Advice for Answering Optional COVID related College Application Essay Questions

To borrow the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate…” any student’s choice to share their personal COVID-colored experiences. In an informal query of admissions officers around the United States from highly selective to not-so-selective universities, the consensus is be judicious, if choosing to share a COVID-related experience.  Most admissions officers advise students…

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Requesting Letters of Recommendation Isn’t Simple

Asking for any help requires confidence. And, when asking for letters of recommendation, students must trust that the teachers and counselor will add dimension to their carefully curated application, including a resume of activities developed over years and autobiographical essays drafted over many hours.  Thus, when students are required to fill out multi-page packets detailing…

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What comes after the COVID Pandemic

Often, through these past 24 months living a thoroughly disrupted modern life, retreating from large gatherings, trying to avoid the infection of a floating piece of RNA, we have glimpsed imperfect awareness in quiet moments, comparing life: pre-COVID and now during COVID, while impatiently anticipating post-COVID life, like wishing the microwave was faster.  And, those…

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Imagine

To Interview or Not That is The Question

Many private university admissions officers invite applicants to schedule an evaluative admissions interview before they apply. Typically, applicants need to complete interviews by December of any admissions cycle. However, students should check the deadlines for interviews on admissions websites. Admissions interviews are optional, meaning if a student cannot or does not schedule an interview, no…

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Students Return to a COVID Constrained School

Now back on school campuses, many students grieve the lost 18 months. Freshmen returned as high school juniors, confronting adulthood. Seventh graders returned as high school freshmen, skipping their tweens. College sophomores returned to confront graduating into life.  The “new normal,” for students is wearing masks all day, teachers simultaneously managing social distancing requirements and…

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The Death of Ignorance

Is the College Landscape Experiencing a Tectonic Shift Post Pandemic?

The effects of the COVID-induced disruptions to education have yet to be quantified in the intermediate and long term, thus educators struggling to redefine “normal” learning for years to come, as an entire COVID-affected generation, Pre-K through College, matriculates through the educational system. Additionally, the SAT, an 80 year old admissions requirement, is being summarily…

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The Summer of the Long Goodbye

Soon-to-be first year college students all over the world are separating from their childhoods—saying, “Goodbye” to friends, leaving their childhood bedrooms, and now emerging as an adult, learning to partner with their parents. They’re establishing their first households outside their family homes, a complicated endeavor often involving new responsibilities.  In readying to move, students are…

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SUMMER, A Childhood Internship for Living True

For many of today’s kids, experience is often confined to playdates, organized sports, tutoring sessions, afterschool homework centers, and summer camps—all structured programs where the young rarely risk failure or rejection and are often rewarded no matter their engagement or achievement. As a consequence, the youngest generation are fragile, unpracticed at navigating life when it…

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Advice on How to Answer COVID-Related Questions on College Applications

In the increasing subjectivity of admissions, as grades are affected by the transition to virtual learning and many extracurricular activities have been canceled or suspended until further notice, college admissions officers are seeking information about what students had planned, yet did instead.  Thus, students should reflect on their COVID-interrupted educational experience, to add context for…

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Challenging Employment Prospects for Class of 2021 Grads

Class of 2020 and 2021 college grads, anxious to shop their abilities amongst employers, will confront a complex labor market post the 2020 COVID-influenced economic meltdown.   As Class of 2021 graduates emerge from the chrysalis of college, seeking entry into the professional class, they may instead queue up behind the 45% of their Class of…

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Post-Pandemic Innovation in Education a Real Possibility

During the last fifteen months of living a pandemic disrupted experience, kids experienced unstructured days amidst distance learning and suspension of regularly scheduled activities. Simply seeking to stave off boredom, many (re)discovered talents.   Perhaps a break from running on the hamster wheel of modern family life, chasing prosperity was just what we needed. Pandemics throughout history…

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