Opinion
December 22, 2021
When I take a look at admissions to Master’s and Ph.D programs, for example, I see a range of students from all sorts of undergrad institutions, very selective and not so much, yet what the students all have in common is that they had made the most of their undergrad experiences.
So if you were declined in the last few weeks, it’s okay to be disappointed, but it won’t affect your success in life. You will.
October 15, 2021
Ratings are Problematic.
College Selectivity is not a Reliable Predictor of Student Learning, Job Satisfaction or Well-Being.
Engagement in College is More Important than Where You Attend.
Recognizing those statements will go far in reducing the mental anguish that currently surrounds so many high school students, exacerbated by the social isolation of the Covid era.
January 1, 2021
Trying to Overturn US Election Results Sends a Message that Can Increase Anxiety among High School Seniors Applying to College – But Their Futures are Still Bright When I repeatedly read about efforts to overturn the results of […]
October 1, 2019
Welcome to the Wild, Wild West. At least that’s what some people are calling the effect of the change in the bylaws of NACAC, the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Under pressure from an investigation by the […]
September 27, 2019
One never knows when a college will change a procedure or its admissions requirements. That’s why I have to be nimble and aware of what’s happening in college admissions, because things do change, even in the middle of […]
May 5, 2019
Kwame Anthony-Applah, who teaches philosophy at NYU, penned this article in “The Ethicist” column of The New York Times Magazine, May 5, 2019, in response to a high school senior’s distress over her many college denials. It’s long […]
May 3, 2019
I respect the sciences and what they have brought to my world: the ability to read at night; to drive or take the train or fly to visit friends and family; to not worry about polio or small […]
November 15, 2018
If I had one word to tell parents of high school students applying to college, it’s perspective. Your students are capable, but please remember that they are mostly 17-year-olds. Their responses to doing the work necessary to apply, […]
February 15, 2018
The recent tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School once more evidences how vulnerable our schools and colleges are to violence. The places we once thought of as safe havens for our children are now home to fear and […]
January 25, 2018
That was a great essay, Nick. I am talking about Nicholas Kristof’s op ed in the New York Times today, Thursday January 25th. Because it addresses exactly what I see in my students: “Doing good is no longer […]