“When reward is at its pinnacle, risk is near at hand.” – John Bogle, legendary investor and founder of the Vanguard Group Although written for investors, John Bogle’s sage advice is apropos for the next stage of The College Admissions Process during the senior year. Being exhausted from drafting college essays in order to…
Tag: High school senior
What Happens When Children Mimic Adults Too Soon
Never has a day dulled, remembering the joy of being a child.
Unleashed Brilliance AKA College Essays
It’s always an honor to help render the seemingly impossible–RAW, NAKED TRUTH.
The Parent Trap
A parent’s job is often unenviable. Thankless. Tiring. Trying. Tireless. Especially when the child is a teenager. Parents’ reasons for making decisions can vary from encouraging their children to “live their own lives, do what makes you happy” and worries that what makes their children happy won’t pay their bills, let alone save for retirement,…
ARGGHHH…#$%@^ Sickness
The days of Calvin-esque thinking are gone. Now, to miss school and recover from illness is more trouble than worthwhile. Missing assignments means hours of make-up work on top of already multi-hour nightly homework sessions, and missing tests is a complex, logistical hassle to coordinate already busy teacher’s, kid’s and parent’s carpool schedules to find time…
Move Along…Nothin’ To See Here
How most seniors & their parents feel when asked about college applications
Tricks of the Academic Trade
Online tools are useful homework management techniques for students. Yet, with the plethora of online tools available, knowing which tools are actually worthy can be tricky. So, here’s a couple tools that are student-tested and recommended: Wolfram|Alpha: a searchable database for all academic subjects, including solutions to exact math problems. For an additional fee, students can…
Writer’s Block Defined
In the beginning of the writing process, many students writing college essays feel kinda like Spongebob, which can be the first in a series of writer’s blocks. Then, inspiration hits and writing happens, which creates hope…again, Spongebob: But then, seniors efforts may not seem to be enough, which is Writer’s Block #678,945,900. So the stress…
Our Fervent Wish
…is that every high school senior and transfer college applicant and their parents temporarily develop multiple hands, whose swift fingers dance with the wind across the keyboard to craft brilliant essays well before the deadline. Deadline approaching. pic.twitter.com/CszGLJyrA1 — Academia ɐɹnɔsqO (@AcademiaObscura) September 4, 2018
Will My August 2018 SAT Scores Be Cancelled?
Rumors are circling and the internet is again buzzing with controversy about the August 25, 2018 SAT Reasoning Test. The College Board is accused of “recycling” the August 2018 SAT from a test or practice test given in China and South Korea in October 2017. A recently deactivated Reddit thread posted an answer…
How Dr. Seuss Helps In Writing the “Perfect” College Essay
For all the college essay writers who believe that crafting their statements will be done in one (maybe two) drafts, take heed of Dr. Seuss’ (AKA Ted Geisel) experience on the painstaking care author’s take while ushering, shaping, crafting and editing their story until just right. From the Publishers’ Notes at the end of “What…
Ever Wonder Why The Dollars in Your Pocket Are Less?
Wonder no longer…
NO SAT!?! NO ACT!?! UChicago’s Curve Ball
Testing is not the be-all and the end-all, said James G. Nondorf, U-Chicago’s dean of admissions and financial aid. He said he didn’t want “one little test score” to end up “scaring students off” who are otherwise qualified. From The Washington Post, June 14, 2018 On June 14, 2018, the University of Chicago’s John W.…
College Application or Marriage Proposal?
Applying to college isn’t simple. Metaphorically, choosing a college can be like an arranged marriage—parents are involved in the choosing process, lifelong expectations are being weighted and future prosperity is being forecasted. “Dowries” are paid in the form of tuition, room and board, books etc. Students seek a college that’s the “right fit“, dating…
Only 2.43% Made the Cut
By definition, “highly selective college admissions” means more applicants denied than accepted. Harvard’s admissions results put the exclamation mark on the above statement. 98% or 40,003 people, a combination of “36,119 regular decision applicants, plus the 4,882 students deferred in the early action process” were denied admissions for Fall 2018. And, before assuming that applying Early…










