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The Eighth Rule Applying to College: Stop Listening to the Monkey!
There is a deafening “noise”—online, in social circles, or in classrooms—about the “best” college, “best” SAT tutor, the correct number of AP classes to take, secret strategies to make it easier to get into a “better” college, and the “best” and “worst” majors. It is hard to ignore the steady stream of articles in news feeds about the latest frightening evidence that the best colleges are out of reach
The 10th Grade Standardized Testing Dilemma
For high school students nearing the end of 10th grade, right now is a challenging time to figure out what to do about their standardized test plan for college applications. There’s been a tidal wave of test-optional policies implemented by colleges across the United States. Some colleges have done away with testing altogether. Some have…
The Seventh Rule of Applying to College: Stockdale’s Paradox
As a college counselor, I want students to be realistic about their chances of admission. At the same time, I want students to be hopeful, ambitious, and confident that they will be admitted to great colleges that look like a reach. While statistics do not lie, statistics are not the whole story.
The Sixth Rule of Applying to College: You Are Not the Exception
“Playing the Cards” for Admission to an Elite College: I often think of the two types of gamblers when working with students applying to highly selective, prestigious colleges.
Star Wars vs The Office – How to Choose the Topic for Your Personal Statement
One of the most challenging aspects of writing the personal statement is getting started. Many students struggle with choosing a topic due to myths about what “the best” personal statement topic sounds like. And I find they often get stuck because they believe the falsehood that you must land on a “killer” topic because only…
The Fifth Rule of Applying to College: You Cannot Drive with the Parking Brake On
The routes that students take to get admitted to a highly selective college can vary. Their “vehicle” (i.e. the combination of grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, etc.) will be unique from student to student. One applicant may be “driving” a Prius, another a Ferrari, and yet another a motorcycle.
The Fourth Rule of Applying to College
College admission is not a zero-sum game. Shortly before admission decisions were expected to hit inboxes, the parents of a student I had been working with through the arduous process of applying to college asked to meet with me alone. When they came into my office, they sat down with worried looks on their faces. “We have made a terrible mistake,” they confessed.
Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Ruined Your High School Junior’s College Admission Process?
If you are concerned about putting together a great application, the colleges understand your worries and are also worried about you. But what they care about is not that you try to dazzle them in your application in the same way that you may have been thinking about just a few weeks ago. Rather, they want you to focus on staying healthy and being the best student you can be.
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 journey.
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 the most part, students do…