Blog – College Dollars and Sense – Page 4

Prove How Good You Are

Distinctive College Consulting
Activities
782 views

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Everyone should do something that makes them happy at least once a day. As The Atlantic’s happiness expert, Arthur Brooks, notes, “[T]here is plenty of evidence that…

How to Bare Your Soul in 650 Words or Less

Distinctive College Consulting
Essays
818 views

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. One of my favorite writers is the master of the personal narrative, David Sedaris. He definitely knows how to open a story better than anyone else, but he also connects…

Can We Talk about Mental Health?

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
577 views

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. As someone whose job is to help young people convey their innermost thoughts, strongest feelings, and most meaningful experiences to perfect strangers (namely admissions…

How to Write A Social Justice Essay (Even If You’re Not Political)

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
2,154 views

By Nora Lessersohn, A.M. In the past few years, social, political, environmental, financial, and medical crises have made it abundantly clear that one’s race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity…

Pursuing Your Degree in Europe

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
627 views

By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. American students are certainly no strangers to study abroad. Prior to the pandemic, nearly 350,000 US students per year chose—whether for a week, a summer, a semester…

Are Safety Schools Even “Safe” Anymore?

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
656 views

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Have you ever failed at something that you were pretty confident you’d achieve? Maybe it was your sports team losing to the worst team in the league, or maybe it was…

The Prestige Trap and What the Ivies Can Teach Us About Fit

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
1,061 views

By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. In early April 2021, Ivy League colleges announced their Fall admissions decisions. Continuing a now long-standing trend, they shared news of record-breaking application numbers…

5 Books That Will Help You Cultivate Success

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
774 views

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Over a lunch of Peruvian chicken, two former clients probed me to find out what makes an accomplished student, you know, the kind that gets into the country’s most selective…

Hope Is Not a Strategy: Three Reasons Why A Realistic College List Matters

Distinctive College Consulting
Admissions
659 views

By Nora Lessersohn, A.M. We often hear from families: “It can’t hurt just to throw our hat in the ring at X school!” This is what you might call using “hope” as a strategy, ignoring data in the…

How to Write The “Why This School” Essay – Part 1

Distinctive College Consulting
Activities
1,370 views

By Nora Lessersohn, A.M. “It was a ____(adjective)____ and stormy night, and I was ____(adjective)____. My ____(noun)____ asked me if I wanted some ____(noun)____.” Remember MadLibs? The game where…