Episode 44 | How to Build a College List: The Three Fits Rule
August 19, 2026
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Somebody asked me recently how to build a college list the way I do it with my own families, and my first instinct was to
You Make Too Much for Aid? Merit Doesn’t Work That Way.
August 14, 2026
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I hear a version of this line at least once a week, usually said with a resigned little shrug: “We make too much to get
Episode 43 | What Is Demonstrated Interest in College Admissions (and How Your Teen Shows It)
August 12, 2026
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There is a quiet thing a lot of colleges track, and most parents have never heard the plain-English version of it. It is called demonstrated
Your Kid’s Activities List Is Worth More Than You Think
August 7, 2026
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The Common App opened August 1, and if your senior has logged in, they have already met the part of the application almost nobody prepares
Episode 42 | Supplements Are the Game Now: How to Help Without Writing Them
August 5, 2026
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The Common App opened August 1, and right behind the main essay comes the part almost nobody prepares for: the supplemental essays. The why us,
Is My Kid Even Competitive Enough for College?
July 31, 2026
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Somewhere around now, usually late at night, a lot of us go down the same rabbit hole. You look at a school’s admit rate. You
Episode 41 | The Schedule Talk: Why Course Choice Matters Every Year of High School
July 29, 2026
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There is a piece of paper that matters more than almost anything else in the college process, and most families sign it without really reading
The College Testing Timeline: What to Do in Every Grade
July 24, 2026
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Here is a question I get in some form almost every week: when is my kid supposed to do all this testing stuff? And I
Episode 40 | SAT vs ACT: How to Actually Pick the Right Test for Your Kid
July 22, 2026
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Last week, six moms hit reply on my newsletter and asked me the same exact thing: which test should my kid even take, the SAT
The Parent PLUS Loan Cap Just Changed the Math
July 17, 2026
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On July 1, a rule quietly changed that affects how much money you are allowed to borrow for your kid’s college education. It did not
Episode 39 | The July Draft That Saves Your September
July 15, 2026
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Picture two versions of the same mom. July mom is on the porch with an iced coffee. The college essay is not written, but there
Reconnecting Before the Empty Nest (We Waited Way Too Long to Start)
July 10, 2026
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My husband and I just got back from four nights in Denver. No kids. No “Mom, where are my sneakers” No 6 a.m. wake-up that
Hand Them the Wheel: Letting Your Teen Own More of the College Process
July 3, 2026
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This week we set off fireworks to celebrate independence. We wave the flags, we grill the burgers, we get a little teary at the good
Episode 38 | Welcome to Your New Grade: What Your Kid Should Actually Focus On This Summer
July 1, 2026
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Here is a little secret from my years as a school counselor. The new school year does not start in August. It starts right about
The Summer Before Junior Year, and the Mental Load No One Warns You About
June 26, 2026
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Can we talk about the part of college admissions that never makes it onto the timeline? The mental load. Not the tasks. The carrying of
Episode 37 | How to Help My Teen With the College Essay (Without WWIII)
June 24, 2026
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Let me take you to my kitchen table a couple of summers ago. My husband Jeff, bless him, decided dinner was the time to help
The Mom Survival Kit: Getting Through All Four Years of High School (and Your Own Hormones)
June 24, 2026
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This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. We spend years prepping our
The Ultimate College Dorm Essentials Checklist (From a Counselor and a Mom Who’s Done This)
June 23, 2026
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This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Dorm rooms have interior designers
Are Test Scores Back? What Test-Optional Means Now
June 19, 2026
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If you’ve been treating “test-optional” as a settled, permanent thing, I want to gently wave a flag. Two changes are happening at the same time
Episode 36 | 7 Things to Stop Stressing About in College Admissions
June 17, 2026
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I’m going to start with a confession. Last week, I spiraled. A wave of schools just announced they’re dropping their supplemental essays this year. Tulane,
Why the College Admissions Rules Keep Changing (And What That Means for You)
June 12, 2026
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If you feel like the college admissions rules change every time you blink, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is, you
Episode 35 | Should Your Kid Write About the Hard Stuff? When a Difficult Experience Belongs in the College Essay (and When It Doesn’t)
June 10, 2026
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If your child has been through something hard, you have probably had the thought, even if you would never say it out loud. That would
Class of 2027 College Admissions Changes: A Parent’s Cheat Sheet to Test-Optional, Early Decision, and Supplemental Essay Shifts
June 5, 2026
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If you’re the mom of a rising senior, you are about to get a lot of conflicting information about what is and is not true
Episode 34 | The Mental Load of College Admissions: Why I Built a Room for the Moms Doing the Carrying
June 3, 2026
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I just got back from the IECA conference in Baltimore. Three days with the best college counselors in the country. Sessions on Class of 2027
Mom, Ask the Teacher NOW (Not in August): The Rec Letter Conversation Every Rising Senior Should Have This Week
May 29, 2026
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Mom, Ask the Teacher NOW (Not in August) Let me tell you what August looks like from a teacher’s chair. You walk into your first
Episode 33 | Why Liberal Arts Colleges Deserve a Closer Look (The Four Myths Keeping Them Off Your List)
May 27, 2026
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I came back from the IECA conference in Baltimore last week with a head full of new thinking about a whole category of schools I
Your Senior’s Summer Schedule Is a Calendar Crime Scene. Here’s How to Fit Essay Work In Anyway.
May 22, 2026
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I opened a parent’s email yesterday and almost fell out of my chair. Boys state. Two weeks of summer camp. A week of family vacation.
Episode 32 | Three Things to Do Before Senior Year (So Your Kid Walks In Confident and You Walk In Relieved)
May 20, 2026
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When senior year actually starts in August, what do you want for your kid? I want them to walk in confident. I want YOU to
How to Come Out of End-of-Year Burnout Without Losing Your Mind (For High School Moms)
May 15, 2026
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It is mid-May. School is almost out. Your kid is fried. You are fried. The dog is fried because you keep forgetting his food bowl
Episode 31 | The Sneaky Grief of Every High School Year (and Why It’s Allowed)
May 13, 2026
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f you have been crying in your closet, your car, or your bathroom lately and you cannot quite explain why, this post is for you.
What a Part-Time Job Actually Says About Your Kid (and Why Admissions Quietly Loves Them)
May 8, 2026
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Josh is job hunting. In the middle of AP exam season, while juggling end-of-year projects and junior year burnout, my junior is also out there
Episode 30 | When Your Junior Says They’re Cooked, Believe Them
May 6, 2026
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Yesterday afternoon, Josh walked through the kitchen, dropped his backpack on the floor, sat down at the table, and said with the wearied conviction of
Butler University College Visit Guide: What Surprised Me (and Might Surprise You)
May 3, 2026
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If you’ve ever spent more than 24 hours with a husband who is obsessed with the movie Hoosiers, you know there are certain places you
A Letter to the Class of 2026 on Decision Day
May 1, 2026
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Today is May 1. If you are a senior reading this — you made it. I do not say that casually. I say it because
Episode 29 | The Story Is Always in the Details
April 29, 2026
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This week on the podcast I pulled back the curtain on something I have never really talked about publicly before. Not the college essay process
What Summer Looks Like for Prepared vs. Unprepared Junior Families
April 24, 2026
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Let me paint you two pictures. Both families have a rising senior. Both families have been meaning to get organized. Both families care deeply about
Episode 28 | The Essays Nobody Talks About Until It’s Too Late
April 22, 2026
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Here is something that catches almost every family off guard. They spend months focused on the personal statement. They feel prepared. And then August 1
How to Help With the College Essay Without Ruining It
April 17, 2026
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Every parent I work with wants to help with the college essay. That is not the problem. The problem is that nobody ever tells them
Episode 27 | When the Process Doesn’t Look Like You Pictured It
April 15, 2026
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I got an email last week from a senior mom that I have not been able to stop thinking about. I had sent a note
The Biggest Mistakes Families Make with the College Essay (And What to Do Instead)
April 10, 2026
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Every year I work with students on their personal statements and every year I see the same mistakes show up. Not because families are not
Episode 26 | My Kid Has Nothing to Write About (And Other Things Parents Say Before the Essay Changes Everything)
April 8, 2026
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We just got back from six college campuses in one week. Northwestern, Marquette, University of Wisconsin, University of Illinois, Indiana University, and Butler. We ended
University of Illinois College Visit Guide: An Unexpected Standout on Our March Madness College Tour
April 6, 2026
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We were not casually touring colleges. This was a full-on, slightly unhinged, spring break version of March Madness. Multiple campuses. A baseball game in Milwaukee.
Spring Break Is Over. Here’s What the Next 8 Weeks Actually Need to Look Lik
April 3, 2026
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Okay. Spring break is over. You survived the road trip, the college visits, the staycation that somehow felt busier than a regular week, and whatever
Episode 25 | Spring Break, College Visits, and the Junior Year Moment Nobody Warns You About
April 1, 2026
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Something happens over spring break that nobody really warns junior families about. You plan the trip, or the visits, or the staycation, and you think
Why Junior Spring Is Actually the Right Time to Start Thinking About Your Personal Statement
March 27, 2026
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If you have a junior at home, there is a good chance the personal statement feels like a problem for future you. Summer, maybe. August
Episode 24 | Why I’m Leaving School Counseling at the End of This Year
March 25, 2026
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I have been sitting with something for a while now. At the end of this school year I am leaving school counseling. For good. I
What Does a College Counselor Actually Do? (More Than You Think)
March 20, 2026
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A few weeks ago I sat across from a senior and his mom. He had options. A few schools, all fine on paper, all in-state,
Episode 23 | The Difference Between Researching and Actually Planning for College (And How to Tell Which One You’re Doing)
March 18, 2026
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If this week’s podcast episode hit close to home, you’re not alone. The ten o’clock research spiral. The seventeen tabs. The feeling of doing everything
How to Know If a College Is Actually Generous With Merit Aid Before You Apply
March 13, 2026
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Here’s something that surprises almost every family I work with. The sticker price of a college and what your family actually pays can be completely
Episode 22 | What Is Rolling Admissions and How Do You Use It Strategically?
March 11, 2026
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Most families treat rolling admissions like a calendar convenience. The deadline is flexible, the answer comes back quickly, and the pressure feels lower than a
hi! I'm Lindsay!
High school counselor and self-proclaimed “helicopter mom” to two eye-rolling teenage boys. With over a decade of experience herding cats (ahem, working with students).
My mission? To transform the college admissions process from a stress-inducing nightmare into a family bonding adventure.
Let's Connect!
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