Yes, No, Maybe: A Realistic View of the College Admissions Process
March 17, 2019
All the buzz about college admissions this week is not just about the scandal of rich folks and celebrities. We are in the height of the college admissions season. For regular, non-rolling admissions it started on March 15th and extends through early April. The acceptance and rejection chatter naturally gets many parents of underclassmen (and middle schoolers) anxiously thinking if they should be planning ahead and how. Recognize there is no universal bullet that will guarantee admissions for any student these days, this week’s controversy aside. However, there are some guiding principles that will increase your student’s chances and help you, and your family, maintain your sanity for what is, increasingly, an insane process. Yes, No, or Maybe? Start by being reasonable about the chances of getting… Read More
A Smarter Way to Improve Test Scores
January 19, 2017
Start by Knowing Your Child The most efficient way to improve test scores, whether it’s ACT, SAT orPARCC is to step back and really know your child. You probably won’t hear test prep tutors say, “All the strategies and practice in the world won’t help if you don’t know how your child learns.” But it’s true. If your child’s scores don’t match your reasonable expectations, it’s likely that there’s something in his test-taking approach that is holding him back. More often than not, he can’t articulate it and your tutor won’t figure out by observing. The traditional approach to improve test scores is (1) identify the types of problems with the most mistakes, (2) re-teach the skills that should have been learned in school and (3) give… Read More
