I hope back-to-school season has been treating you well.  It’s an exciting time for the Class of 2026 with the year’s new academic challenges, extracurricular involvement and increased focus on college planning. If you set goals for the year (which I suggest you do), experts...

Class of '25, get ready—the Common Application is open! Many of you have already been working on your basic information, activities and essays. If you haven’t, it's a good idea to take advantage of the remaining time you have to do as much application work...

Many of you are in the midst of AP exams and I hope they’ve been going well. Once you get through this crunch, you'll be in the homestretch of the year! Your top priority remains finishing the year strong in all of your classes, especially...

As the Class of 2025 application cycle approaches, I’m hearing from students wanting to know how they can get a head start. Although getting the best grades you can in your classes should be the top priority, you might want to get started filling out...

The Common App has announced that the essay prompts for the Class of 2025 will be the same as they were in this application cycle. You can view the prompts here, but I don’t recommend starting to work on essays until the school year is...

Right now, juniors are getting focused on standardized testing and test prep. Congratulations to those of you who took the ACT last weekend, and good luck to those preparing for the March SAT. Many of you are also working with your parents to plan campus...

Last month I recommended that juniors research colleges online by checking out the Student Life or Campus Life sections of schools' websites. This information, along with what you learn from the Academics pages, can give you a sense of whether a particular college might be...

Last month I recommended researching majors and academic programs on colleges' websites as you explore schools that might be a good fit for you. Another important aspect of fit is campus life, which you can also learn about online. Most colleges have a "campus life,"...

Now that you’ve settled into the year, think about which subjects you are enjoying the most. Are these the areas you might be interested in studying in college? Last month I recommended scheduling college tours as well as doing online research to learn about schools...

I hope your junior year is off to a great start! As always, your top priority for the year should be getting the best grades you can, since colleges first and foremost are looking for students with strong academics. Keep in mind that an upward...