applying to college
October 4, 2023
"If great artists can't get their creations right the first time, what makes the rest of us think we have to? All of our writing - articles and books, reports and briefs, memoranda and proposals - should start as grumpy old Pentimento Men, and as we transform them on the way to our final draft, they will evolve into lovely figures captured in contemplative moments. Every article, book, and tip I write begins as a grumpy old man. Or a cat, or a peach."
August 13, 2023
...we are seeing that some colleges, such as the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University, do not have their supplemental essays ready to be published on the Common Application. Others have published supplements that reflect the court's decision
July 7, 2023
...there are ways to continue to college after high school, keeping in mind that among the factors in making the best college match is affordability, to have the ability to pay for college and not be saddled with years and years of debt. I firmly believe that you can be successful whether you go to Harvard or to a public university or to a less selective school or to community college. In my practice, I see as much potential in students who aren't going to the most selective schools as in my students who are. Sure, plenty of successful people started their careers by attending very selective private colleges, but many did not.
May 15, 2023
My last blog listed the first five things to consider for finding the right college match: location, size, campus, students, and grades. Here are another five to round out the list: 6. Cost and Affordability: Admissions personnel in private colleges and universities often tell students not to count them out in favor of public colleges and universities because of cost. That's because there are ways in which they discount the cost to students, which can often mean that a private education can cost the same or less than a public one.
May 9, 2023
Finding the right college match may seem daunting when you first start out thinking about college, but it doesn't have to be. Here are the top 5 things to consider at the outset of your college search that will lead to finding the right college for you. The idea is to get to know what you want in a school before you even start to create a list of schools to consider. The college search process involves looking inside yourself and getting to know what's important to you.
April 21, 2023
A visit to colleges that have accepted you is a good idea if you can do it. All this month, colleges host Admitted Student Days. And even if you can't make it to one of those sessions, you can still sign up for a tour and an information session at any other time that is more convenient to you.
Whether you can tour - or not - here are some suggestions to help you in your decision-making.
April 17, 2023
Students work hard at Wesleyan but say that it is not a competitive place. Social life happens mainly on campus. The school is fully residential from freshman through senior year. An important mention is Wesleyan's open curriculum in which students direct their own education in consultation with faculty advisors.
March 6, 2023
Located on California's Central Coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a California public university where the motto is "Learn by Doing." And that is exactly what I found on a trip to this surprisingly modern campus. The curriculum is "flipped," meaning that from day one, students are taking classes in their areas of study. And they don't just sit in class. This is a hands-on university.
February 26, 2023
ASU West is a 35-minute shuttle bus ride from the Tempe campus, yet it is a world away. It's hard to find a public university with a small student population, but ASU West is one. There are just over 4000 students attending this pretty modern campus...
June 9, 2022
CalArts was founded by the Disneys in 1961 as a performing and visual arts educational institution. It is a direct entry school, which means that a student applies into a particular program. CalArts houses six separate schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. All undergraduate programs – there are around 70 - lead to a BFA degree.