College Costs, Admissions Interviews, and the PSAT: Our 5 Most Read Stories of 2014

We've had a truly great year with all of you. Thank you for inviting us to be a part of your family's college planning journey. We are excited for the year ahead.

Before saying goodbye to 2014, let's take a look back at this year's biggest stories. From tips for acing the admissions interview to some startling statistics on college grads, these were our most read stories of 2014 ...

1) 71% of Recent College Grads Still Receiving Financial Help From Parents

New research suggests, once again, that many parents across the country are not getting their money's worth when it comes to sending their kids to college ...

2) Does the PSAT Matter?

We know the PSAT often gets overlooked or misunderstood, and we don’t want you to make that mistake ...

3) College Costs and Financial Aid

How does a family pay for a college expense that is equal to and in many cases greater than the mortgage on their home? ...

4) 8 Steps to Acing the College Admissions Interview

A good interview can make the difference between getting accepted or rejected by your top school ...

5) What Do You Believe?

At Ensphere, we believe in many things ...

With 2015 around the corner, we're also excited to share more details about our upcoming webinar events.

Beginning in January, families who can't make our in-person workshops can now attend a free webinar instead, from the comfort of their own home. Registration is easy, so let your friends know!

Our first webinars are coming up on January 20th and 21st. Registrants will get a free copy of our College Planning Timeline.

As always, thank you for helping us help other families. We know the college planning process is such an important time in families' lives, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference.

Happy New Year!

Erin, Director of Student Services

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays from Ensphere!

 

To celebrate, here's a festive video starring your favorite college planning team ...

 

 

We're also pleased to congratulate our seniors, who have begun receiving college acceptances. It's an excellent list so far:

 

Allegheny College
Auburn University
Baldwin Wallace University
Canisius College
California University of Pennsylvania
Case Western Reserve University
Chatham University
Clarion University
Cleveland State University
Duquesne University
East Carolina University
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Fairmont State University
Gannon University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
John Carroll University
Kent State University
Mansfield University
Marymount Manhattan College
Mercyhurst University
Ohio University
Pennsylvania State University
Purdue University
Robert Morris University
Rutgers University
Saint Francis University
Saint Vincent College
Slippery Rock University
Susquehanna University
Thiel College
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Mississippi
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of Oklahoma
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of Tennessee

Villanova University
Washington & Jefferson College
Waynesburg University
West Virginia University
Westminster College
Youngstown State University

 

... and many more to come!

 

From all of us at Ensphere, have a wonderful holiday season.

 

Mike Giffin, President

As promised ...

Here it is, as promised ... a picture of the team modeling our "awesome" Ensphere t-shirts.

Wish you could look this awesome? You can!

Through the end of 2014, we'll send you a t-shirt of your own for each family you refer our way. Simply click here to provide an email address so that your friends, family, and neighbors can receive our weekly blog posts. Click "Submit," and your t-shirt will arrive shortly in the mail!

Again, thank you to each and every one of you for helping us help more families accomplish their college planning goals. We believe our services can benefit every family who has students headed to a four-year college.

It's been a great year. Our seniors are now getting college acceptance letters. Juniors are taking the SAT/ACT and gearing up for the busy season ahead. Thank you to everyone for helping us make 2014 a good one.

On that note, we have some exciting news ...

You spoke and we listened. For some families, it is difficult to come out to an evening workshop in person.

To make it easier for those families to begin the college planning process, we'll be offering our workshop as a webinar, "Clearing Up the Myths of College Planning: Your Personal, Eye-Opening Journey to the Truth." Interested families can take the first step from the comfort of their own homes.

The webinar kicks off in January. Start telling your friends! More details to come.

Mike Giffin, President

Thank YOU.

Last week, we shared with you some of our beliefs at Ensphere. Today, we'd like to share some of your beliefs and say thank you to everyone for joining us on this journey.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Dear Ensphere,

I believe Erin's comprehensive reviews of student's essays are one of the most helpful services we have received. I also believe Chris' patience, with regard to my never ending questions regarding the CSS Profile, is equally invaluable!

Thank you Ensphere,
Patty
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Dear Erin,

On behalf of myself and my children, I wanted to express my appreciation for the orientation you gave us the other evening on Ensphere's services.

All three of us talked all the way home and throughout dinner on lucky we all feel to have you and Ensphere in our corner. I'm not sure in my entire business career I've ever walked away from a meeting thinking the person I had just met was more rightly matched to their occupation than I did after meeting you!

We all look forward to working with you and the rest of Mike's team as we go on this journey together.

We are all very happy we're making our journey with you by our side.

With Kindest Regards,

Tracy
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Mike and Erin are really top-notch professionals who know the business of college planning like no other. Do yourself a favor and talk with Mike about your options. We cannot be more happy with their services and professionalism and the assurance of knowing that our children will be guided in the best way possible to happy and successful collegiate experiences that will translate into rewarding careers in the end. We have no doubt regarding this.

- Jim
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

To all of you, we say THANK YOU for giving us the opportunity to help you achieve your college planning goals. We believe every family should have access to a regional College Planning/Funding firm that helps students find the career of a lifetime, identify the right-fit college or university, finish four years of school in four years, and develop a tax-efficient plan to finance college, without ruining the family budget or destroying your retirement plans. Thank you for allowing us be a part of this important step in your lives.

To continue our services it is important, to our current cost structure, to have introductions to new families who have students headed to college.

From now until the end of the year, we'll send you one of our - as Rena would say - "awesome" Ensphere t-shirts for each referral you provide.

Stay tuned next week to see the Ensphere team modeling our "awesome" t-shirts!

Mike Giffin, President

P.S. In the meantime, a fun peek at us getting into the holiday spirit at our annual bowling outing ...

What do you believe?

At Ensphere, we believe in many things. We believe in Santa! Erin believes in eating chocolate cake for breakfast. I believe in intense one-way conversations with my dog.

Here's what else we believe ...

I believe, by successfully partnering with parents of college bound students, we can greatly enhance their education experience without burdening the family with unnecessary financial risk. - Mike 

 

I believe college shouldn't be a scary thing that happens to you; families deserve to have the help they need 

to take control of the process and make the best decision for the whole family. - Erin

 

I believe we can significantly increase the chances that a family can send their student to the school of their dreams while decreasing both the educational and financial burden on that family. - Chris 

 

 I believe that the financial burden that comes with college does not have to 

cripple a family or even affect retirement. - Jeremy

 

 I believe every student deserves the opportunity to earn a degree, 

regardless of their financial situation. - Rena 

That's what we believe, now what do you believe? We'd love to hear from you.

Mike Giffin, President