When I was in elementary school, I had an extraordinary opportunity to attend a sleepaway camp that specialized in competitive downhill snow skiing. The coaches were some of the most accomplished ski racers in Europe and the United States. While I have the fondest memories of spending time on the… Read more

Students and parents often ask me the following: What SAT score do I need to get into a good college? Should I take three or four AP classes in my senior year?  I’m no longer interested in this extracurricular activity, so if I switch to this other extracurricular activity is… Read more

In my previous post, I wrote about “The First Rule of Applying to College”: getting enough sleep. This rule puts a premium on finding the balance between pursuing admission to desirable colleges and maintaining one’s mental and physical health. Pushing oneself to extremes where sleep, well-being, and mental or physical… Read more

Many of the students and families I work with experience understandable anxiety about applying to college. This anxiety begins with the many important decisions that should be made during high school: choosing which colleges to apply to, completing the application process, and making a final decision about which school to… Read more

In my experience, students and families often overthink specific aspects of the college admission process. Visiting colleges is one of these areas. Many clients believe they need a “strategy,” along with “tactics,” that define “measurable outcomes” for the perfect college visit that will help them get into their “dream school.”… Read more

“The benefits and predictors of a good education are knowable yet virtually impossible to measure.” “Colleges can be assessed, but not ranked. Students can be evaluated, but not measured.” ― The Education Conservancy – www.educationconservancy.org (PDF: “WE ADMIT…GUIDANCE FROM THOSE WHO DO”) If prestige is an illusion when it comes… Read more

Rethinking Prestige Origin of “prestige”: From French prestige – “illusion, fascination, enchantment.” From Latin praestigium – “a delusion, an illusion.” In the wake of the recent admission scandal, a reporter from a newspaper asked me why this sort of thing even happens. To tell you the truth, I do not… Read more