Parents, if you have a senior in the house who’s applying to college and you’re feeling a heightening concern about paying for it, it’s important to channel that concern into the most constructive actions. Surprisingly, while applying to cheaper schools and searching for scholarships are both common responses, neither tops the list of the most […]
Read More >Parents: Be pressure equalizers
I’ve frequently heard parents express the sentiment that relieving pressure on their student isn’t the challenge they’re facing, which usually sounds something like, “My son spends more time playing video games than doing homework. I wish he felt pressured to succeed!” Fair point. For those families, I’d only tell you that this is not necessarily […]
Read More >Acting as if
You can wait to win an elected office, or be chosen to lead a project, or be asked to contribute something valuable, or you can act as if you’ve already got the title, just do the work, and trust that the right people will recognize impact when they see it. I’m not suggesting that you […]
Read More >A few extra seconds
When the clerk behind the counter spends a few extra seconds to smile, to genuinely ask how your day is going, and to offer a sincere “thank you” after you’ve paid, it changes the entire interaction from a routine, just-like-all-the-others transaction to one that actually makes you feel better about where you’re shopping. That’s a […]
Read More >Help kids take charge
Parents, as your kids get older, it’s hard to differentiate what they need you to do from what they can and should do for themselves. As your student progresses through high school, help them take charge of their education and their college application process, which includes: Meeting with teachers or counselors Fundraising for activities Making […]
Read More >Don’t play this lottery
I’ve written before about the futility of playing the reach-school lottery— applying to 20 highly-selective colleges in the hopes that one will admit you. But if you needed advice from a more venerable source than Kevin The Collegewise Blogger, one of our counselors snapped this photo at a session this morning at the annual NACAC […]
Read More >Good enough is good enough
Yesterday, we unveiled our new Collegewise website, totally rebuilt from the ground up. And the night before it launched, I was more anxious than I’d been in a long time. It’s scary to put something out in the world you know that people will judge. What if they don’t like it? What if something doesn’t […]
Read More >Change the conversation
If you spend an hour with friends who do nothing but complain, make disparaging comments, or generally find a way to inject negativity into the conversation, you’re likely to leave feeling similarly negative even if you didn’t necessarily agree with them. But an hour spent with people who are positive, gracious, and happy would lead […]
Read More >Saving now vs. paying later
For many families, the biggest barrier to saving for college is the sheer enormity of the college price tags in question. With the soaring costs, it can be hard to believe that putting a little bit aside every month will actually make college more affordable. But you might feel differently if you consider these two financial […]
Read More >Go where you’re needed
I was elected as the director of publicity for the student government during my senior year of high school. The title was much fancier than the actual job. In the days before the Internet, the best way to promote school events—homecoming, talent shows, sports, etc.—was to paint signs on butcher paper and tape them around […]
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