One of the hardest things for students—for people!—to do is separate the quality of their process from the randomness or disappointment of challenging outcomes. This is why Deal or No Deal always drove me nuts: You didn’t make the right choice because the next case was worth $.01; it was either the right choice in the moment or it wasn’t! All we can ever do is the best we can with the information we have available to us; we can’t justify bad decisions by good outcomes, just as we can’t condemn good decisions that resulted in bad outcomes.

A common question we are asked as college admissions consultants is, “How do you address a disability in your college application?”  Or, to step back a bit, “Should you address a disability at all?”  Former MIT and Caltech admissions officer, Zaragoza Guerra, tackles this complicated question in the latest installment of our video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert.

Colleges love to see applicants take part in community service, but many families and students are left perplexed as to just what that entails. Today we take on the most frequently asked questions we get about giving back.

Your high school counselor is encouraging you to take the SAT. But your neighbor (whose son got into Harvard, by the way…) says the ACT is the way to go. So, what’s the real deal? Which test do colleges really prefer? Find out in the latest installment of our video series, We Can Explain.

The Thanksgiving holiday is almost upon us, so while families are getting ready to enjoy the holiday (and the holiday meal!), host Elizabeth Heaton has a full feast of information for students and parents in the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation. In addition to a double helping of admissions and financial aid questions, Beth also helps parents and students who may be thinking about transferring colleges after their first few months away.

Maybe you want to take it easy for the last half of senior year. Your college applications are in, right? So what harm will dropping a class do at this point? Before you make any hasty moves, check out this video tip from former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer, Elizabeth Heaton. In the latest installment of the video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert, Beth answers the question, “Can I drop a class?”

Airing on November 1^st, the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation congratulates those seniors who submitted applications for an early round deadline! Pressing “submit” on that first application is almost as exciting as receiving the first offer of admission! Host Elizabeth Heaton and her guests cover the following topics in their conversation this week: reducing stress and mindfulness during the application process, using life insurance as a college savings vehicle, and how to handle disciplinary infractions on your applications.

Guest Post By Marie Schwartz, CEO, TeenLife Media

If you’re the parent of a student interested in the arts, your emotions probably ricochet between amazement and panic.

There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing your children’s artwork on a gallery wall, or hearing them play in a concert, or seeing them perform on a stage. Then, comes the fear that they might actually want to do this as a career. And, you’re imagining them living in the basement forever.

While both the well-established Common Application and its 2-year old rival the Coalition enable students to apply to college, there are countless variations between the two platforms. And for students (as well as parents and school counselors) who are familiar with the characteristics and structure of the Common App, be prepared that many of the features you know and love (and probably take for granted) on the Common App are regrettably absent from the Coalition. But fear not! Our 10 top tips below highlight our favorite suggestions for students applying to college with the Coalition Application.

‘Tis the college application season, and on the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Beth Heaton treats her listeners to a top five list of college application mistakes and the answers to a myriad of college admission and finance questions posed by our podcast listeners.