Be vulnerable

Professor Brené Brown tells us that being vulnerable is an important part of opening our hearts to love, and of opening our minds to learning. Colleges want to know that you are willing to shed your fears and try new challenges. Of course, you may not alwa...

I have been helping students and families navigate the college admissions process for a long time now, I  need to reiterate some basic fundamental truths. I’m calling them my 10 commandments of the college admissions process. 

THOU SHALT…

Commandment # 1 K...

Let’s not bury the lead: the Common App first-year essay prompts will remain the same for 2020-2021.

As part of our commitment to making sure the essay prompts continue to serve students and Common App member colleges well, we invited feedback through a survey. Over the...

It must be September, because the parents of high school seniors are panicked about college. As an IEC, I did everything but give away free gas to get parents to visit me in the spring, but usually to no avail. Now, I'm buying my groceries in the next town because so m...

They read hundreds − if not thousands − of application essays, morning, afternoon, and evening.  They are the people in college admissions looking for the good read, the applicant’s essay that will make their day. That’s why getting the reader’s attention right from th...