College admission from the other side of the desk
School counselors and IECs work with high school students and families. As an admission officer, I worked primarily with applications. This inevitably informs one's perspective…
The college admission questions high school juniors face right now
As we commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Covid lockdown, the college admission season of the pandemic draws to its confusing and stressful end. No wonder then that high…
Major Myths, Revisited
Students should be encouraged to look at its exciting range of possibilities rather than casting around for a narrow academic box to climb into. But college is also not summer…
A difficult year: early admission outcomes in the age of Covid
Selective colleges across the country, both those with non-binding Early Action policies and those who offer binding Early Decision program, found themselves blitzed with…
The Role of Majors in Applying to a Liberal Arts Program
In the admission process to a selective liberal arts college, a lack of any academic focus can also help to weaken a student's application. Some colleges will require applicants…
The Role of Parents in the College Application Process
College admissions present parents with difficult ethical, social and educational choices. We want our children to enjoy the adventure, act with integrity, feel good about the…
A Message to High School Students During This Covid-19 Summer
2020 has been a year of upheaval thus far! There have been many things that are out of your control: remote school, canceled extracurricular activities, social distancing…
Waitlist Wisdom
It used to be that at the end of each application season students got thick envelopes that signaled their acceptances, or thin envelopes that dashed their hopes. With most…
Is Early Decision Right For You?
Early applications were initially intended to help students signal their commitment to their top choice school. Over time though, the early application system began to reproduce…
College searching: what information matters and why
This summer rising seniors and juniors are actively researching colleges in order to plan trips and identify the schools to which they may want to apply. These are indeed…