Destination: YOUniversity

Do you feel like you’re living in the Twilight Zone? Do you secretly hope you’ll fall asleep and wake up and 2020 will be over? If you are a parent of a college bound teen, all you want is their future happiness. I know. I get it. If your teen is the class of 2021-2024, their college admission journey will be affected by COVID. Just when your teen was about to become the lead in the musical, the next Hideo Nomo, study abroad, o...

Be a good listener. I hear parents pass this advice along to their children. My question is, “Whose voice are we listening to?” The messages we hear become the messages we believe. If you want your child to truly believe she/he can achieve anything, there is ONE WORD all parents must remove from their vocabulary. After a recent conversation with my own mother, I learned of her decision to change this one word in our home. That on...

Working on the Common Application? Trying to figure out what to include in those pesky supplemental essays? I get it; they are a thorn in your side. Just when you think you are done with the application, you then notice the additional 1-4 supplemental questions. WHAT? You stare at the computer screen and you are back to square one. Yep. I know. Right? Those supplemental essay questions will take hours off of your life. In this epi...

How do you convey your interest in a major? What can you share that shows a passion in an academic subject or a career path? Here is an example that I will break down in today’s episode: “Would you like nuts on your sundae, sir?” I waited for the customer’s reply. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the owner motioning for me to join him in the booth when I was done. … He wanted to go over the profit and loss statements with ...

What’s YOUR “COOLNESS” FACTOR Essay Episode Description Today’s episode is part 3 of a 5-part mini series on the College Admission Essays. I am reviewing the “What Is My “Coolness” Factor?” essay. Here is a glimpse into the famous “Taco Bell College Admission Essay.” Today I will be facing my biggest challenge: the Taco Bell menu. A place that can be compared only to Frankenstein’s laboratory for its reputation for the strangest ...

Today’s episode is part 2 of a 5-part mini series on the College Admission Essays.I am reviewing the FOUR buckets of Essays that every student needs in their arsenal of college essays. Who AM I? What Am I Good At? What Is My “Coolness” Factor? Connect Accomplishments With Your Future Major. And in part 5 of this mini series, I will review supplemental essays and how they differ from the personal statements. WHAT AM I GOOD AT? This...

Today’s episode kicks off a 5 part mini series on the College Admission Essays. I am reviewing the FOUR buckets of Essays that every student needs in their arsenal of college essays. Who AM I? What Am I Good At? What Is My “Coolness” Factor? Connect Accomplishments With Your Future Major. And in part 5 of this mini series, I will review supplemental essays and how they differ from the personal statements. WHO AM I? This essay shed...

What is the RIGHT answer? What is the formula to solve this problem? What do I need to study, do, or repeat to earn a perfect grade, score, time, goal? In many ways school teaches us there is a right and wrong, and as long as we can figure out the “right” way, we will be rewarded. It is no wonder college applicants everywhere are in search of the magic answer, the perfect formula, or the exact path to find that pot of gold at the...

I’m just going to say it. Your competition sits next to you in class I hate to say it, but it’s true. Your application has to be better than the kid sitting next to you in math or English class – not the kid applying from some other state. NO. I learned this tough lesson after a conversation with the Dean of Admissions at a highly selective institution. The Dean was passing on taking the valedictorian in exchange for admitting N...

As an admissions committee we voted with a Red, Yellow, or Green card. That was it. Deny, Wait List or Admit. Three votes Majority of 2 votes would win the day. Red - yellow - Green. The long winter days of January were filled with reading applicants non-stop. February will filled with daily committees with Admission Officers holding up Red, Yellow, or Green cards at the end of a short presentation on each applicant and each...

Through any challenging time, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We can’t always see it, but there is hope. For the graduating class of 2020, their school life ended abruptly with hopes of still having that prom, celebratory awards night, and the culminating graduation ceremony out on a beautiful green lawn or football field with screaming fans in the crowd. But that was not to be. And while the Class of 2021 awaits their ...

College has always been a learning AND LIVING community. Students go to class, meet for lunch, and live with roommates. But today, in the midst of COVID 19, we are doing traditional college in a non-traditional format. Students now live and learn from their couch or bedroom in the home they grew up in. Our guest today, Stuart Nachbar, is an independent college admissions advisor based and publisher of EducatedQuest.com. Today we...

When April of their senior years rolled around, he was not admitted to a single institution and she was only admitted to ONE college. One. Yes it was devastating. Yes it was humbling and humiliating. And as a parent, one mom recalled, “I felt like I was watching a train about to derail, and there was nothing I could do but stand by and watch, with the emergency response team on standby to pick up the pieces.” What do these two s...

This episode is special for so many reasons. It is April of 2020 and I’m guessing you haven’t spent this much quality time with your teenager since maybe before kindergarten. Same for me. Over the last 6+ weeks (I’ve lost count) I’ve spent more time with my mother than I have since that 14-day road trip in 2016. And before that, it was Pre-K. In this episode my Mom opens up about being a single mom of 3, making time to write e...

Getting to AND through college is not always a straight path. For over 5 million students, Community College has been a way to continue their education as a means to an end or as a bridge to a 4-year institution. Today, in the midst of a global pandemic, many more students are making the choice to save money and/or stay closer to home, and Community Colleges can offer exactly what students need. If you are remotely considering a ...

If you wish for your child to be accepted, this show is for you. If you root for the underdog, this show is for you. Today, our guest, President Jane Fernandes, is one of the most fascinating leaders I’ve ever met. Jane is the ninth president of Guilford College and the first deaf woman to lead an American college or university. I cannot wait for you to hear her tell her story. I was stopped in my tracks when she revealed that s...

If you have a courageous or ambitious daughter - this show is for you. If your daughter has big dreams - this show is for you. If she thrives in encouraging environments - this show is for you. If your daughter worries she won’t meet male friends, classmates, or her future husband - this show is definitely for you. Today’s Guest, Director of Admissions at Saint Mary’s College, Sarah Galleghar Dvorak, shares her own story of bei...

Whether you are a Varsity or Junior Varsity Catholic, or even a non-Catholic, I believe you might have heard of the University of Notre Dame. Fall football Saturdays are incomplete without consciously or accidentally finding the Irish in their freshly painted GOLD helmets. Today’s guest, Sean Whittman, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions, is what I call a VARSITY Catholic. Born into a military family, Sean is a self proclaime...

By the time your child is a high school senior you’ve likely been on literally 100s of family outings, road trips, and vacations together. With each one comes life lessons. First, you support him on the playground and teach him how to climb and swing across those monkey bars.You teach her how to kick the soccer ball and share in victory and defeat. The lessons about history come with a trip to Washington DC to Lincoln Memorial and ...