A mom just asked me what she should be doing to help her son. “He seems so stressed out all the time,” she said. I reassured her that that’s the definition of junior year:

Junior Year: noun — a unique form of stress occurring from September through June of the third year of high school.

From my talks with high school guidance and college counselors as well as teachers and sports coaches, juniors begin the year knowing the pressure is on: to ...

I’d reframe the question of “getting into a good college” as “What are my chances of getting into a college that’s good for me?”

All colleges are good.

The important issue is targeting which schools are best suited to a particular student’s learning style, academic interest, career aspirations, financial means, geographical purview and other aspects of collegiate life like extracurricular needs, student housing and meal plans.

When I sit down with a high school junior and their family to discuss college ...

3 Seemingly Innocuous Words to Avoid This College Application Season: Really, Very, All

Actually, avoid them every college application season and in any written document that you undertake! Think of these words, especially when used as adverbs, as extraneous. They’re the empty-calorie snacks of grammar that don’t restore depleted energy-levels or maintain/increase muscle-mass.

Why? Though they’re little words, students rely on them to garner big impact. The intention with the “little three” is to communicate drama, but instead the effect is ...