How to Approach the Common Application Personal Statement Essay Prompts
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ― Maya Angelou. We have been informed that the Common Application essay prompts for 2016-17 will be the same as they were in...
View ArticleParents of 11th Graders: Get Set for “Junior College Night”
“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” -François Rabelais. You just got a notice from your 11th Grader’s guidance counselor that parents are strongly encouraged to attend upcoming “Junior College Night.” They...
View ArticleFirst “College List” Question: Private versus Public University
“A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.” – John Ciardi. It’s no secret that the rise in the cost of an American college education has outpaced inflation for...
View ArticleWhy Juniors Should Visit Colleges on Winter and Spring Break
“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.” -John Keats. If your high school junior is your eldest child, you may not yet realize the change that is beginning to percolate in your family life....
View ArticleHow to Build a College List
“The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.” -Ben Stein. Building one’s list of prospective colleges is the key first step in the college admissions...
View ArticleWaiting for the “Fat Envelope”
“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty. Unless your high school student was accepted to his or her first choice college through Early Decision or Early Action, your family is probably still in...
View ArticleCollege Applications: Guidance Department Input Sheets
“You don’t have to be famous. You just have to make your mother and father proud of you.” – Meryl Streep. Many high school guidance departments in my local area of Northern New Jersey distribute input...
View Article“Senioritis” and What To Do About It
“Growing up is a process, not an event.” – Paul B. Jamison. The head of the Northern New Jersey high school my son attended years ago was a wise and witty woman. I well remember how she warned parents...
View ArticleBecoming a Recruited College Athlete–or Not?
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” –J.W. Von Goethe. At the first YMCA kindergarten soccer game, I remember watching cute little tykes in their brand...
View ArticleWhat a Rising High School Senior Can Do This Summer to Get a Jump on College...
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” -Plato. As a college admissions consultant, I often hear parents and their students ask at the end of junior year of high school, “What can we be...
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