August 1st is a significant day in the college admission cycle. The Common Application opens and seniors can view the supplemental essays that they will need to write. At this time of year, I go from counseling to stalking. I have reached out to all my seniors and given them a heads up that […]

“Optional” is not a trick word. It is not a wink that signals a continued institutional preference for the upcoming admissions cycle. This is not a moment for euphemisms or gimmicks; there should be no parsing of intent with this amended testing policy. It is a clear response to an unprecedented moment that requires admission

  Greetings from the rainy, cloudy Jersey Shore. I recently took an early morning walk at the beach on a cloudless day with blue skies and a sea breeze. I was repping a t-shirt from the Public Ivy where my favorite 2017 client is a student. The shirt (pictured above) just says Public Ivy and

“A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step” ~Lao Tzu The Common Application opens in two weeks, on August 1st. If you area rising senior or the parent of a rising senior, here are a few thoughts on how to proceed: You can fill the actual application part now and it will roll over

I was talking with one of my siblings a few weeks ago and a memory flashed in my mind that I had completely forgotten. In the fall of 1990, my brother was entering his senior year of high school. My mother had attempted to help him with his applications but it was not going well.

  Welcome to the June 1st, which is the new May 1st. In the pre-COVID era, I always wrote a May 1st post because that was the National Deposit Day, the due date for seniors to place a deposit at the college they plan to attend. This year many colleges pushed the deadline back to

The smiley face was a give away! They voted to eliminate the standardized tests for California students by 2025. You can read about it in the LA Times, here. Why am I so excited about this? Because this could change the landscape for college admission. When a big system like the University of California makes

  “As I’ve argued elsewhere, submitting SAT and ACT scores routinely increases students’ chances of being admitted to college, receiving more financial aid and placing out of remedial and introductory courses — even at test-optional universities. The use of the term “optional” is irresponsible because it obscures the very real benefits students can gain from

May 1st means several things to me and in the Stay-At-Home/Pandemic era, it just feels good to turn a page in the calendar. But, May 1st has traditionally been the National Decision Day for high school seniors to commit to the college that they will attend in the fall. This year many schools have extended

Here are a few more bits of information and thoughts on the effect of the pandemic in  college admissions: COVID WRITING-The Common App is considering adding an optional section for applicants to write about how the quarantine effected their life. I think this would be a positive development that will allow students to share the