Admissions to Mars

PSAT scores are back.  What do those numbers mean? In this episode I break down how to effectively use the test to create the blueprint for the bridge you'll build to get you from here to where you want to be when you take the real thing. https://blog.prepscholar.com/national-merit-semifinalist

A primer on the importance of sustained attention to task in a world of distraction and the game changing power of looking up when everyone else is looking down.

Hitting 'SUBMIT' is the sound of the season. When it comes to filing out your college applications, attention to detail maters. In this episode I highlight some common mistakes and how to avoid them in order to be certain you’re maximizing your odds of acceptance. Colleges that allow self-reporting of SAT/ACT scores:  https://www.compassprep.com/self-reporting-test-scores/ https://www.college...

As you've researched application requirements/deadlines, you’ve no doubt come across terms such as Early Decision, Early Action, Rolling Admission, and ED II.  It’s essential to have a good handle on the options, the risks /rewards, and the advantages/disadvantages of the various application pathways and how they can potentially impact your chances of admission to the schools on your list.

The Common App is 'live' for 2021-2022. In this episode I provide an overview of how to get started, track requirements, and navigate the platform. Getting a jump on it before school starts is the smart play.  List of colleges that allow self-reporting of scores (to be updated soon): https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/self-reporting-ACT-and-SAT

Your Personal Statement and supplemental essays are golden opportunities to showcase who you are and what you're made of in ways that the other parts of your application are unable to do. In this episode I discuss the key ingredients and offer advice to help guide the composition of original and indelible essays that will capture the attention of a college admissions panel. Johns Hopkins "Essays T...

While you may not be able to repeat the past, old sport, you can certainly expand your vocabulary by making it point to read widely and look up words you are unfamiliar with. Fitzgerald's classic tells a mesmerizing story with sentences that enchant and offers ample opportunities to increase your word power and improve performance on the Reading passages of the SAT & ACT. 

In this first installment of my book review series I discuss Ron Lieber's The Price You Pay For College, a dynamite read that offers an abundance of insights and advice to help guide your college search and selection process. Pick it up or request it from your local library. College Savings Calculator: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/college-savings-calculator...

The end of your junior year is in sight. Finishing strong is the name of the game. In this episode I'll discuss a few items of business that you should attend to before school wraps. https://www.collegedata.com/college-search https://www.collegedata.com/resources/student-stories

Test optional policies are being extended at schools across the country. Does this spell doom for the SAT & ACT? Not so fast. Strong scores will still provide an edge and hundreds of schools will continue to award merit-based scholarships based on your grades, test scores or a combination of the two. So while the SAT may indeed be a dinosaur on its way to extinction, it hasn’t happened yet. In...

The numbers are in. You’ve seen the headlines, all of them just a slight variation on the ‘application numbers surge and admission rates plummet at selective schools’ theme. How should we interpret the fallout from this cycle? Do the numbers represent a one time, pandemic-related blip, or has elite college admissions become even more cutthroat and unpredictable? I’ll explore the terrain, breakdown...

Spring break has traditionally been the time for some of those first campus visits. That wasn't an option last year. What does the landscape look like one year later?  I'll also discuss how to take full advantage of virtual opportunities, as well as the importance of demonstrated interest.                  Virtual...

The pandemic disrupted almost every facet of the college admissions process. Pivoting to virtual, well, everything meant students, families, teachers, tutors, counselors and colleges themselves couldn’t engage in the traditional ways. So we adapted. The ‘Admissions to Mars’ podcast is how I’ll deliver the insights, strategies, guidance and resources that I used to be able to share in libraries, cl...