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…
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…
On writing your college essay
As we enter July, rising seniors should be giving serious thought to the college application. Many of you will not find this a happy thought, since starting the essay seems so…
Stronger than Barbie: women’s colleges and the education of girls
Women's colleges were established in the US in the nineteenth century to prepare young women for the roles society thought them fit: as wives, mothers, teachers, and sometimes as…
History as a college major?
Recently the History Department at Rice University offered a class on "Methods and Theory in History," aimed at introducing history majors to the demands of upper division…
Almost there: the academic performance of accepted students
With March well on its way, many high school seniors have either been accepted into Early application schools or are beginning to receive acceptance letters from their Regular…
Taking a GAP year!
Initially, the gap year concept was foreign to me. I am naturally an independent and adventurous person, which is how I ended up at boarding school in the first place.…
The problem with senioritis
Senioritis is when second semester senior grades sag after college acceptance letters arrive. Talking about the problem “of senioritis” seems to lend this bad habit a legitimacy…