Blog – Page 4 – Dr. Steven Mercer

Blog

The Three Most Important Things to Consider When Applying to College – Redux

December 1, 2019August 4, 2019

As an experienced college admission counselor, I think about applying to college all the time! In my blogs, I have listed many of the “most important things to consider”—probably too many times. I also visit a lot of colleges, as often as I can. A recent visit to Depauw University… Read more

How Can You Apply to College If Your Room Is a Mess?

November 1, 2019March 30, 2020

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

The Third Rule of Applying to College

October 1, 2019October 1, 2019

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

The Second Rule of Applying to College

September 1, 2019August 4, 2019

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

The First Rule of Applying to College

August 1, 2019June 24, 2019

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

Zen and the Art of College Admission Interviews

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019

A big part of my job as an Independent Educational Consultant is to help students and families understand which parts of the college admission process not to worry so much about and which parts to work hardest on. Often, clients misdirect their worry about what parts of the process to… Read more

Zen and the Art of College Visits

July 1, 2019May 16, 2019

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

Replacing Prestige

June 15, 2019May 12, 2019

“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

June 1, 2019May 12, 2019

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

How to Find the Worst College for You

May 15, 2019May 12, 2019

I have worked with a lot of students over the years. And at the end of the admission process—as they look back through the ups and downs, the exciting times and the disappointments—most of them do not have a lot of regrets. Generally, these students have authentically gone through the… Read more

Can You Game the Admission System?

May 1, 2019May 12, 2019

You may have seen recent news about a vast college admission scandal in the United States. Charges included such things as bribery, conspiracy, cheating, fraud, etc. and involved a wide range of people at several colleges, but also parents. I could not help but think about how these kinds of… Read more

“I Do Not Care Which College You Get Into”

April 15, 2019March 20, 2019

Coming from someone who helps students apply to college for a living, the title of this post should be quite shocking. The truth is, I care deeply about all aspects of applying to college from the very first steps to the very last. But, during more than two decades of… Read more

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Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Ruined Your High School Junior’s College Admission Process?

As I wrote in my previous post (“Has the World of College Admission Changed Forever?”) about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the college admission for students that are nearing the end of the admission journey, my advice to high school juniors who are just beginning the application process… Read more

Has the World of College Admission Changed Forever?

In between watching another breaking news alert, responding to emails, staying in touch with students, family, and friends through Zoom, and taking the dog for another long walk, I am getting a lot of questions from worried students and families about how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact their college admission… Read more

An “Optional” College Application Requirement—Is It Really Optional?

One of the qualities of undergraduate education in the United States I appreciate is that our system of higher education is a marketplace of different college options. The beauty of this system is that there are many opportunities to find colleges that fit an individual student’s needs and interests. For… Read more

Applying to College as an Introvert: Letter of Recommendation

This is my third post addressing the college admissions process for introverts. The last two posts in this series addressed extracurricular activities and the admissions interview. Let’s now turn to the letter of recommendation. As an introvert myself, I’ve had to ask many people to write letters of recommendation for… Read more

Applying to College as an Introvert: Admission Interview

As I mentioned in my last post, “Applying to College as an Introvert: Extracurricular Activities,” introverted students sometimes feel that they are disadvantaged in the college application process, especially where extracurricular activities are concerned. In this post, I would like to discuss how to approach admissions office interviews. A Heads-Up… Read more

Applying to College as an Introvert: Extracurricular Activities

Recently, I was sitting across the desk from a parent and student whose transcript was filled with excellent grades and rigorous courses. The student enjoyed school and had SAT scores that were well above average. As I’ve written about in many other blog posts, grades, academic rigor, and standardized test… Read more