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All Campus Visits13 College Essays5 College News13 College Planning34 College Testing2 Newsletter4

Who’s Essay is This, Anyway?

I e-mailed Eric and his parents: “We need to work on this essay. It sounds like an adult wrote it.” I decided I’d save the explanation about the admissions reps…

Destressing Time

Students have a lot to be stressed about—frenzy over the admissions process starts early and continues through senior year. But parents and students have to remember that the process can…

Unlike other countries, where graduating high school students are provided robust alternatives to traditional college such as trade schools and apprenticeships, we in the U.S. lack an educational structure that…

The Real Blues

Even though it’s been weeks since the Varsity Blues scandal broke, parents and professionals still want to talk to me about the situation. There is a lot of joking going…

Challenging Backgrounds

Some students come to me with unusual challenges in their background; they might have been caught with drugs or alcohol in school, or received a disciplinary action on their transcript…

Are You Ready?

One of the key milestones students must meet to show readiness for college is independence. A student needs to be able to do the following on their own: Wake up…

The Co-ed Alternative

These days, a single-sex institution is a hard sell. Students think of college not only as a opportunity to learn, but also a place to have fun. And for most…

The May Newsletter

The May Newsletter In this latest issue of our newsletter we cover several topics of interest to students involved in the college search and those getting ready to begin school…

Weighing the Grades

As juniors are faced with decisions regarding senior year courses, I’m often asked by parents and students alike: Is it better to get an A in a regular-level class or…

Summer Job? Let Your Essay Be Your Guide

This time of year, juniors are focused on what courses to take next year to best position them, not only for the rigors of college, but for their college application, too. But before next September comes the summer, and juniors may want to plan their summer with an eye to their applications, as well—not in terms of their résumé, but, believe it or not, in terms of their upcoming essays.

Prepare for Take-off

Only one in five students travels more than 500 miles from home to attend college, and a full half are going to schools less than 100 miles away. While there are many reasons for keeping the home–school distance a drive-able one, sometimes great schools are disqualified out of fear.

Dealing with Rejection

I had more than one student call me recently crying about the rejection he or she had received. Usually, though not always, these decisions are the right call: maybe the school recognizes that they are not a good fit for the student, or that the student isn’t up to their level of rigor.

Becoming Out of Reach

What is my number one worry, as I think about my students’ college choices,? Getting into a top school? No. The student distinguishing themselves from their peers? No. Finding the “right-fit” school? Close, but not Quite. My single biggest concern surrounding the college admissions process is the cost.

Getting a Running Start

One of the big differences between the college experience a generation ago and now is that these days we expect our students to have some experience in the workplace before they graduate—and this is gained through the ubiquitous opportunity for a college internship.

Don’t Worry: It’s Out There

What I hear most often from the parents of my students is that the college process is so different nowadays. They often say, “I just picked some colleges to apply to, sent in my applications, and went to school. No one helped me and my parents didn’t even know where I was applying.” Well, today’s college admissions process is different than it was twenty or thirty years ago.

The Right Fit

My brunch with six friends yesterday gave me food for thought: Of the four couples, my husband and I were the only ones who hadn’t met at college! It got me thinking about how these people had met in their late teens and early twenties, and how they are still together, many years later. And it made me think about the “fit” of college, and how each of these individuals, whether they knew it at the time or not, choose their school, in great part, because of a feeling of social inclusion.

Tips for a Compelling Essay

The best essay I ever read from one of my students (who is well into his 30’s by now) was about him riding the commuter bus from our town in New Jersey to New York City. Nothing much happened in the essay; in fact nothing happened at all.

Don’t Mind the Gap

We had already put down a deposit for my son’s college of choice when he came bounding down the stairs on a cold March day with an announcement. “I’m not going to school next year; I’ve decided, so don’t try to change my mind.” Changing his mind was the last thing I’d do. In fact, I was secretly thrilled.

It’s Decision Time

Most students have chosen where they are going to college, but there are those who are biting their nails as time winds down. Each day I speak to another confused student: “Should I pick the school that has the better curriculum or the one where I feel more comfortable socially? The one with the better dorms or the one with the better science labs?”