Kevin McMullin

College admissions advice for students, parents, and counselors

Making the most of an opportunity

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I’ve written here often that the students who will be most successful during and after college are those who make the most of the opportunities available to them. That’s why a high school student who already demonstrates the skill will almost always impress colleges. Capitalizing on an opportunity is a learned skill—not everyone is good […]

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Parents: attend your school’s college-related events

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We’re often asked to speak at high school events like “Junior Parent Night,” “College Night,” and “PSAT Scores Back Night.” At some schools, those events are standing-room only. But at others, they can’t seem to generate much interest. Not just events where Collegewise is on the docket, but college-related events in general.  In my experience, […]

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Five lessons daily blogging has taught me

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I’ve written at least one post here every day since October 12, 2009. 2,323 days in a row. It’s been one of the more valuable and enriching things I’ve done, much more so than I ever thought it would. Here are five things I’ve learned from daily blogging that I hope inspire other people to […]

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Create your lessons now

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One of the surest ways to write a clichéd college essay is to choose an activity or experience and claim to have learned “valuable lessons.” It’s not that students didn’t actually learn lessons from what they’ve done. But the stories are often built around a lesson that might sound impressive, but wasn’t actually there. When […]

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Join us in Hong Kong

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This month, we’re delivering two live, free seminars in Hong Kong.  Each date includes both seminars. Seminar #1 Navigating Admissions to Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Programs at America’s Best Universities College graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) are highly sought after in our economy. But how do you decide which […]

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Letters of rec corrected links

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My last post shared an incorrect link for a letter of recommendation resource for teachers. The tips for teachers are here: http://wiselikeus.com/collegewise/2011/01/for-teachers-who-write-letters-of-recommendation.html The advice for students (particularly juniors) is here: http://wiselikeus.com/collegewise/2012/03/for-juniors-start-thinking-about-letters-of-recommendation.html Sorry about the mistake—I double-checked these to be sure!

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Letter of rec tips for faculty and for students

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One subject we’re considering for our upcoming counselor training program is the art of writing letters of recommendation for counselors and teachers: how the letters are used in admissions, how you can craft even more effective pieces, and, especially for counselors, how you can actually manage the job if you have a large caseload. We’re […]

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Does this spark joy?

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Marie Kondo, best-selling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, is an icon of organization and a savior for those desperate to reduce their clutter. Her most important rule of tidying is to keep only those items that “spark joy” and discard all the rest. She promises, as the book’s title suggests, that keeping […]

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It’s not yes until it is

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There’s a rule in sales: don’t celebrate until you get a real yes. “Looks great!” “This is exactly what we need.” “Really impressive.” Phrases like those sound promising. But none of them are the same as an actual “Yes!” A yes is a commitment to buy. It’s when paperwork is signed and the deal is […]

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