Stratagee.com Blog

Stratagee is pleased to announce the release of Smart Search^TM
the first of its two web-based software products.

Smart Search^TM is the first web-based software that allows educational consultants to identify and compare colleges based on a student’s likelihood of admission and eligibility for financial aid. It is the fastest, most accurate way to determine where a student might Get In and Get Aid^TM.

See sample report at Stratagee.com.

In a few easy steps you can enter the required data (only 19 questions):

1. The student’s academic scores (GPA, SAT or ACT score)
2. Some basic financial information about the family
3. Your search criteria

There are two initial search criteria:

1. The admissibility indicator* (select your own AI or utilize Smart Search’s proprietary algorithm)
2. The five states in which you want to conduct the search

Smart Search’s proprietary algorithms then quickly determine:

1. The student’s admissibility indicator at all of the colleges in the chosen states
2. The student’s Federal and Institutional EFC (Expected Family Contribution) at each college
3. The student’s need for financial aid at each college
4. An estimated financial aid award based on each college’s published percentage of need met

Smart Search generates a list of colleges:

1. Lists the top ten colleges within the selected search states
2. Ranked by lowest net cost after estimated aid
3. Using the admissibility indicator that you chose

Then you select the final list of colleges that you want to include in your Smart Search Report:

1. Choose from the list generated among the five states
2. Add individual colleges from a nationwide list of 740 of the most popular public and private institutions
3. Get your Smart Search Report

Each Smart Search Report includes:

• Name and hyperlink of the college or university
• Student’s likelihood of admission (admissibility indicator)
• EFC methodology (Federal and/or Institutional)
• College’s estimated 2010-2011 cost of attendance
• Student’s EFC
• Student’s financial need
• College’s percentage of need met
• Student’s estimated aid award
• College’s net cost
• Three page Guide to Your Report, including useful tips and links

Your Smart Search Report can be:

• Saved
• Modified
• Printed
• And converted to a PDF file with a single click, then sent as an email attachment

*You Choose
With Smart Search you have the choice of selecting the Admissibility Indicator (Far reach, Reach, Possible, Likely or Very likely) yourself for each of your students at each college.

If you want to select the AI yourself then you need to check the box on the order form for Smart Search (My AI).

Or you can let Smart Search’s proprietary algorithm choose the Admissibility Indicator for you.

The Admissibility Indicator

The Smart Search Admissibility Indicator (AI) utilizes a proprietary algorithm that compares a student’s test scores and GPA to the 440 colleges in Smart Search’s database. The algorithm returns an indicator of (Far Reach, Reach, Possible, Likely or Very likely) at each college. In addition, each college in the database has been carefully reviewed by our admissions team, and “weighted” according to their admissions profile.

The Admissibility Indicator is based only on grades and test scores. As such, it is a starting point from which to begin your discussion of the student’s overall admissions story. It is not intended to override your professional judgment regarding your student’s admissibility or to be considered a comprehensive indicator of admissibility. No single admissibility factor, ours included, tells the applicant’s whole story and simultaneously accounts for the admissions nuances of each college.

With this understanding, the only logical way to give a student a sense of his/her likelihood of admissibility at a given college is to start with the lowest common denominators, GPA and test scores. 90% of the time these are the two biggest “concrete” factors in a student’s admissibility at colleges throughout the country. Acceptance rates only tell us how selective a college is. They don’t tell us anything relative to the student academically, or his/her likelihood of admission.

If a kid doesn’t have the grades and test scores to reasonably match up with a college’s applicant pool, he likely doesn’t have a great chance of being accepted. This is where you shine. No, Johnny you don’t have the grades and scores but x y and z about you can help move you up the list, here’s why and here’s how to go about doing it.

You can start your admissibility discussion with our Admissibility Indicator and fine tune the applicant’s story based on your knowledge of the applicant and all of those subjective factors that “can” move a kid with a 3.2 and modest test scores up the list at even the most selective colleges.

If you want Smart Search to select the Admissibility Indicator for you using Stratagee’s proprietary algorithm, then you need to check the box on the order form for Smart Search (Stratagee AI)

Buy Smart Search Today

(One-year license, unlimited use, includes updates)

$349 per consultant

Ordering steps

1. Register online at Stratagee.com.
2. Complete the order form.
3. Send the order form along with your check for $349 to:

Stratagee
207 State Street
Russell, Pa 16345
(814) 757-5033

Once your order form and check have been received, your Smart Search license will be activated in your account for one year from that date and a confirmation email, sent to you.

It’s the beginning of August and I can hear you thinking that there is little to be done now that summer is in full swing as the work of college admissions seems like a distant pursuit. Sorry, you’re wrong. There is no time like the present to begin to get organized and take some meaningful steps to making the college quest a mistake-free and rewarding exercise. Whether you are a newly-minted junior or facing the first days of your last year in high school, what you set out to accomplish now in the remaining days of summer can have a major impact on the year(s) to come. Let’s take a moment to set the stage and discuss what you can do with about three weeks to go before school begins.

For soon to be juniors, he sure that your curriculum is in order and that the courses you elected are indeed the ones you will be taking come September. A quick trip to the guidance office and a request for an unofficial transcript should provide this information rather painlessly. Verify your schedule, check that your grades and GPA are accurate as well as all of the information this document contains. Plan your test regimen making sure that you take into consideration holidays and family excursions so that you don’t have to change things around at the last minute. Now would be a great time to hop in the car or on the train to visit a few campuses just to get the feel for what they’re all about. Be sure to take the tour, participate in the Q and A and, if it’s possible and you think this institution might be on you’re A-list, have an interview. At the very least, sign whatever form they have that indicates you were there and ask for the name and card of the admissions person responsible for your region (where you live). “Demonstration of interest” is becoming something of an important consideration in application reviews these days, so to be recognized as having taken the time and expense to actually visit a campus can only work in your favor when decisions are being made. Plus, it’s a fun way to see what a college looks like, meet some cool people and start to think seriously about your options with concrete impressions that you formulate directly yourself.

If you’re a senior-in-waiting, do all of the above but also begin to spend some time working on your applications so that all Hell doesn’t break loose when you return to school and time becomes a fleeting luxury. Go to www.commonapp.org, establish an account and begin to gather and enter the requisite information for the Common Application so that you will have a head start on this process once school begins in earnest. Consider the prompts for the Personal Statement and put some thoughts to paper as you flesh out an appropriate essay which you know will be an important component of any application you submit. Do not treat this exercise as trivial because a well-crafted piece which gives the reader a sense of your character or a glimpse into your psyche can easily sway a decision in your favor. Essays should make you come alive in the minds of the committee, putting flesh on the bones of grades and test scores. Think too about which teachers will really do you justice in letters of recommendation. Download specific forms where they exist, address envelopes with stamps and be ready to distribute these to your favorite instructors the first day back so that they have the time to write thoughtful, positive evaluations that will enhance your candidacy. Popular teachers are always in demand and writing a thoughtful student evaluation takes time. I know many (in particular English and Math teachers who routinely get hit up more than others) who wouldn’t mind getting a head start on their recommendations before school is even in session. So a polite phone call request to your teachers of choice now might just get you points and a chance to demonstrate your seriousness which can only be a plus. If you haven’t already done so, create an account with the College Board and/or the ACT and register for the first SATs or ACTs available. Spending a little time familiarizing yourself with the test itself would not be wasted effort. There are many ways to do this both with printed guides and on line. Find which work best for you and get cracking.

So there you have it. A few tasks completed now while life is slower before that craziness of the first days of school will keep you calm, collected and on top of your game. Unlike the grasshopper, you will be ready for what lies ahead.

Lloyd Paradiso
The Voice of Authority