By Adrian Cho, Ph.D. Happy New Year, dear readers! As we begin 2026, the time comes to begin seriously considering the list of colleges you will build (if you are a junior). It’s not just about finding schools that might accept you. It’s about identifying places where you can genuinely thrive. Building your college list..
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. No college information session would be complete without a colorful Powerpoint peppered with grandiose value statements. Diversity! Sustainability! Intellectual excellence! If you’re bored yet, I get it: so am I. As a college consultant, I have a professional obligation to attend many such sessions, so allow me to share a rather..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Have you ever failed at something that you were pretty confident you’d achieve? Maybe it was your sports team losing to the worst team in the league, or maybe it was not being able to figure out a server’s tip, even though you were planning to leave 20% on a..
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..
Have you ever wondered what the difference really is between a college and a university? If so, check out this Atlantic article and Victoria’s contribution to it: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/11/is-a-college-different-from-a-university/602215/
By – Victoria Tillson Evans Time and again, students insist that they want to go a top-tier college. The prestige has a way of luring many to apply. While thousands of students have the academic credentials to get in, they lack some of the key personality traits that make an elite college a good choice...
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Boston College, down 5 points to 27% BU, down 3 points to 22%. Emory, down 3.5 points to 18.5% Harvard, down .62 points to 4.58% Tulane, down 3.5 points to 17.5% UCLA, down 2.1 points to 14%. Virginia Tech, down 17.4 points to 56% Face it. These numbers don’t make..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Numbers are supposed to be straightforward and easy to interpret. 2+2=4, 9>5, and a triangle’s angles always add up to 180 degrees. Yet, in the world of college admissions statistics, some numbers lie. Selective Colleges’ Early Rounds One of the biggest instances involves the country’s most selective colleges. I often..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Time and again, families cheat themselves out of money and admissions opportunities, for the simple reason that they don’t understand how financial aid works. Rather than keep your child out of a top choice institution or set yourself up for a late retirement, learn the facts, so that you can..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. This article first appeared in The Huffington Post on September 18th, 2016. The college application process can bring out the worst in families, with its high stakes, countless unknowns, and a mountain of work to surmount. Kids procrastinate. Parents nag. Kids procrastinate some more. Parents nag some more – that..