April 24 May 1 is National College Decision Day, the last day to commit to one school over all the others that accepted you. Some students have already sent in the deposit and even connected with roommates, but every year some students just can’t decide. If that’s you, you may be struck with analysis paralysis or maybe you don’t feel

I visited Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, over two fresh spring days in April as part of a counselor fly-in event. The redbud trees were in full dark-pink bloom and the oaks were just leafing out. If you really want to be seen for who you are, to have support to lift you to your highest potential, and to have

I met Sister Jean! In October 2023, I met Sister Jean, the then-104-year-old nun of Loyola who became a video sensation as the men’s basketball chaplain rooting for the Ramblers courtside in the 2018 playoffs. She has an office in the student center with an open door, through which seven college advisers and I walked to say hello and snap

Also called an IEC (independent educational consultant) or college consultant Besides running my business of college consulting, I used to work as a writing tutor at my local community college. The Writing Center helps students with application and transfer essays as well as their written assignments for the community college. Let me tell you about two students who came to

Recommendation Etiquette by Karen Anne Hott I’m an independent educational consultant and the founder of Two Bridges College Consulting. Before going into college advising, I taught AP English Language & Composition, standard and honors English, journalism, and newspaper production in a Maryland public high school. Today I love working with students on their college searches, applications, and essays, facilitating the

Disappointed that your phenomenal, amazing child didn’t get into UCLA or Stanford? Stanford’s admit rate was 3.6 percent, and UCLA was 9.4 percent. But your child worked hard to build an impressive record, right? Let’s consider the actual numbers. Stanford had over 57,000 applications and only about 2,000 were accepted. UCLA had over 145,000 applications and fewer than 14,000 were

This isn’t just a month to study for AP exams, though that is something AP students should be doing. Here’s what each class should be doing NOW. Freshmen Look for summer programs that sound interesting to you. Some have deadlines coming up soon. A great resource is Snowday (snow.day), a free, searchable database of more than 1,100 summer programs for

The first thing I noticed at Louisiana State University was the trees, spreading their branches wide across the grounds of campus when I visited with a busload of counselors on March 21. Our tour guide, Emily, a pre-med senior, said, “I always feel like the trees are giving me a big hug.” Thriving from land to sea to space LSU

Seniors, have you been invited to Admitted Students Days?  GO!  Going to admitted students events will give you a better idea of how good a fit the school is for you. Try out the food in the dining hall, check out the dorm you’d be living in, sit in on a class.  But keep in mind that the college needs

How college visits can help you figure out what you actually want Spring break’s a perfect time for juniors to visit colleges—you won’t have to miss classes or make up work. Most juniors don’t have a definitive college list yet, so think of the spring break visit as list-development research. It’s already spring, and in summer, you’ll start applying to