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Navigating the Road to College and Beyond

Our blog offers wisdom for parents as they raise their high school students, guiding their transitions to college, graduate school, and the workplace. You will find many of your college application questions answered here, so take some time to peruse our categories!

Posts by Kris Hintz with updates by Deborah Ernst.

College Freshmen Home for Thanksgiving

College Freshmen Home for Thanksgiving

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”– Oscar Wilde. It’s yet another rite of passage for college freshmen. For some, it is the first time they will be home since they left for college in August. For others, it is the first time

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Questions Applicants Should Ask in a College Admissions Interview

Questions Applicants Should Ask in a College Admissions Interview

“The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going.” -David Starr Jordan. Interviewing does not play as pivotal a role in college admissions as it does in employment, but, depending on your student’s prospective institutions, he or she may be doing some interviews.

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Acing the College Admission Interview

Acing the College Admission Interview

“We convince by our presence.” -Walt Whitman. In the adult career world, the interview is pivotal to landing a job. It is natural that parents would expect interviews to play a key role in the college process as well. Client families often come to me feeling stressed

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Getting into College: Then What?

Getting into College: Then What?

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”  – Sir Winston Churchill. As a college admissions consultant, I am well acquainted with the stress that families experience focused on that pivotal point in a young person’s life when the “fat

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The Move to College as “Group Therapy”

The Move to College as “Group Therapy”

“It always is harder to be left behind than to be the one to go…” -Brock Thoene. Years ago, I sat in a graduate psychology class on family systems therapy. The first day, our professor asked us to reflect on our families of origin, and introduce ourselves

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How Important Is the College Essay, Really?

How Important Is the College Essay, Really?

“Say what you need to say.” – John Mayer. For the budding J.K. Rowlings among us, the best part of the college application process is writing the essay. However, for many high school students, it looms like tomorrow’s trip to the oral surgeon to have wisdom teeth

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Freshman Year of College: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire

Freshman Year of College: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire

Your teenager has graduated from high school, having been accepted to a dream college whose bumper sticker you are proud to wear on the rear window of your car, and… knock on wood, it looks like you will be able to afford it. You breathe a huge

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The College Transition “Bible”

The College Transition “Bible”

“Planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower. How to get ready for the Big Move? Your teen is about to, or has just graduated from, high school, but he or she is not ready to think about becoming a college freshman yet. Parties, summer jobs, beach trips with

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The Summer Between High School and College

The Summer Between High School and College

“We need the sweet pain of anticipation to tell us we are really alive.” – Albert Camus. Your high school student has just completed those last (excruciatingly long) weeks of senior year. It has definitely been a grueling year, despite the many milestone celebrations, and both you and your

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The Critical Months for College Visits

The Critical Months for College Visits

“Timing is everything.” -Tommy Shaw You read my post, Why Juniors Should Visit Colleges on Winter and Spring Break, knowing the importance of February and March break during junior year for campus tours. But despite parents’ best intentions, life being what it is, the campus visits did not happen.

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