By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. “Nobody reads anymore.” This lament is heard round the world, and perhaps most loudly in college admissions. While doing well in school and leading in extracurricular activities will undeniably help you get into an amazing college, reading is the real secret to success. “How can that be?” you might ask...
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. When picking out schools to apply to, there are so many criteria to consider: size, location, programs, and research opportunities, only name a few. There are also common reasons, which seem valid, but will almost inevitably lead you to make a bad mistake. Whether you are only just starting to..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. The article first appeared on Fox News on July 1, 2015. At 7:00 am, bleary-eyed and with a granola bar in hand, you race your 17-year-old Lacey to her crew practice. Once you’ve dropped her off, you swing by Whole Foods to grab something to cook for dinner, before speeding..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. This article first appeared on BuzzFeed on June 7, 2015. The sound of the ocean. The warmth of the sun. And… college applications? What? That can’t be what summer vacation is about. Yet, for rising high school seniors, that’s exactly what you need to be focusing on, that is, if..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. There is perhaps no class requirement as feared and loathed as the foreign language one. Maybe it’s the fact that you actually have to speak in class, or that studying grammar requires incredible attention to detail. Maybe your teacher hasn’t figured out how to make the material fun, or there..
By Jon Perkins of www.essaywise.com The question today is how to write a better “activity essay.” The prompt usually looks like this: “Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.” Here’s what most first drafts look like: Activity X is really important to me. First I did this. Then I did..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Many students and parents wonder why they need to visit campuses. After all, they have to sacrifice weekends and vacation time to do them, a lot of information about schools is available online, and many admissions representatives use the opportunity to “sell” their college, rather than provide a balanced presentation..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. While most American students set their sights on homegrown institutions, an increasing number are discovering the benefits of earning a college degree abroad. Canada, our gentle multicultural neighbor to the north, offers some amazing benefits to students who are looking for a great education in a country that embraces winter...
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. If you’re one our nation’s rising seniors, you’re gearing up to apply to colleges over the next 12 months. The process seems daunting from the outset. Not only do you have several online application forms looming ahead of you, but you also have to: • prepare for and take standardized..
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. As early as mid-December, seniors start discovering where they will spend the next four years of their life. For those who applied Early Decision (the binding form of advanced application) and got into their first-choice school, the anxiety of the college application process comes to a screeching halt. No longer..