For many high school students across America, April is the cruelest month. While their parents have just finished filing tax returns, students have to decide which college to enroll in. You probably have two, three or more excellent choices, and yet you feel you must choose wisely. At the very least, enrollment represents a long-term financial commitment. You may also feel like a school may shape your social and emotional well-being for the rest of your life. Remember, no decision is permanent. Your choice of schools can and should have a long-term impact on your life, both good and bad. Nevertheless, if you feel you do not like the direction your life is going in, you can always change it. […]

A friend from Maryland sent me this article about community service in public high schools. Unlike other states, Maryland requires that high school students complete 75 hours of community service, or service-learning experiences, to graduate. As most colleges have sent out their admissions decisions, it’s far too late for Maryland seniors to do community service for college consideration. At the same time, it made me reflect on why colleges value community service, and how your son or daughter can use it to improve his resume. Activities that fall under the label “community service” can be quite broad, but there are a few things you can do to leverage your experience: Make Community Service about Your Community Community service is about […]

Congratulations on your college acceptances! April will be a whirlwind month. If you haven’t as yet decided which college offer of admission to accept, chances are you’ll be on the road again looking at schools. The date you now have to keep in mind is May 1, the applicants’ universal reply date. By that date you should confirm your intention to enroll in a particular college or university and submit a deposit to that one institution only. You should also send a “thank-you-but-I-have selected-another-institution” letter to the other colleges and universities that have offered you placement in their freshman classes. If you’ve received a wait list letter, read it carefully. The letter should provide a history that describes the number of students on the wait list for the school, the […]

All college majors give students a lot of knowledge, but only a few give students the thought processes to think more clearly. I challenge my students to think more effectively. I believe education is much more powerful if a person learns to think creatively. College admissions boards respect this skill, and they value my students because of it. Many students move through college without knowing how to use education effectively, and thus leading them to question a degree’s value. I often hear questions from both students and parents such as, “Will this degree lead to a job?” or sometimes, “Why am I studying this if it doesn’t make me happy?” There’s no real question that a bachelor’s degree has economic benefits over […]