As we have been deeply involved in college counseling over the last several years, we have also been immersed in helping students transfer colleges. The number of freshmen—and even some sophomores—seeking to transfer or at least explore the possibility has grown dramatically. Several major factors are driving this trend. The Post-Pandemic effects. Many Shoreline families […]

Why Students Listen to Me: The Advantage of Not Being the Parent “I am not the parent… so my advice is brilliant,” I say this jokingly, but there is more truth to it than most parents realize. “He’ll listen to you,” Cindy said recently as we laughed about how her son would follow my guidance […]

What if, for a moment, we stepped back and considered just how remarkable the American college experience truly is? For most of human history, the transition to adulthood looked very different. Boys became men by entering the military, working full time on farms, taking on manual labor, or—if fortunate—joining the family business. Girls became women […]

Human Connection in the Age of AI: What I’m Seeing Among Connecticut Shoreline Students For someone my age, I genuinely embrace technology. I’ve always been an optimist, and while I fully recognize the dangers of AI, I’m also eager to use its possibilities to help others. What feels ironic is that one of my first […]

Male Underachievement in Education: A Growing Challenge for Connecticut Shoreline Families A decade ago, I wrote Motivate Your Son after observing a clear pattern among the families we served at The Learning Consultants. While we worked with equal numbers of boys and girls, motivation—not study skills, not test-taking—was overwhelmingly a boy issue. In the book, […]

Start the College Process Early: Guidance for Connecticut Shoreline Families In more than twenty years of working with families throughout the Connecticut Shoreline, I cannot recall a single parent who regretted starting the college process early. I can, however, think of hundreds who regretted starting too late. Starting early does not mean touring colleges with […]

For many years, The Learning Consultants has helped students throughout the Connecticut Shoreline not only improve academically but also strengthen their emotional well-being. When I first described our mission, I wrote that our goal was to help children reach their potential. I intentionally left out the word academic. From the beginning, our work has focused […]

“I have good grades. I’m in a bunch of clubs. But I don’t have anything special.” Avery, a junior from Essex, said this during our meeting. “What can I do to help with admission?” Avery’s grades were strong, but we had to confront a reality that many families from the Connecticut Shoreline—Essex, Old Saybrook, Madison, […]

Parents of high school students throughout the Connecticut Shoreline — including towns such as Old Saybrook, Madison, Guilford, East Lyme, and Old Lyme — often ask when they should begin college counseling. The simple answer is: start as early as possible. There are practical reasons for this. Most families want to complete at least a […]

Parents throughout Connecticut, particularly along the Shoreline in towns such as Old Saybrook, Madison, Guilford, East Lyme, and Essex, frequently ask whether I work with young adults who did not attend college, started college but stopped, or are still unsure about their next steps. The answer is yes. In fact, helping young adults clarify their […]