggies do not lie, cheat, or steal, nor do they tolerate those who do.” The Aggie network is world-famous for a public institution, helping other Aggies not only in school, but throughout careers and life.

The campus is so large that free buses operate on a 7-15 minute cycle. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC.

Kyle Field, the famous stadium which hosts Aggie Football. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC

Memorial Student Center is unbelievably large. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC

Well-manicured lawns separate large department buildings. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC.

Freshman dorm room, Lechner Hall. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC

Freshman dorm room, Lechner Hall. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC

Freshman dorm room, Lechner Hall. Image Credit: Rao Advisors LLC

Here are key observations from our participation in various official information sessions.

1. TAMU operates ten colleges within its large campus, such as the College of Engineering, or the College of Business. 


2. TAMU offers bright students a chance to take Honors courses, or even, be designated into an Honors program. Open to students in all majors, the University Honors Program provides the resources of a major research university with course, community and extracurricular opportunities.


3. TAMU selects 800-1,200 students in each incoming Freshmen class and places them into University, College or Department programs. Admission to some Honors Programs as an incoming Freshman requires a separate application. 


4. The student-teacher ratio is 20:1, relatively low for a large public school.  Honors classes have even smaller ratios.


5. Payscale.com ranks TAMU as #1 in Texas for Return on College Investment in terms of getting jobs after graduation.


6. There are three ways to get into TAMU. The Top 10% rule fills 51% of all incoming Freshmen seats. The Academic Admit rule (minimum of 1360 on the SAT or an ACT Composite of 30 and a Top 25% rank in a Texas high school) fills 16% of all Freshmen seats and was officially retired as an automatic admit pathway beginning the class of 2021. The remaining seats are filled through a holistic evaluation (grades, test scores, essays, extracurriculars) of the application.


7. The application window is open from July 1 - Dec 1. Honors applications are available on Aug 1. The College of Engineering has an Early Action deadline of Oct 15. All students are required to submit a diversity essay. “Texas A&M University believes that diversity is an important part of academic excellence and that it is essential to living our core values (loyalty, integrity, excellence, leadership, respect, and selfless service). Describe the benefits of diversity and inclusion for you personally and for the Texas A&M campus community. (250-300 words).”
   


8. Freshmen students do not have to live on campus although TAMU operates the nation's largest housing infrastructure for students. Dorm rooms are comfortable and are offered at different price points ($2,000 - $5,000 per semester).
   

Our takeaway

Texas A&M is an excellent public university option for Texas residents. Most students typically opt for UT Austin but for some programs such as Engineering, Sciences, and Business, Texas A&M is an attractive alternative. The Aggie network, the lifestyle of a small college town, and proximity to the big Texas cities (Houston, Dallas, and Austin) for commutes to visit family, and for internship/job opportunities all make TAMU a smart choice.

A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website.  But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions. We are indebted and privileged to have earned their trust in matters which are so important to them. Please check out our public Google reviews to see what they say about us.

Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee.  Please contact us for more information.

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