A tale of three college visits – which one fits you now?
...soon, spring will arrive, and high school students and their families will start thinking about embarking on some college visits and campus tours. Your interest may have been…
Choosing Your Courses for the Next Year
Soon, many sophomore and junior students must make choices about their courses for next year. We know the admission process at very selective colleges is based, above all, on your…
Introducing New College Goals’ Counselors
It is with great pleasure, and pride, that we announced the addition of two counselors to the College Goals' team.
The 2022 admission season: what juniors might learn from it
With colleges having announced their 2022 admission decisions, I yet again feel like a recording stuck in a loop as I reiterate to my students that admission at the more selective…
A career in software computing? Consider a major other than CS
No wonder many prospective first years are fearful about their chances of admission to a top CS program! But it’s not all bad news. As someone who’s done this myself and knows…
No, it’s not fair!
Every year commentators call on new superlatives to describe the plummeting admit rates at selective colleges. Beset by a growing sense of anxiety about their chances of admission…
Waiting on the Waitlist
With college admission decisions made and released, the attention of students and admission officers turns to the tricky challenge of the waitlist. And rarely has the process…
High School Course Selection
As an admission officer at a very selective college, perhaps the most common question I had to field was this: "Will colleges care more about my grades or about the rigor of my…
Empathy: Considering another’s perspective in a college application
In preparing their applications to college, high school students are encouraged to be authentic, engaged, passionate, and committed. These are indeed great aspirations, and,…
The Role of Recommendation Letters
As we come towards the second quarter of junior year, many students begin to think about letters of recommendation as an element in their college applications.