Applying to College: From Chaos Comes Confidence

Typically, in the few days before a college application deadline, both applicants and their parents are wondering: Adding to their stress, students wildly speculate that their efforts to complete their applications will merit them the following response: Anticipating the worst case scenario of a denied admissions, in the midst of crafting their quintessential life’s story,…

Continue Reading

Common Application Image

Can I Change My 650 Word Common Application Essay After Submitting It?

Updated: November 2020 from the original posted in July 2018 The short answer is yes…with an *.  [See Below] But, like any life-impacting decision, the short answer doesn’t account for the complexities of choosing a college.  And, the last three words are what’s most important to keep in mind:  YOU, the applicant, are the one…

Continue Reading

The Mental Health of the Young

March 13, 2020 is Gen Z’s “Day of Infamy”, when K-12 school campuses closed due to COVID-related health risks, sequestering an entire generation of youth in the midst of their coming of age. Amidst the sudden, and now ever-extending health emergency, precipitating continued distance learning and canceled extracurricular activities, the emotional toll on teens only…

Continue Reading

Selecting a College vs. Being Selected by a College

Worries about “not being accepted” to a college are common, since most parents and students believe they’re at the mercy of an admissions officer’s decision. Often, students think, “How do I make my experience, like GPA, test scores and extracurricular activities, match the “right” selection criteria of (insert name of college)?” Few students turn the…

Continue Reading

Summertime, Summertime…

Summer vacation traditionally meant “lazy days “—time to rest and regroup. Yet, for Gen Z’ers and even the preceeding Millenials, summer has become “organized play” and “scheduled interest investigation”, packed into camps, summer school, club sports, and summer reading assignments. But, today’s kids are no different than us as kids—the people who learned from youthful…

Continue Reading

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…

Continue Reading

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  

The Junior Dilemma

Right about now, junior parents’ anxieties about college applications begin rising.  Thus, they begin asking, imploring, nagging, begging, commanding their 16 or 17 year old teenager to discuss the details of their college plans.  However, juniors may resist their parents’ attempts to initiate conversation about their futures—mostly demonstrated by not applying for summer programs, not…

Continue Reading

What If’s?

The What If’s seem more than the I Know’s when applying to college.  While teens are the ones applying to college, parents have their own unique doubts, as they watch from the sidelines while their seniors complete college applications. Work colleagues who often share their opinions about college can further fuel parents’ second-guessing.   But, just…

Continue Reading