It’s rare that I post anything political here, but when the New York Times takes down both candidates for their reliance on clichés in their acceptance speeches, well, let’s talk politics! For students who will soon be writing college essays, the article is a must read. You’ll get a real sense of just how empty […]
Read More >Five ways to go wrong in college essays
When a Collegewise counselor loves a college essay, it’s very rare that the rest of us here feel the same level of effusiveness about it. Like college admissions officers, we’re a diverse group with very different tastes, backgrounds, and stories of our own. What moves or otherwise resonates with one person is never guaranteed to […]
Read More >Recommended reading and viewing
Here are a couple reads (and one viewing) worth taking in over the weekend. For students and parents, Denise Pope of Challenge Success and her interview with Frank Bruni, author of Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania, is well worth the hour of your time. For counselors, Patrick […]
Read More >Experts worth listening to
I’ve written before that some of the worst people to listen to when it comes to college admissions advice are your friends and neighbors. College admissions isn’t exactly astrophysics, but there are plenty of people—high school counselors, college admissions officers, and private counselors—who are much better qualified to advise your family on something as important […]
Read More >Where you are now
I’ve mentioned University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth several times on this blog, with one post referencing her TED Talk on grit, and a second about her Grit Test. Duckworth’s recent New York Times piece reminding college graduates that it takes time to follow your passion is actually applicable for high school students, too. Families […]
Read More >No right answer = more learning
Much of your high school life will be focused on right answers—studying them, memorizing them, identifying them, etc. But some of your best opportunities to learn, to lead, to make a difference, and to prepare yourself for a successful life as an adult come from your ability to solve problems when there isn’t an obvious […]
Read More >Changing course in a meeting
Have you ever been in one of those meetings where everyone is so committed to defending their own ideas that the group can’t get anywhere close to making a decision? Roger Martin, a business consultant and author, recommends this strategy. Instead of arguing about who is right, consider each idea and ask the question, “What would […]
Read More >Titles alone don’t make the leader
I don’t know anything about high school junior Dave Husselbee’s school activities. But this kid has some real leadership skills. Husselbee brought five identical Hawaiian shirts with him to school on picture day, then convinced over 60 students—and faculty—to wear the shirts in their yearbook photos, a prank that apparently involved a complex system of […]
Read More >When attitude and effort add up
When I toured UC Irvine (now my alma mater) as an 18-year-old high school senior trying to decide where to go to college, I got to visit the dorms with Rameen, a junior who was working part-time with the housing office. There’s a reason I remember him. Rameen had found his passion—working in a college […]
Read More >Life’s transcript
There’s a growing body of research showing that grades, which can become a game of extrinsic motivators, are actually detrimental to learning. But when officials at a school district in Chicago recently replaced what they believed was an outdated letter grading (A-F) system with more comprehensive “Progress Guides,” parents rebelled and demanded the school switch back. We’re […]
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