Stop the Essay Insanity!

I’ve been busy during these past few months helping my students draw up college lists. One of the most important considerations on my part is what a particular school’s supplemental essay requirements are. Our college admissions system is broken. The Common...

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The Story Behind Middlebury’s Famous Cane

What makes for a great college fit? There are many intangibles. One such intangible is tradition. I love tradition. And Middlebury College is steeped in tradition. One such tradition has only been observed since it was re-established in 1995, but it commemorates the...

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Your Plan B, C, and D for College Admissions

You’re about to get your admission decisions. You should have had a Plan B going into the application season. But you might need a Plan C or even a Plan D. Maybe you’ve been waitlisted or flat rejected at your reach and target schools. Maybe you didn’t even get into...

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Seven Things You Can Be Doing While Waiting for a Decision

Finally, you’ve gotten your college application into all the schools you want to. Congratulations! That was no small feat. So, now what?  Here are some suggestions for passing the time until you receive your responses.  1. Thank your recommenders. An email is better...

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SAT Preparation Without Going Broke

There are several SAT preparation options. Kaplan is for rich kids. Princeton Review is for Ivy-bound scholars. Khan Academy is for poor kids (it’s free). But there are other options for SAT prep. Nothing beats live, individual tutoring. Kaplan will charge you $700...

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Sorting Out Education Consultants

Education consultants are everywhere on the Internet these days. Remote meetings have made it easier to set up a practice, but the profession has become a lot more competitive. The admissions process has become more complicated in recent years and more competitive at...

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11 Tips for the Best College Visits

The first round of college visits should occur toward the end of junior year or at the beginning of senior year. The first round is to narrow the college search and refine the list. In the spring of the senior year, another round can help you make the final decision...

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6 Amazing Benefits of Attending a Top College

Prominent people have top college degrees. There are 20 members of Congress with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, 14 from Stanford, eight from Yale, seven from Princeton, and six from Dartmouth. All nine Supreme Court justices have law degrees from Harvard or Yale....

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How To Get into a Good College: Ignore these 6 Myths

There are so many misconceptions about the college admissions process and how to get into a good college, but we only have time and space for six major ones: #1 I’m too poor to attend a good college. Fact: Many of the top colleges are need-blind, and many of them meet...

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