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The Third Rule of Applying to College
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 that okay? How many students…
The Second Rule of Applying to College
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 health are jeopardized is not…
The First Rule of Applying to College
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 attend. Additionally, the process includes…
Zen and the Art of College Admission Interviews
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 focus on or when to…
Zen and the Art of College Visits
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.” However, this is an extreme…
Replacing Prestige
If prestige is an illusion when it comes to choosing colleges, as I suggested in my post, “Rethinking Prestige,” how do you choose colleges? After all, considering what schools are the right choices for application is a pretty important decision. One that should not be taken lightly.
Rethinking Prestige
If you think the matter of prestige is about survival and providing the best for yourself or your child and the future, remember, there is a distinct difference between correlation and causation. While there is some evidence to support the selection of a prestigious school, I personally also rely on everyday experience and observations of the happiness and success of those around me.
How to Find the Worst College for You
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.
Can You Game the Admission System?
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 Do Not Care Which College You Get Into”
Sadly, I see some students who care too much about where they are admitted, and as a result, their entire focus is only on getting into this one specific college. Other students do not seem to care at all about where they go and simply apply to just any college, without putting much thought into it—merely wanting to get in somewhere.