Month: July 2016

The Summer Between

The summer between high school and college is a unique moment in time. It is punctuated at either end by massive life moments and a flood of competing emotions which cover the full spectrum, from pride and joy to nostalgia and loss. And confusion. And for parents, it is at once wonderful and awful.

High school graduation is simultaneously a celebration of achievement and the passing of a mile marker on life’s journey that requires special acknowledgement. It’s much more than successfully completing a prescribed set of courses and collecting a diploma on a sun splashed football field while an under-staffed school band croaks out a tinny version of Pomp and Circumstance. It is unmistakably the official end of childhood. And for parents, it is at once wonderful and awful. Continue reading “The Summer Between”

This and That: Some Things to Consider as You Prepare to Start College

Hey, I get it. It’s late on Friday afternoon in July. You’re thinking about beating the traffic and maybe getting an early start on your weekend. Fair enough.

But I know too that for the students (and parents/families of students) who will be starting college this fall, the day you have circled in red on your calendar is fast approaching and there is still a lot to do to get ready. And that nagging voice in the back of your head keeps reminding you that you are probably forgetting to do something that you didn’t even know you needed to do.

So, I thought I’d share some thoughts on a few random items that often fly under the getting-ready-to-go-to-college radar. I’ve even conveniently put them in a bulleted format so that you can print them out and have a tidy little list to stick under a magnet on the fridge. Here goes: Continue reading “This and That: Some Things to Consider as You Prepare to Start College”

Getting a Little Testy: A Few Thoughts about Standardized Tests

Have you seen the blog post circulating on Facebook (FB) with the headline: Our son got accepted at Stanford? It’s written by a tech blogger whose son got into Stanford after increasing his SAT scores 720 points using an online SAT prep course. It seems to appear in my FB news feed three times a day so I’m guessing many of you have seen it somewhere along the way as well. Continue reading “Getting a Little Testy: A Few Thoughts about Standardized Tests”

Summer Respite

It has been a few days since my last post so I thought it would be good to check in and let you know that I’m still here and more new content will be posted on My College Wisdom in the coming days.

To be sure, there is a lot going on in late July and early August related to the college experience. Rising high school seniors are getting serious about their college searches. Students on break will be wrapping up summer jobs, internships and research positions and will be trying to squeeze in a week or two of R&R before heading back to campus for their sophomore, junior, and senior years. And, as the days start to get shorter and the late afternoon shadows grow longer, the reality of starting college is starting to really sink in for soon-to-be first-year students; to say nothing of their parents. I understand well the importance of these issues and will be doing my best to share thoughts and insights in this space that will prove useful to you. Continue reading “Summer Respite”

Roommate Knowledge

As if there weren’t enough to think about starting college – classes, books, dining halls, wireless access, etc. – on top of everything else you’re almost certainly going to have a roommate; most of you, for the first time. It’s pretty exciting. But also kind of scary. Sure you can check each other out on Facebook and figure out who’s bringing what and text about summer jobs and the classes you want to take. But still…right?

Okay, take a deep breath. It’s all good. People have been doing the college roommate thing for a really long time – way before X-Boxes and Yik Yak – so the odds are with you. And, as if the peace of mind afforded by cellular technology and the long arc of history were not enough to help you to rest easy, you can add to the list of advantages you have as you embark on your first college roommate experience, the wisdom and sage advice that I am about to impart on you. Continue reading “Roommate Knowledge”

Road Trip: Everything You Need to Know About Campus Visits – Part 2

It’s time. You’ve been talking about getting serious about the upcoming college search for months and as you look at the commitments on your calendar – summer jobs, soccer camp, house guests coming in August, etc. – you realize that you need to plan a trip to visit colleges soon. Otherwise the whole summer will have passed you by and you’ll be left scrambling to squeeze one in after the school year has begun.

If your house is anything like mine, talking about trips is one thing and actually making them happen is another. For us this means that Marnie, my wife, starts saying things like, “When do you want to go on vacation next summer?” in oh, let’s say November, and I either grunt or say something along the lines of, “How the hell do I know?” in response. This goes on for several months until Marnie gets tired of asking, takes matters into her own hands, and organizes the whole thing. And the truth is, as irritating as it is for her, this generally works out. She gets to make the big decisions and knows how to tend to the details with greater efficiency than the rest of us – myself and our two sons – and everyone gets a nice trip in the end. So it’s all good. Continue reading “Road Trip: Everything You Need to Know About Campus Visits – Part 2”

Why College Matters: The World Needs You

Note to MCW readers: In light of the terror attack in Nice, France last night I want briefly to step away from my primary focus on offering information, insights, and advice about the college experience. Instead, today I offer the essay below as one way of understanding why college matters.

Here we are again. Another act of terror. Another staggering body count and extraordinary number of innocent men, women, and children – children – dead or lying in hospital beds battered and bandaged. Another community reeling, devastated by unimaginable brutality and incomprehensible loss. Another city – Nice – whose name will always be linked to tragedy – Dallas, Orlando, Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, Istanbul, Charleston…the list goes on and on. To say nothing of Baton Rouge or Falcon Heights or Ferguson, or Chicago.

The totality of the violence and cruelty and death gets to be overwhelming. It is frightening and unsettling and disorienting. The realization that evil exists and its relentless intrusions into our daily lives shake us to the core and leave us confused and uncertain. And so we recoil. We despair. We grow defensive. We assign blame. We seek retribution. Or we change the subject and try to tune it out because it all feels too complex and fraught and hopeless.

This space is about helping you to navigate and understand and succeed in college. And more often than not it will focus on relatively narrow topics and issues – writing a good application essay, the relative importance of standardized tests, dealing with roommate issues, etc. But today, in the all too fresh aftermath of Nice and Dallas and Orlando and the rest, I want to speak to why college matters. Continue reading “Why College Matters: The World Needs You”

Road Trip: Everything You Need to Know About Campus Visits – Part 1

(Note: This is the first of two posts regarding prospective visit campus visits. The second installment will follow later this week.)

 Let’s talk about summer vacation. For students ranging from kindergarten through college, and their parents and families, summer vacation is that simultaneously blessed and cursed stretch of time between the last day of school in the spring – Whoooo! – and the first day back in the fall – Really? Do I have to? (It’s worth acknowledging that many parents do their whooping in the fall and their whining in the spring, but that is a topic for another day.) And for students heading into their final year of high school, and their parents and families, summer vacation is the time to visit colleges.

Awesome!

Traveling to and from campus visits will provide a wonderful opportunity for family bonding while blissfully critiquing the tour guides and engaging in thoughtful, pithy conversation about the range of course offerings, internships, and study abroad opportunities at each of the institutions you see. For students, it’s an important step on the path to independence as you take responsibility for planning each visit, scheduling interviews, and mapping out rest stops and places to eat. For parents, it’s a chance to spend large chunks of uninterrupted quality time with your burgeoning scholars, and to bask in the pride of watching them dazzle student interviewers and admissions officers with their charm and effortless repartee. And, if you are so fortunate as to make multiple college visits strung together over two or more consecutive days, the experience can be even more enriching as you will be together in confined spaces 24/7 over the entire duration of the trip. Continue reading “Road Trip: Everything You Need to Know About Campus Visits – Part 1”

Thinking About Thinking

So you’re getting ready to start college. The seemingly endless onslaught of shiny view-books and postcards and pseudo-personalized emails from colleges is behind you. You’re done with campus visits and college fairs and application essays. You’ve received your fat envelopes and chummy congratulations from admissions deans and made your choice. Senior spring, prom, graduation – check, check, and check. The roommate questionnaire, health forms, and course pre-registration process are done, or soon will be, and now you’re pretty much monitoring your class Facebook page and hanging out with your friends until it’s time to start packing the car.

It’s July. Aside from the odd inquiry from the housing office or the people planning orientation there really isn’t anything else you should be doing to get ready for college, right?

Well, maybe. But then again, maybe not. Continue reading “Thinking About Thinking”

Welcome to My College Wisdom

IMG_0027Greetings and welcome to My College Wisdom – a blog devoted to providing advice, guidance, and insights into the college experience for students, parents and families, and anyone else who might be interested. The purpose of MCW is simple: to help students identify, apply and be admitted to, and succeed in college.

Okay, so that’s fine and all, but you may be wondering just exactly what qualifies me to be doling out wisdom about college. Fair enough.

For starters, though it should probably go without saying, I did go to college. And I graduated – in four years, no less. I also went to graduate school and have a master’s degree in higher education. So to the extent that being the rightful owner of framed diplomas lends credibility to my entering the blogosphere I suppose I can check that box and move on. Continue reading “Welcome to My College Wisdom”