A few weeks ago, the Washington Post came out with a story that outlined online consumer behavior tracking methods used by many higher education institutions to determine the likelihood that a student would enroll if accepted. This seems to be somewhat surprising to people, probably because they don’t think of colleges as businesses trying to sell something to consumers. In an age when admissions practices seem more complicated and opaque than ever before, it also feels like one more secret kept from the students and parents who are already stressed out about grades, test scores, and application essays.

Some years ago on a soccer sideline somewhere, or maybe in the chatty pre-show moments of a high school theatre performance, a mom or dad started the dreadful rumor that one must complete hundreds of hours of community service in order to even be considered for admission to the top colleges and universities in the country. Since that day, this misinformation has been taken as gospel by college-bound high school students and their parents. But they’re wrong.

Let’s all pause for a moment and say this together: there is nothing extra special about community service.

One of your biggest allies in the college process is your school counselor. Whether writing a letter of recommendation, sending out a transcript or directing you to local scholarship resources, there are many, many ways in which they will support you. We have advice from a former school counselor on how you can be a better partner. We’ll also take a look at the costs associated with applying to college and walk you through some goal setting suggestions for underclassmen.

Love watching blooper reels for your favorite TV shows? We’re offering our own blooper reel of mistakes we saw students and parents making when we were admissions officers. Don’t be them! We’re also welcoming the associate director of admissions for Bard College at Simon’s Rock to share more information about early college programs, including what they are and who would most benefit from these opportunities. Finally in Learning to Live Like a Student, we’ll focus on how small and large financial choices that students make while they are in college can and will impact their financial future after graduation.

Call them what you may – likely, foundation, strong possibility, or no problem colleges – there is no such thing as a safety school anymore. Most students consider a “safety” (a term, it should be known, that colleges themselves universally find distasteful) to be a school that nearly guarantees them admission. In other words, the students’ grades, rigor, and test scores place them so far above the typical admitted student, that gaining admission into those particular colleges seems to be a sure thing, a slam dunk. But as someone who – for the past 13 years – has diligently created lists of best fit colleges for high school seniors, I know that the days of feeling secure in a safety school are long gone.

Each spring, College Coach surveys the high school seniors that we’ve worked with through our private college counseling service to garner their insights on the college application process. We’ve just synthesized the results of our 2019 Senior Survey, and wanted to share the good news with our readers.

Over the course of the past 16 years, I have read thousands of college applications and the personal statements that accompany them. Some essays have remained fresh in my mind – often because the topics were inspiring, powerful, humorous, or beautifully written – but other essays stand out for all of the wrong reasons. Below are four of my most noteworthy observations about college application essays, including blunders students should avoid at all costs.

In an era of smart phones and technology always at our fingertips, social media is a deeply ingrained part of the daily lives of most teens (and often their parents!). As students prepare to apply to college, many families ask me about the role of social media in college admissions, specifically the college research, application, and selection process. Here are a few things to consider:

Travel back in time with me, if you will, to 1999. College admissions had recently transitioned from a buyer’s market to a seller’s, and application totals at many colleges began the steady climb to what continue to be unprecedented numbers. Twenty years ago marked my foray from college admission into college counseling as well. I have been on the front lines with students and parents through three different iterations of the format of the SAT, the evolution of web-based college searching, and the transition from paper to online applications, including the expanding reach of multiple online application platforms. 1999 was not just the beginning of my career in college counseling, but of an ongoing commitment to help students keep their wits about them in what, for many, is an overwhelming process. This includes helping them to be strategic about their college lists.

The environment, from questions around global warming to plastic in our oceans to single-stream recycling, is very much in the news on a seemingly daily basis. Many colleges now offer some form of an environmental studies major, and we’ll offer thoughts on the options available to students pursuing degrees in that area. We’re also answering your college admissions and finance questions.