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...
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that my general advice to younger students is that the first half of high school is a time to explore yourself and your interests, as well as exploring colleges. Now that you're getting closer to...
We’re now closer to the end of the school year than the beginning. How does your high school experience so far compare to what you expected? Are you finding yourself challenged? If not, are there opportunities you can seek out and take advantage of? If...
The latest update on the FAFSA is that the Department of Education has begun sending test emails to colleges and expects to begin sending data to schools shortly. Keep an eye out for an email to let you know your FAFSA has been processed and...
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...
This is the time that many students are choosing their classes for next year. Colleges like to see students challenging themselves—in fact it’s one of the most important criteria colleges look at in admissions—and junior year is often a time to step up your level...
We’re more than halfway through the school year and it’s time to think about summer planning. If you have activities that you usually do in the summer like camp, sports, or family travel, those are great things to continue. If your summers have mostly been...
This month's big news is around the FAFSA, with the Department of Education announcing that families' financial aid data will not be sent to colleges until March. This will delay financial aid packages, creating a shorter window for students to make their decisions if they...
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...
One of my main pieces of advice for 10th graders is to start exploring colleges, and college fairs offer a great way to do this. There are two terrific opportunities coming up in March for students in the DC area: in-person fairs hosted by the...