“That must have been a great college essay.” I was running an undergraduate house while I was at Penn Law School. During introductions, of one the students relayed how his family escaped the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, lived as refugees for years in Guam and finally wound up struggling and impoverished in California. It […]
Read MoreMarketing The Student As A College Admissions Product Ugh… just writing those words makes me uncomfortable. I am an idealist, a practical one but nonetheless someone who left the practice of law to follow my calling into educational counseling to help others. Telling students to figure out how to best “market themselves” is not something […]
Read MoreHow many colleges should I apply to? Since I have been providing college counseling for students in Connecticut a couple of decades, I have a distinct answer that will go against some of the terrible advice that is out there: Apply to the number of colleges that makes sense for your unique situation. Occasionally, I’ll […]
Read More“Will it be University of Virginia or Wake Forrest?” I pressed one of my favorite students from a few years ago. “Andy” was a senior at Daniel Hand High School in Madison, Connecticut. Ultimately, he could not make up his mind. So he did not apply Early Decision to either one. He was rejected […]
Read More“Isn’t it strange that both of our families started because of college choice years ago?” We went out with one of our favorite couples. They had met in college and my wife and I had met in college. Connecting the dots backwards seems like our relationships and subsequent families all happened and made some type […]
Read MoreIn providing college counseling to Connecticut suburban families through the years, I have experienced what other social commenters have: a marked decrease in optimism from parents’ about the future lives of their children. I started this work in the ancient times of the 2000s. Prior to the Great Recession, many of the parents that I […]
Read More“Wait until you hear this…Joey wants to transfer because… there is too much partying.” I had worked with Joey through our Student Mastery Program. He was a great kid from the perspective of someone who was with him an hour a week but I understand that his high energy would be a challenge to both […]
Read More“Jared has still not complete the Common App….” So I read my e-mail from Jared’s mom. Jared was a senior at Valley Regional High School in Connecticut and like a large number of students (particularly boys) he had procrastinated parts of the college application process. The problem was that he was applying to several schools […]
Read More“You realize this is your life.” I said with some intensity. Liam’s eyes finally came alive. Liam’s parents were kind, good-hearted and hard working. Liam attended Old Saybrook High School in Connecticut and, like many teen boys, was not invested in the college process. AT ALL. We met for college counseling but they also knew […]
Read MoreDoes moving to a different location “matter” in terms of how your life is affected? Does the group of people you are around “matter” in terms of how your life is affected? Does the general atmosphere/environment of where you are “matter” in terms of how your life is affected? Rhetorical questions, of course. But each […]
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