Blog 

On newsstands right now, US News and World Report ranks the top colleges and universities in the nation. No big surprise here - Princeton University is number one. Traditionally, Princeton and Harvard trade places at number one, like a game almost.

Read More

Now that legions of students are making themselves comfortable settling in on campus, they are going to do something that everyone does when they dorm: look for the kid who brought his or her car to campus. Keep in mind that at many colleges, like Washington University in St. Louis, most students who dorm don't bring their car to campus. So guess what happens to the kids who do?

Read More

One uphill battle I have been fighting for a while (rather unsuccessfully, to be honest) is to convince high-achieving young women to apply to all women's colleges. Specifically, Wellesley, Smith, Scripps (among others). You would be surprised at just how few high school girls even consider these colleges. The reasons, as you expect, are due to the same-sex component; these students have been to coed schools their entire lives, and want (understandably) to go to a coed university. They also feel that they will have a rather strange existence as a college student without that coed component.

Read More

The average financial aid package is around $10,800, according to an August 2013 study by the National Center for Education Statistics. Depending on which school you plan to attend, that amount may not be enough to cover the gap between tuition costs and what your family can afford. So what do you do?

These seven tips can prepare you for negotiating your financial aid package and determining how to pay for college. Remember, the effort you put into figuring out the best way to pay for school today will decrease the debt you will pay off in the future.

Read More

One of the biggest questions I get is should students take the SAT Subject Exams. The short answer is yes (it's a long story), but allow me to share my thoughts about this whole concept.

The Subject Exams are meant, in theory, to test a student's knowledge in a given discipline. Fair enough. It is meant to be a standardized exam, so no grade inflation will affect results from school to school. Understood.

But wait a minute: isn't this why we have AP examinations? Also, how much more anxiety to we have to keep throwing at high-achieving high school students? They need to keep their GPA's high, belong to half a million activities, take the ACT and/or (usually "and") SAT -- multiple times -- and still have something resembling a social life. Add to that admission rates lower than 6% at Harvard and Stanford, and . . .  do we really need MORE tests?

I've been an advocate for a long time to make the college application system more fair, efficient, transparent, and merit-based. This does nothing to further any of these goals.
Yet, we don't make the rules, we live by them, so in a nutshell, take the SAT Subject Exams.

Read More

One place where I studied for a term was McGill University. It is located in Montreal, and interestingly, is an English-language University in the middle of one of the largest French-speaking cities outside of France.

Increasing numbers of my students are looking at Canadian institutions (full disclosure: my mother remains a Canadian citizen), and I'm not surprised. They offer affordable options to American institutions, are generally of high quality, and Canada routinely is rated one of the top places in the world to live.
McGill is often called the "Harvard of Canada." I wouldn't go that far, but it is an amazing institution. The pros: great academics, located in the heart of one my favorite cities in the world, and a very international study body. The cons: most of the dorms leave much to be desired, McGill just does not command the same prestige as top-notch American universities, and believe me, you have not experienced a winter until you have lived in Montreal in January and February

McGill is often called the "Harvard of Canada." I wouldn't go that far, but it is an amazing institution. The pros: great academics, located in the heart of one my favorite cities in the world, and a very international study body. The cons: most of the dorms leave much to be desired, McGill just does not command the same prestige as top-notch American universities, and believe me, you have not experienced a winter until you have lived in Montreal in January and February

Read More

Working for 13 years as an independent college advisor, I am often asked by families if they should still be working with their high school counselor. My advice is an emphatic YES.

Read More

I am often asked by rising seniors what they need to do once they get back to school. Assuming that the senior has done little to no planning over the summer (sadly, this is frequently the case), the first thing the senior needs to do is finalize that college list. Colleges should be visiting the high school, so sit in on sessions, see which ones really interest you, and ask plenty of questions. I would have the college list done no later than the end of September.

Read More