If your child applied early action or early decision this cycle, decisions are starting to land.
Some families are celebrating acceptances. Others are sitting with deferrals or rejections and asking a very real question:

What do we do now?

First, let’s get something straight.

📌 A school rejected an application. They did not reject your child.

Selective admissions are exactly that. Selective. Especially at top-tier institutions. Deferrals and rejections are common, even for strong students, and they are not a reflection of your child’s worth, potential, or future success.

What matters most right now is not panic.
It’s being proactive and strategic.

Step One: Reassess the School List Honestly

One o...

As we move from Thanksgiving into December, I want to make sure your family is fully prepared. This is one of the most emotionally intense times of the college admissions cycle.

Over the next few weeks, seniors across the country will begin receiving decisions from early action, early decision, and rolling admissions schools. You will see acceptances posted. You will hear good news from friends. And through all of that, you must stay focused on your teen’s process.

December is not a month to drift. It is a month to be intentional.
Because what your teen does now determines how stressful or smooth January will be.

Let’s walk through the three most important actions your family must take before Decembe...

The college application season can feel like riding an emotional roller coaster  exciting, stressful, confusing, and overwhelming all at once. As a parent, you want to support your teen without losing your cool or getting caught in the chaos. If you’re wondering how to keep calm, stay organized, and actually enjoy the ride, this post is for you.

In the next 90 days, your family will face senior photos, pranks, scheduling changes, standardized tests, and the real challenge  the college application deadlines. The good news? You don’t have to do this alone. By the end of this post, you’ll have a game plan to handle the season with less stress and more success.

The Emotional Roller Coaster Is Real

I...

College application requirements have changed a lot since you applied to college. Even more so since Covid. Gather accurate information and cross reference it with what your child knows.

You must partner with your teen during this process!

Also do these three things immediately, if you haven't already………

#1 : Talk about money.

College is expensive. Be honest with your Senior about how much you have and/or willing to spend. Help your student to investigate need-based aid and merit scholarships.

#2: Anticipate the emotional roller coaster.

What you may want for your child may not be what they want for themself. If your child is not developmentally ready, discuss other options such as ga...

PARENTS!!!! READ THIS WITH YOUR RISING SENIOR!!!!

Use the rules below and you’re on your way!!!!

Be specific.  Keep your focus narrow and personal by figuring out how the question relates to your personal qualities and then taking a specific angle. Make sure everything you write supports that viewpoint. But don’t adopt a preachy tone. College admission officers don’t want to be lectured on rainforest destruction. Instead, tell them how you became interested in environmentalism.

Use the active voice. This is a challenge for all writers. As a matter of style, writing in an active voice energizes an essay. Avoid the passive voice. Word processing programs often provide assistance with converting passive...

Class of 2022!!!!!

Don’t do it…….
YES, I encourage all of my students to celebrate their acceptances and keep their eyes squarely focused on the goal: a college education. But there’s a problem going on that everyone needs to be aware of: slacking off from high school is recipe for disaster as well as a sign of immaturity.

The colleges that have accepted young adults, older teenagers, not kids who cannot discern right from wrong. Yes, mistakes can happen and adjustments can be made, but be the person and student who applied three or four or five months ago - the one “College X” accepted - follow these simple rules:

Put in the work. Every coach, tutor, teacher and parent you have ever had has told you ...