By Adrian Cho, Ph.D. “All the noise in my brain. I clamp it to the page so it will be still.” –Barbara Kingsolver When I was in high school, I didn’t keep any notes. In my youthful arrogance, I believed that I could keep everything in my head, and no parent or teacher was going..
By Caroline Matas, Ph.D. As the first wave of college application deadlines looms, high school seniors around the country are starting to feel the pressure. With so many supplemental essays to keep track of–not to mention the big personal statement essay to tackle–it might feel like the best you can do is just knock out..
By Adrian Cho, Ph.D. On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned Affirmative Action in two joint opinions in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and SFFA v. University of North Carolina. The decision upended the long-standing practice of considering race in college admissions. While the rollback of Affirmative..
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: ‘Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.’ – Arthur Quiller-Couch, British Literary Critic Increase the font size,..
By Caroline Matas, Ph.D. In many ways, July is the peak month of summer break: removed enough from spring semester to have fully broken out of your school year routines and still far enough away that you’re not yet thinking about buying school supplies for the fall. In the world of college admissions, though, July..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. I have seen it all – alcohol, curse words, even boobs. This is just a sampling of what has turned up on spur-of-the-moment requests to see my students’ social media accounts. Granted, many of you now have finsta accounts rather than just one Instagram profile, and you’re certainly more savvy..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Several years ago, the mom of one of my students expressed her frustration that no one before me told her that her son’s transcript was going to be the most important part of his college application process. She had hoped that his stellar SAT score would more than compensate for..
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. Child of a single working mom, Daniel has just moved from New Jersey to California where he lives in the only ramshackle apartment complex in Reseda that his mother can afford. Daniel initially hates California, but the moment he meets Ally, things start to look up… or at first they seem..
By Marguerita (Rita) Chang The story is a familiar one. You planned to open a 529 savings account for your child the moment they were born. But the first year of parenthood passed in a blur of late nights and early mornings. On top of that, you were loaded with hospital bills to pay. Time..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. One of my favorite shows of all time, Breaking Bad, opens with one of the most unforgettable scenes in television. The main character, Walter White, is wildly driving an RV in nothing but a gas mask and his underpants, while his accomplice, Jesse Pinkman, lays slumped in the front passenger..