The Role of Majors in Applying to a Liberal Arts Program
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|December 4, 2020|4 MinutesA liberal arts education assumes that students do not commit to any course of…
The Role of Parents in the College Application Process
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|September 3, 2020|7 MinutesMy husband and I live on a college campus where he is a professor. Over the…
Waitlist Wisdom
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|March 22, 2020|7 MinutesIt used to be that at the end of each application season students got thick…
High School Course Selection
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|May 20, 2019|6 MinutesAs an admission officer at a very selective college, perhaps the most common question…
Interviewing
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|16 Minutes What is an interview? We go through our lives interviewing and being interviewed every day. An…
Dreams deferred, Part 2: being deferred in the early application season
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|6 MinutesPART II: What are students to do when deferred? I spoke previously about the reasons why selective…
Dreams deferred, Part 1: being deferred in the early application season
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|6 MinutesPART 1: Why do schools defer students? Most American colleges and universities these days offer…
The Cost of Education: the language and tools of financial aid for students and parents
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|21 MinutesWorking in an admission office made me very aware of the impact financial need has on a student’s…
College searching: what information matters and why
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|June 27, 2015|6 MinutesThis summer rising seniors and juniors are actively researching colleges in order to…
On Writing an Ivy League Admissions Essay
Andrea van NiekerkBy Andrea van Niekerk|November 28, 2014|7 MinutesThese days, students applying to Ivy schools find themselves having to wade…