Tenth grade is the perfect time to explore colleges, and meeting with admissions representatives locally is a great way to start. There are a couple of college fairs coming up in Maryland and one in Northern Virginia in the next few weeks, and college representatives...

Many 10th graders took the PSAT in October, but some schools also offer the PSAT 10. This is actually the same test but it's given between late February and the end of April instead.  It's a good opportunity to get a read on your strengths...

I hope you had a great break with family and friends and time for both fun and rest. As you gear back up for the new year, set some goals for yourself. Choose goals you can measure and include a time frame in your planning...

If you took the PSAT in October your scores are now available. While this is useful diagnostic information, 10th grade is still a little early to focus on standardized testing (unless you have SAT Subject Tests in your future.) Even though I encourage students to...

If you took the PSAT last month, scores will be released in December. While students usually do most of their standardized testing in 11th grade, sometimes it makes sense to take certain tests for highly selective colleges at the end of 10th, or to do...

Many of you took the PSAT this week— it’s no fun but I hope it gave you a sense of what future exams will feel like.  We also learned last week that the Class of 2022 will benefit from the new "section retesting" option for...

Welcome back to school! I hope your summer gave you the chance to reflect on your first year of high school. Take some time to think about what you accomplished and what you'd like to accomplish this year.  Then share these goals with someone who...

When you think about what you'd like to get out of your high school experience, use the summer to get to know yourself better.  What were your strong subjects last year? Are they the ones you enjoyed the most? When you think about the subjects...

Believe it or not, you’re halfway through high school! You probably found 10th grade to be more challenging than 9th in both the level of difficulty and the amount of work. You also probably found some things went better this year than they did the...

To all of you who are in the midst of AP exams, good luck! I hope they're going well. Last month I recommended that students do at least one college tour before the end of 10th grade.  College representatives are also traveling around the country to...