Many families approach college counseling with the misconception that an advisor’s role is to simply tell the student what to do to gain admission to a “better” college than they could if they were to apply on their own: Which extracurriculars will give them an edge? Which colleges should they… Read more

Many families approach me with a singular focus when their children enter high school: “What does my child need to do to get into a prestigious college?” This mindset views high school exclusively as a stepping stone—a means to an end rather than a meaningful chapter in their child’s development.… Read more

When families sit down in my office to discuss college planning, I often notice subtle but important differences in how they view the purpose of higher education. Many arrive with firmly held beliefs that college is primarily job training, that it’s an investment with a measurable ROI, or that attending… Read more

No matter the goals of the students I am working with, one of the most common qualities they focus on when choosing colleges is a “good” school. They frequently say something like, “I’m pretty open-minded about where I go to college. I know that one college isn’t necessarily better than… Read more

I recently met with a potential student client and their family. The student was serious about their academics and had many compelling ideas about their future. They enjoyed school but were honest about their strengths and weaknesses in different classes.  The student had a list of exciting and enjoyable extracurricular… Read more

Writing the personal statement for a college application can feel like a daunting task. How do you start? What is the right format? How do you find the one topic that will get you admitted to your dream school?  Less Is More In most cases, keeping it simple is probably… Read more

In my previous post, “Are You Standing on Hot Coals?”, I described the phenomenon of high school students and families feeling like they are standing on hot coals when they believe they are late getting started on the college admission process.  Hopefully, students who found themselves in that situation called… Read more

There are two types of people who like gambling in casinos.  The first type thinks that going to a casino is fun; it’s entertainment similar to going to a movie or a great way to spend vacation time. Realistically, they’re not too invested in winning and, in most cases, are… Read more

I often remind students that they need to be realistic about their chances of admission to highly selective schools and resist the trap of believing they must get into one particular college (see “The Fourth Rule of Applying to College”). However, if a student is still determined to apply to… Read more

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… Read more