Don't just apply to college… Position yourself.

Archive for the 12th Grade Category

College Acceptances and Denials: The Best and Worst Things That Could Happen

College Acceptances and Denials: The Best and Worst Things That Could Happen

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect to your future.” -Steve Jobs. There seems to be so much at stake when college admissions decisions come out, whether it is

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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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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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Off to College: How to Choose Your Freshman Dorm–and Roommate

Off to College: How to Choose Your Freshman Dorm–and Roommate

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anaïs Nin. Soon after families of high school seniors send in the enrollment deposit for the chosen college, a

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First Day of May

“First day of May, things are beginning…our side is winning…hip, hip, hooray!” James Taylor’s exuberant love song celebrates the universal rite of spring, the joy of new life and hope that accompanies the sweet pastel blossoms, the welcome warm weather, and fresh natural fragrances of the first

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