Summer is the perfect time for college-bound seniors to begin working on their application essays. For many, though, getting started is a major hurdle. Parents so often try to help, but even the best parental nudging can create added tension, as we hear regularly from our CT and NY families. The Learning Consultants has the […]
Read MoreIt’s too bad that there are so few alive from the Greatest Generation. Those folks endured The Great Depression and World War II. They embodied Nassim Taleb’s notion of anti-fragility. Some things are fragile, breaking when hit with a force. Some things are robust, staying intact when hit with the same force. And, some things […]
Read MoreWhile I am a perpetual optimist, experience has taught me to adapt my optimism to forces beyond my control. I will no longer drive during a snow storm. I will take precautions if forecasters suggest that hurricanes may hit and I will take seriously notions like the pandemic will stop colleges from opening in the […]
Read MoreThe Coronavirus College-Gap Year Decision Uncertainty has dampened the excitement of heading to college for most high school seniors. The Learning Consultants has developed a process for leading our clients through the difficult decisions they will face. Specifically, we have a framework for guiding our clients to crafting compelling gap year possibilities and/or sorting out […]
Read MoreBegin Early When it comes to writing college essays, starting early is key. The best college essays–the ones that really stand out–take time to write. Unfortunately, many high school seniors realize this too late. They procrastinate and end up with a rushed essay that doesn’t reflect their best efforts or selves. The typical CT student […]
Read More“Never use a long word when a short one will do.” Good advice from George Orwell (“Politics and the English Language,” 1946) that students might want to keep in mind when writing college application essays. Orwell wasn’t suggesting that writers use simple vocabulary to “dumb down” their prose. He was arguing against what he saw […]
Read MoreMany parents find the college application process incredibly stressful–“nervewracking,” as one parent put it. Her son, a senior at Lyme-Old Lyme HS, had been laboring over his college essays for several weeks but had resisted her help. Although she had tried giving tactful feedback, this seemed to shut him down further and add tension to […]
Read More1) Give yourself plenty of time! Don’t wait until a week before the deadline to begin writing. Crafting a coherent, readable essay takes time and thought. Remember that writing–any kind of writing–is essentially thinking on paper. Your college app essay is no different. The essays you submit to your colleges will reflect the quality of […]
Read More“A 95 GPA is too low for the colleges you are applying to… ” The mom of a student at a top public school in Shoreline, CT relayed her conversation from an off the record conversation she had with a friend who is a college admissions official at a well-regarded college in Connecticut that claims […]
Read More“It’s her life.” So said a well-meaning set of parents from Madison, CT. Their daughter snapped at them several times over the previous year when college or the SATs were brought up. The parents decided not to broach the subject again. The end result: the parents and the daughter were sitting in my office in […]
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