By now, you may have heard that a few HBCUs and the Ivy League schools have canceled their fall sports programs due to COVID 19. It's a smart move given their desire to slow the spread of the virus and doing as much as they can to protect their athletes, coaches, athletic staff and "regular" students. These schools are choosing "not to risk it" and by making this announcement now, in mid-July, are giving all parties involved more time to make a bunch of necessary decisions about education, health and life.

And of course, money.

Some Division 3 NESCAC (New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference) schools have also already canceled and more will come in the coming weeks. Those that have not are stall...

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the words “COVID 19,” “coronavirus,” “pandemic,” “new normal,” and “pivot.” What I’m not tired of are masks and clean hands. These last 100 days+ have made us all rethink our lives. How we communicate, how we educate and most importantly, how we process such a life-altering situation. 

Teenagers have it worse. They have so much on their plates given school, social media and hormones. Most of them are even more eager than the adults to have life go back to “normal.” This is partially to suppress the fact that they’re anxious, depressed and flat out confused about what’s going on. 

Thankfully, the Common Application and Coalition Application are giving students i...

As almost every college across the country has, smartly, adjusted their standardized testing requirements for the Class of 2021 (high school, college Class of 2025), students and parents are either jumping for joy at the “test-optional” admission requirement or scratching their heads. 

Are Harvard, Duke and Princeton REALLY not going to consider SATs and ACTs for admission?

Well, that’s what they’re saying and that’s what I want to believe, but there’s a wrinkle that you and your child need to consider.

If your child could have taken a standardized test before spring 2020 or if your child can still take one later in the fall - August (SAT), September (ACT, SAT), October (ACT, SAT), November (SAT),...

The short answer is yes. Colleges want to know what your child does beyond the classroom. Since the transcript tells them what the grades are -- what happens in the classroom -- the next question is “how else do they spend their time.”

Both the Common Application and the Coalition Application -- the two primary ways students apply to college online -- have dedicated places for students to list their extracurricular activities. While this is the preferred and required place for students to list their athletics, arts, community service, religious or summer activities, many colleges also offer the opportunity to upload a Word or PDF resume. I suggest that your child do this even though their activities ar...

Once upon a time, there were unwritten rules about writing college essays. Here are a few that many students have been told over the years:

🛑 Do NOT write about being in love or having a “significant other.” A college essay is not where you should talk about sex or how deeply you may have been hurt by young love.

🛑 Do NOT use an essay to complain about your parents, teachers, school, rules, etc. Teenage angst is so tired and no one wants to hear about how bad people treat you. 

🛑 Do NOT write about religion and politics. Too controversial and you never know who is reading it on the other side and how they might interpret it. 

Even today, I am in full agreement with numbers 1 and 2. Relationships can...

As students wind down the school year and are starting to look at what’s ahead for their 2020-21 application cycle, they must know more than just the basics. Yes, colleges will start grades, scores, resume, recommendations and essays, but how much each will weigh in the process is still, like almost everything, uncertain.

Historically, colleges have focused on 13 key factors in terms of admission:

• Rigorously appropriate curriculum with Honors, AP and IB classes

• Highest grades possible

• Solid ACT or SAT scores that is consistent with high school performance

• Strong, well-written personal and supplemental essays

• Diverse resume with activities that show passion and purpose 

• Su...

Writing a college essay is hard. Very few students go into the writing process “pumped” to sit in front of a computer to tell a story. It's part laborious, oftentimes frustrating and occasionally embarrassing. The most common thing I hear is “I don't know what to write!” and then it becomes my job to help the student to brainstorm and believe in the idea that we have thought of together.

Know what's far easier? Documenting life. Instead of trying to devise some cleverly creative epiphany that they think will change the landscape of college admissions and help them get into the college of their dreams, students should simply share what has happened in their lives or what is happening. And to start, it d...

As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, several camps, colleges, and universities are canceling their on-site summer programs. Many people are even speculating that colleges will not even start in the fall. Craziness.

What I do know is that for students applying to college in the fall, essays and resumes, their stories, will play a significant contribution to their process.

Stories, not stats, will play a big part of college admissions 2020.
I’m willing to say that students who are creative and innovative will stand out tremendously this year and I’m willing to bet all the way through 2023. Yes, freshmen in high school will have more emphasis on their stories, not solely stats, when th...

Over a month ago, I released two blog posts about how standardized testing - the ACT and SAT specifically -- are changing given COVID. Test dates were being cancelled or postponed for much of the spring. As of today, the summer dates of June ACT and SAT have also been canceled and both agencies are looking into summer and fall alternatives.

What's Going on With Standardized Tests?

SAT and ACT Tests Are Being Canceled, Now What?

Uncertainty and fear rule our world right now, and to imagine a mass of teenagers crowding into a building to sit next to each other for three or more hours. To me, that sounds, well, dangerous. We have no idea who’s infected and who’s not, and even when we do climb out of qu...

I’ve been on a rampage over the past week on social media decrying the need for any school to give students “grades” this spring. In the midst of all that we’re going through as a country and even as a world, As, Bs, 92s, 87s and Cs, seem pointless. 

No teacher who is new to teaching online can grade as fairly as they are accustomed to. No student who is new to taking classes online can offer consistent maximum effort on a digital platform while being distracted and possibly confused. And most of all, let’s not forget that we, all of us, are in a CRISIS and have had to make a ton of life adjustments that are disruptions to our normal routines. This COVID-19 thing is the epitome of unfairness and uncert...