By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Over a lunch of Peruvian chicken, two former clients probed me to find out what makes an accomplished student, you know, the kind that gets into the country’s most selective schools. They were curious to know what precisely the students did, what the parents did to help them, and what..
By Nora Lessersohn, A.M. We often hear from families: “It can’t hurt just to throw our hat in the ring at X school!” This is what you might call using “hope” as a strategy, ignoring data in the name of playing the lottery. While Barack Obama might disagree, hope, alone, is not at all likely..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. We’re a year into the pandemic, and it’s safe to say it’s going to be a while before we can properly visit colleges again. Most campuses have completely shut down their in-person admissions programming, and some won’t even let non-community members onto the property. This is making it difficult for..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. I think everyone will agree that the pandemic has disrupted college admissions. From the lack of in-person events to meet reps to the proliferation of random grading policies, the pandemic has disrupted not only how colleges get to know students, but what’s in students’ admissions profiles. Being one year into..
By Daniel Evans, Ph.D. “Ever since I was a young child, I looked up at the night sky with wonder, and imagined how the stars and planets came to be.” Over my many years as a professional scientist, I have read this statement in more applications for science competitions and student research positions than I..
By Nora Lessersohn Junior year is supposed to be the year you really “come into your own” as a high school student. Normally, you could excel in clubs or sports, in the classroom, and at summer programs. But this year, many of these opportunities are unavailable. So, how do you stay engaged, keep up morale,..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Over a half century ago, while Jimi Hendrix riffed “The Star Spangled Banner” at legendary Woodstock, another group of people were making a countercultural decision that we’re only starting to feel the momentum of today. In 1969, the admissions team at Maine’s Bowdoin College made the school the first American..
By – Nora Lessersohn This admissions cycle, as COVID-19 has forced over 55% of colleges to go “test optional,” “test flexible,” or “test blind,” you will need other parts of your application to help you stand out from the crowd. With any luck, testing will soon be a thing of the past, and finding ways..
By – Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Many adults lament the fact that many teens these days no longer hold jobs. They worry that the younger generation is no longer learning the humility that comes with doing “menial” work, nor the responsibility that comes with managing personal finances. What the older generation often misses, however, is..
By Nora Lessersohn, A.M. Unlike most high school students, I knew exactly what I wanted to study in college: Religion. I indicated this on all my college applications, and when I got to campus I never changed my mind. I even wrote my personal statement about a conversation I had with a Henry David Thoreau..