1 is the greatest stressor in my life; 5 is ‘eh’; 10 is ring the bell and let’s slug it out.

Choose up to 3. There is no one way to do the college process. But there is one right way for your family.

Top choice schools can be reach schools, but they don’t have to be. There are so many ways to pick a college.

College admissions can be a crucible. It tends amplify the traits we already have – we become more of those things, good or bad. Fostering the positive and addressing the negative creates the best college applicants and the best college students.

No path is the same; no life is exactly as expected. The challenges of life can help more than they hurt in admissions and in life.

Academic Disruption – Significant changes in family dynamic (student/family illness; job loss; changing high schools; divorce)

Upward Academic Trajectory – An improvement in grades as high school goes on.

The emphasis on passion – whether it’s a ‘passion project’, selecting a major, or selecting a career can be very misguided. Stanford research shows that 80% of people lack a defining passion. But, in the process of ‘becoming’, we can find the mix of things that serves that purpose.

Not everything matters to everyone, and there are no bad answers.

What is the ‘thing’ you see that others – perhaps including your child – don’t.