“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 MoreThis is an article written by Daniel Friedman, from Raising Arizona Kids magazine. I’ve read articles and listened to radio broadcasts about how boys are doing less well in school than girls, graduate from college less than girls and overall seem to be falling behind academically. Daryl Capuano, author of Motivate Your Son (Student Mastery Publishing, 2012), has read the same articles and […]
Read MoreIn the not so old days when we provided college counseling to our Connecticut clients, most parents were focused on “fit” based on socialization, class size, campus, clubs and other factors primarily related to the 4-year experience at the college, as if the post-college career outcome was not particularly important. The Great Recession marked a […]
Read MoreAmazon I speak with Connecticut parents every day about college. I have done so for 2o years. In the last several years, discussions have almost always included the financial investment required. While we all want our children to have a great life experience in their college years, most every parent is worried about the career […]
Read MoreRight now, The Learning Consultants is immersed in college counseling for our Connecticut seniors who are finishing their early action and early decision applications and taking on college counseling clients for those juniors who are kicking off the going to college transition. As a parent, you are likely stressed. But the stress also comes from […]
Read MoreThis issue is addressed in a recent article in Forbes The resounding answer: “yes”. Some key points: “But could their skepticism about college be right? Not based on earnings. The national arbiter of the data on the value of college degrees is Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown […]
Read MoreBroadly speaking, college admission is based on: (1) objective factors: the academic index (2) subjective factors: “hooks” (such as athletics/diversity/connections) and activities/defined interest/essay/application Unless one of those hooks is exceptionally strong, the objective factors dominate the initial screening of candidates. If students do not reach a certain number within the school’s academic index, then the […]
Read MoreSix-pages, full sentences, “narrative” format. These could be the requirements of a middle school writing assignment. But, they’re actually Jeff Bezos’s guidelines for “pitching” plans at Amazon. According to Franklin Foer in “What Jeff Bezos Wants” (The Atlantic, November 2019), Bezos insists that his employees explain their ideas in lengthy narratives, because he knows that […]
Read MoreAlthough not scored, the SSAT Essay matters! Schools receive the essay along with the scored results. And admissions boards read the essay to learn more about the way a student thinks and writes. So, students prepping for the SSAT should always include time to prepare for the essay–by learning about the format and strategies and […]
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 […]
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