I attended a gap year information fair this weekend. It was hosted by the Center for Interim Programs, based in Massachusetts, one of the oldest consulting organizations that help students organize “gap” time between high school and college. Counselor Jason Sarouhan describes a gap year as a way for students to “take productive, intentional time out of your … Read more
It seems that every week I am off to another professional conference. This week it was lunch with admissions officers from 24 different schools on Monday, a tour of UC Irvine and discussion with fellow counselors about college search experiences for Jewish students on Friday. I added up all of the time I spent on … Read more
I’ve been quiet for a little while as I helped my clients finalize their college applications – November and December were packed with activity! I thought I would share this interesting list of the most popular majors from a recent CNN Study: http://www.globalcitizencorps.org/blog/2012/03/top-ten-most-popular-majors Many students who come to me mention some of these as potential … Read more
Yesterday, I hosted my Inaugural* “Let’s Talk About College!” lunch for my high school sophomores and juniors. In addition to the six students who came, I invited a few friends who attended different colleges. Not official admissions representatives, or even interviewers – just normal people who can talk about what it’s like to be a … Read more
Please join us for two free presentations at Temple Adat Shalom this Tuesday, 10/16, and next Tuesday, 10/23 about college admissions. This week, we’ll talk about the basics: what matters in college admissions, how an admissions committee works, what your student can do in 9th, 10th and 11th grade to improve their options when they … Read more
As we’re well into October, seniors should have their college lists set at this point. Early Action and Early Decision deadlines are fast approaching (most are either November 1 or November 15), and the UC and Cal State applications are due November 30th. What tools to you use for your college search? I like Cappex, … Read more
~ Spoiler Alert ~ You will know at the end of this article which colleges were dropped, and which were added, from the original Colleges That Change Lives, in the 2012 Revised Edition. Colleges That Change Lives was originally published in 1996, after decades of research by former New York Times Education Editor Loren Pope. … Read more
I just posted a new article on Century City Patch about building the right college list. It’s an issue that is very important to me. I would rather see students have a dozen acceptances from which to choose next April than three. And in order to make that happen, you have to be realistic about … Read more
I was behind a car the other day with a license plate frame that said “100% Slug.” Imagine how proud this guy must be of his UC Santa Cruz education. You probably have friends who are alumni of UCLA and USC whose faces contort at the mention of the cross-town rival. Their school pride is … Read more
I wrote a piece for the Century City Patch about tonight’s college fair at the Universal Hilton. The Colleges That Change Lives is a group of 40 colleges, mostly lesser-known, all very small (under about 2,000 students each) liberal arts colleges, selected by the late Loren Pope, former education editor of the New York Times. Pope was … Read more