A worried mother at a local high school's college night last week told me, "My daughter has worked so hard. She'll be just devastated if she doesn't get into one of her reach schools." It was clear that she, too, was going to be devastated if those schools didn't admit her daughter. And while she […]
Read More >Expert opinions?
If I want to get stronger, I ask a trainer at the gym for advice. But when my arm hurts more than it should after working out, I don't ask the personal trainer to take a look at it. That's a job for a doctor. And what kind of shoes should I wear when I […]
Read More >It’s school first
With all the talk about what colleges look for in applicants, it helps to remember that college is school first. Yes, colleges care about your extra-curricular activities. They care about how you're going to make contributions to the campus. They like it when your interviewer finds you personable, and when you show interest in the […]
Read More >20 things I wish I’d known back in high school
I'd like to think we all get a little wiser every year. At 18, I looked back on myself at 16 and couldn't believe how little I knew. I'm sure I'll feel the same way two years from now about how little I know today at age 39. Still, if I knew back in high […]
Read More >Not a life-defining day
Admissions decisions from colleges aren’t life defining. They can feel like it at the time. A lot of hard-working students spend their high school years driven to gain admission to a particular (or to a particular type of) college. So when the “Yes,” or “No” arrives, it can feel like your high school career has just been validated or […]
Read More >Rejected by your dream school? You’re in good company
From a great piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about college rejection letters and the people who've received them: "Teenagers who face rejection will be joining good company, including Nobel laureates, billionaire philanthropists, university presidents, constitutional scholars, best-selling authors and other leaders of business, media and the arts who once received college or graduate-school rejection […]
Read More >Meant to be
Most kids feel like they're attending the college they were meant to attend. Some just take a little longer to realize it than others. Several years ago, I was invited back to my alma mater, UC-Irvine, as the keynote speaker at the freshman orientation program. In the audience were several hundred new freshmen and their […]
Read More >Have you got swagger?
I worked with a student once who had all the characteristics you need to get into the most selective colleges. Perfect grades, perfect test scores, a voracious appetite for learning, an excitement about all the opportunities waiting for him in college, likeable, self-effacing, and most importantly, he had a little–just a little–swagger. I say "a […]
Read More >A college admissions secret
Did you know that colleges love stamp-collectors? They go just crazy for stamp collectors. Can't get enough of 'em. OK, I'm kidding (a little). Colleges don't have a special affinity for stamp-collectors any more than they do any other activity. What colleges love is passion. It really doesn't matter what your passion is–dance, […]
Read More >What are you going to be when you grow up?
Some people think the only way to be a success is to go to a famous college. Some people think you have to know what you want to do before you go to college so you can pick the right major. I've never believed either of those to be true. Here's an example. One particular […]
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