The admissions decision drama is about to start. Everyone involved—students, parents and counselors—can find some comfort in the fact that like a predictable movie, we can all guess the plot and how it’s going to end (spoiler alert!). The drama will start with the early application decisions. Some students will celebrate getting accepted to their […]
Read More >College applications and community service
Patrick O'Connor offers some advice and perspective about community service, especially for kids who are convinced that they have to travel to remote corners of the globe to make an impact (and to stand out during the college admissions process).
Read More >Watch the “We…”
“We need to get him more community service hours…”“We have to bring that biology grade up…”“We are going to apply early decision…”“We need to talk with his teacher about getting extra credit…”“We are working on his applications…”“We need a great college essay…”“We need to prepare for his Princeton interview…” "We" can be a harmful pronoun […]
Read More >For teachers: Five letter of recommendation tips
For those teachers working on letters of recommendation, here are five tips to help you help your students. 1. Just tell the truth. It's not your job (and it's not in your student's best interest) to inflate a kid's qualifications. Attempts to do so usually lead to vague generalities like calling a student "diligent and […]
Read More >How to have a good meeting
Whether it’s a college planning meeting with your counselor, a parent-teacher conference, or your college interview, every face-to-face meeting is an opportunity. If you want to get the most out of it, you have to do more than just show up and go through the motions. I had a meeting this week about an important […]
Read More >Worth being thankful for
In the spirit of today, here are a few college-related items for which we all might pause to give deserved thanks. The United States has the most coveted and accessible system of higher education in the world. There are more than 2,000 four-year colleges and universities in this country, and the vast majority of them […]
Read More >Don’t answer unasked questions
A family having an introductory meeting with a private counselor says, “This seems really expensive.” A boss interviewing a teenage job applicant says, “You don’t have a lot of experience.” A parent says to a teacher, “Billy has never had trouble in a class before. I think there might be a personality conflict here.” A […]
Read More >Don’t let worrying distract you
Your grade in chemistry might hinge on your performing well on the final exam.You might not get the SAT score you need to be competitive for your dream college.You may not get into AP US history next year.You might not get elected to be the president of the student body.Your college interviewer may ask you […]
Read More >Can applying for financial aid hurt you?
There are some questions that make me cringe. “Can applying for financial aid hurt your chances of admission?” is one of them. I cringe because people never seem to believe the answer, whether or not paying for college is high on their list of concerns. Here’s the best way I can explain it: Can applying […]
Read More >What are your reasons?
I was talking with someone today about going to college to get a degree for a specific field of work. I told him that before someone spends four years of college time and money in pursuit of a career, he should ask himself, “Are there other routes to this career without a college degree?” If […]
Read More >- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 252
- 253
- 254
- 255
- 256
- …
- 380
- Next Page »