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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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) Let me tell you what August looks like from a teacher’s chair. You walk into your first
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
Today is May 1. If you are a senior reading this — you made it. I do not say that casually. I say it because
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
You pick your moment carefully. Everyone’s in a good mood. Dinner is done. You take a breath and say “So I was thinking we could
You pick your moment carefully. Everyone’s in a good mood. Dinner is done. You take a breath and say “So I was thinking we could
We didn’t do the official tour at Virginia Tech. No check-in table. No student guide walking backward while talking about traditions. Instead, we downloaded the
The Resume-Padding Trap Every fall, I have the same conversation with a parent. Their sophomore or junior has joined six clubs. Maybe seven. Student government,
In this week’s episode, I talked about why most families never discover the colleges that might be perfect for their teen—because they don’t know where
I’ve been a school counselor for years. And I’ve watched really smart, caring, invested parents make the same mistakes over and over. Not because they’re
Last week, a mom told me she’d crossed three schools off her daughter’s college list. Why? Because another parent at a lacrosse game said those
It’s course registration season, which means parents across the country are staring at course catalogs, trying to figure out what their teen should take next
Course registration forms are sitting on your kitchen counter (or in your email inbox), and you’re staring at a grid of classes thinking: What’s the
You’ve done the tours. You’ve walked the quads. You’ve eaten in the dining halls and sat through the admissions presentations. And now you have a
If your family is choosing colleges based on vibes, gut feelings, or a campus tour on a perfect spring day, this post might save you
This was a spend-the-day, head-home-before-dinner kind of visit. No overnight stay. No perfectly curated tour schedule. Just walking the campus, grabbing food where students actually
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.
Plan the perfect high school schedule — and make sure your teen’s courses open doors to their dream college.
Get my Maximizing Your High School Course Selection: A 4-Year Strategy for College Success guide plus my monthly Stress-Free College Planning Tips newsletter.
