Since preschool, students have progressed through school and life as part of groups, amongst same-aged peers, taking similar classes, choosing from overlapping activities. However, in planning for college, each student is now confronting something fundamentally different: choosing a path based on who they are becoming. And yet, “group think” doesn’t simply disappear. Many students continue…
Recently, Carla Bayot of Swoon Learning shared more insights for families of high school Sophomores and Juniors as they’re determining how to best prepare for the SAT. The following is additional insights, edited for clarity, which we ran out of time to discuss during our March 20th Fifteen on Fridays, Facebook Livestream. Q: Do you…
Choosing a college is, in many ways, a leap of faith. Students are committing four years pivotal years of their lives, transitioning from childhood to adulthood, not to mention making a significant financial investment, and without knowing exactly the experience once the excitement of move-in day fades. Taking a campus tour, families can learn the…
Every spring, many sophomore families seek more strategic college admissions advising. With high school at the halfway point, suddenly each choice seems to have greater consequence: A grade slips, managing more advanced coursework is challenging, long-term extracurricular commitments are sometimes questioned. Seemingly overnight, the conversation at the dinner table becomes a strategic planning session: Parents…
For high school seniors, instead of March Madness basketball brackets, families are watching applicant portals, eagerly anticipating admissions results, both from Regular Decision and if deferred from early admissions. Many experience mixed emotions—excitement, disappointment, relief, and confusion—sometimes, from one click to the next. Most are experiencing the years’ long build-up of expectations plus an “acceptance”…
Many high school students believe the persistent myth that taking more Advanced Placement (AP) classes means a stronger college application. However, while AP courses represent “academic rigor”, simply collecting AP’s without reflection, students may not demonstrate what admissions officers actually value: curiosity and depth. The Problem with “Collecting” Credits Many students add AP’s as markers…
Many experts predict that AI will soon (if not already is) automate many entry-level white-collar jobs, traditionally the realm of new college grads. Thus, for current high school students, I recommend shifting strategy for career development from mastering tasks (or competencies) to mastering judgment. Emerging college grads future value lies in an ability to critique,…
One of the most common mistakes students make when writing summer program autobiographical essays is trying to brainstorm, write, and edit at the same time. Students often focus on the word limit too early in the drafting process, and in doing so, they shrink their thinking before a real story has a chance to form.…
For many students, the phrase optional admissions interview triggers a familiar fear: What if I say the wrong thing? What if I don’t have the perfect answer? It’s easy to imagine the interview as exposing and unforgiving. Yet, the optional admissions interviews are as much for the applicant as for the college. Think of the…
For seniors applying to highly selective colleges, including Ivy League school, the writing process often carries an extra, invisible weight. While students worry about What should I say? but also How do I compare to everyone else in the applicant pool? When single digit acceptance rates loom large, what a student writes can seem like…
For some students, especially those who have only ever earned A’s, the first “B” can seem like a crisis. Families often wonder if this single grade will damage college admissions chances. The truth: it won’t. Admissions officers use a holistic evaluation process. That means they look at much more than a GPA snapshot: In fact,…
Every year, students approach the University of California (UC) Personal Insight Questions (PIQs) as if their “my fate is riding on what they write”—one “wrong” topic, one imperfect sentence, and everything falls apart. While the anxiety is understandable, such concern is also ground in a misunderstanding of what the PIQs are meant to do in…
At some time, the rumor started, then spread year after year, that college admissions officers admit students who have experienced heartbreak, difficulty, the “I overcame this challenge” narrative. So, students often compare their experiences to loss or catastrophe or illness, paralyzed to start writing when nothing seems “tragic enough.” But, in reality, admissions officers seek…
Many students treat the PSAT as “just practice,” a low-stakes chance to build confidence, sharpen test taking strategy, and prepare for future SAT or ACT testing. Start with the College Board + Khan Academy A simple three-step approach works best: More Than Content Taking the PSAT, students can build testing stamina and strategic thinking under…
Thanks to the Sacramento Rebels Class of 2028 families and players for welcoming me and asking thoughtful questions about college planning. I wanted to share a few additional insights to expand on some of the conversation: Q: For FAFSA, which tax years matter, and what else do families need to know? For the Class of…