In the Grammar Tree
I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the Girls’ Preparatory School, where we NEVER split infinitives, and if we did, we heard about it. Of course, if we dared to [...]
Student Stories
Finding a Financial Fit
Too often when students go through the process of finding their “best fit” college, they focus almost entirely on finding the right academic, social, or intellectual fit. As a result, many college lists are crafted without regard to whether or [...]
India
The street dead-ended into a dusty trail as I left suburbia and entered the Cherry Creek State Park. The Denver sun reminded me of my first day in India, and [...]
Kicking (Robbie’s student)
Mr. Maes, my kindergarten teacher, was very patient with me. I spent many weeks failing to translate the numbers on the digital classroom clock to hands rotating around a circle. [...]
Insurrection (academic prompt)
My dad spends an inordinate amount of time reading about the decay of a civilized German society in the lead-up to World War II. I was never sure why he [...]
On Curiosity
Einstein’s theory of relativity tells us that large objects bend space and time around themselves to generate gravity. From my seven-year-old students I developed my own theory: children warp your [...]
Darwin’s Arch (academic essay)
Darwin’s Arch fell on May 17, 2021. The iconic Galapagos formation cracked down the middle and slipped into the Pacific Ocean. The role of Darwin’s Arch in its ecosystem cannot [...]
Jade (community essay prompt)
I unwrapped the small box, casting the colorful ribbons to the side. But, as I peaked inside, my heart dropped. I stared at the green disk lying on a blue [...]
Pokemon GO (community essay prompt)
“Gotta catch ‘em all!” I teased Will as he ran off in pursuit of his next Pokémon. We were strolling through Washington Park for Pokémon GO Fest, the 5th-anniversary event [...]
Chanterelles
We had been trudging through the forest for hours with no luck. The cutting echo of three-day-old rain dripped splinters of moist chill deep into our bones. [...]
Flat Feet
My feet were constantly sore. I tried everything. I swapped my Converse for Nikes; I donned an Ace bandage; I even soaked them in Epsom saltwater, but no relief. A [...]
The Moth in the Moonlight
I placed the mouse’s fidgeting body into the isoflurane tank. It went limp after thirty seconds from the anesthesia, and with mechanical precision, I transported it onto the surgical table, [...]
The Colors of Sounds (Robbie’s student)
I see sounds– and no, not like an LSD trip. I have synesthesia. Any noise I hear is inextricably linked to a color. My alarm clock rings a spiteful orange, [...]
Chasing Geysers
Another mysterious cloud of steam burst into the late afternoon sky just behind a cluster of amber Wyoming conifers. Claire and I were together in Yellowstone, crossing off another national [...]
L’oreal, Shade Beige
Mrs. Webber’s 6th grade Language Arts class was my favorite class. I loved dissecting pieces of poetry and creating my own metaphors for homework that were just like the ones [...]
Teaching Chess (activities prompt)
A queue of chattering 5th graders eye the checkered board where I wait. The last day of chess club, my students now gawk at the fantastic prize I offered them; [...]
Superstitions
A soft chime is drowned out by the sound of machinery whirring. The ding is followed by instructions in Thai. I don’t know what the pilot said, but I know [...]
The Journey
In a microcosm contained in the walls of one building, there is no God, no celestial or divine force other than in the minds and hearts of the people bustling [...]
The Newspaper
On Sundays, my sister and I would race barefoot down the steps, out our blue front door, across our rocky driveway to where it meets the road. There we would [...]
Lenses
My camera focuses. I’ve almost got the shot, but something’s not quite right. With a twist of the wrist and a tug, I pull the lens off the camera and [...]
Missing Puzzle Pieces
I pass the wall with the puzzles hanging on it a million times each day. Time at the Johnson Adult Day Program goes by in a blur. One summer morning, [...]
What I like in a college
I notice how some colleges are purposeful in their mission, forward thinking and innovative. Others seem to be stuck on their past laurels. It’s hard to know whether a particular [...]
When is college “worth it?”
As my middle son prepares for graduation from Dartmouth next month, I have been trying to understand why Dartmouth felt like such a worthwhile experience for him and like such [...]
Trusting your heart
People on Facebook are going nuts over this. I think it’s a little mean and mis-guided. I know…. I know…. kids need to learn responsibility. But I think parents need [...]
senior doubt: Aug 2016
Crazy Making….My senior son looked at me with a little doubt and hesitation last night as he told me how his friend helped install a water pump at a fire [...]
A fā zān is a Chinese hair pin that I would never actually wear.
I sat in a woodcarving studio in Xi’an, China with my eyes fixed on my soon to be fā zān. A fā zān is a Chinese hair pin that I [...]
On hunting
The stars were dispersed throughout the luminous sky, the full moon the only other sign of light amidst the crisp autumn air. My boots made a small clink every time [...]
Guilty pleasure
I am going to admit it. I like rankings. I know…I know…I’m not really supposed to like rankings, but rankings are my guilty pleasure. Here’s the deal. I see the [...]
on college admissions…
http://www.wsj.com/…/educators-seek-to-ease-pressure-in-col… When U Chicago stops sending mailers to kids with a 3.2 GPA, and when Wash U quits inundating my cat (yes I signed him up on the mailing list [...]
Tight shoes and tight jeans
I’m afraid this might not feel very helpful. I loved Vanderbilt the first time I visited it in 2011. In fact, of course, I still do love Vanderbilt. They have [...]
My son the MUSSSSIC major
When I tell certain clients (and family members) that my middle son was a music and history major at Dartmouth, I can sometimes feel them freeze in embarrassment. What can [...]
Slow down you big stupid clock– Aug 2016
I guess FB read my mind by reminding me of this picture just now. He just left to get gas so he could drive about 30 minutes out-of-town to go [...]
Let’s quit bashing the Ivies
I’m just going to say it. There is a wave of political incorrectness in dreaming for and aspiring to and admiring the Ivies. I read over and over again about [...]
The optional puzzle- I mean essay. Sept 2016
My son applied to 4 colleges last night. He’s going to be sending in his early decision school’s application sometime today. I woke up this morning and almost had to [...]
Christmas cheer at Cherry Creek High School 2016
Yesterday Will’s good friend was admitted to Stanford. A collective cheer was heard on text message as the news spread instantaneously. Moms and kids alike messaged me– not because I [...]
Post college acceptance for my own baby
It’s New Years Eve, and I think I might be finally waking up from my collegeadmissions PTSD. My son Will is a senior who has just completed his sweet little college admissions journey. [...]
Highly selective college admissions, it’s an early event.
This article is teaching me nothing new. I’ve been telling my high achieving students for several years now that admissions to uber- selective colleges is an “early event.” That’s the [...]
Legacy admissions and my own inner conflict
I’m all about legacy admissions. Two of my boys went to Duke, and I’m never going to say it didn’t help them get in. My sons were qualified for Duke [...]
I miss the University of Chicago
I went to the University of Chicago info session here in Denver. I left oddly unsatisfied, and maybe even a little sad. It was interesting to me that the first [...]
What I’m learning from Duke. Oct 2017
I notice how some colleges are purposeful in their mission, forward thinking and innovative. Others seem to be stuck on their past laurels. It’s hard to know whether a particular [...]
Flow Paper (activities essay)
I have a drawer stuffed to overflowing, as full as a drawer can be. Papers get stuck behind it, lodged in the sliding-gear of my dresser. However, I can always [...]
I’m caught on a cliff, falling…
I’m one, and I’m spinning through a golden field. I remember that much; everything else is a blur—a story told so many times, it feels like a memory. Sunrays splash [...]
CM Punk changed my life.
On June 27th, 2011, a 220-pound, straight edge, tattooed superhero named CM Punk changed my life forever. I know, that sentence could have easily been the beginning of a disturbing [...]
“Anzhun” he barked! “Ni shi chi”! I apologized, “Dui bu qi,” and took my seat.
3:17 pm. I was late. I leapt from my friend’s mother’s car, scrambled into my bedroom, grabbed my books, and tumbled back into the garage. After snagging my bike lock [...]
Diversity
There was this woman that worked at Pirate’s Cove (the water park where I worked). Her name was Holly, and I’d never met her, but the crew that had met [...]
Fade In
FADE IN: Every movie, from Pulp Fiction to Casablanca. From Dr. Strangelove to Goodfellas all start with this phrase: “Fade in,” in 12 pt Courier font. It’s the [...]
American dream
The airport was packed. People bustled by, boarding planes, grabbing breakfast– or in my case– kicking a tattered, brown suitcase through the baggage check-in line. A warm, June breeze blew [...]
Tenderloin
Layered in sweaters over my leotard, I head towards the dance studio. The San Francisco morning bites my nose as I walk through the heart of Tenderloin. Sidewalks clutter with [...]
Chef John
You should never substitute kosher salt for plain salt in a recipe, for an equivalent volume does not mean an equivalent weight. This knowledge wasn’t born of experience; I learned [...]
The error of my ways
There is a specific cacophony that accompanies a room of musicians, a discordant mix of scales and warm-ups, with boisterous showoffs playing dramatic solos from the margins. For most, an [...]
Dang, Girl, your participle is dangling…
I find it incredibly satisfying to correct a dangling participle because they are just so obvious. Now remember a participle is an adjective born of a verb. Usually they end [...]
Pull-it SURPRISE
“Well, I went to a small college called Middlebury—do you know it?” The youngish man in the middle row of the shuttle van was engaging the whole group of 10 [...]
Freddy Krueger on What to Wear to the College Info Session
I was jolted out of sleep by a rapid burst of text messages last night. I scrambled around for my glasses and squinted at my phone. On it was a [...]
In that vein…
It’s quite ironic that I’m the one sitting in the grammar tree, because, truth be told, I can’t spell, and I have to look up grammar rules all the time. [...]
Close proximity….ARG!!!
If people keep using double redundancies, I’m going to be in close proximity to the limit of what I can bear—grammatically speaking of course. The word “proximity” means the quality [...]
Essays from the Heart
You can find essay advice all over the internet and in book stores. There’s a whole slew of topics about which NOT to write. I say: ignore most of the [...]
Demonstrated Interest- a Two-Way Street
Applying to colleges is more of a 2-way street than you think. While it’s easy to get hung up on whether or not you’ll get accepted, it’s even easier [...]
Need-Blind and Meets-Full-Need Policies Under Strain
The number of colleges and universities that maintain need-blind admissions policies, while at the same time claiming to meet the full financial need of all admitted students, is continuing to [...]
Karen’s Sweet 16 Bracket
I’ve watched exactly 28 years of March Madness tournaments. I try to be a good fan. I get excited when the Blue Devils come close. I jump up and down [...]
Urban Myths of College Admissions
I read The College Lady’s admission blog listing common myths in college admissions, and I felt compelled to share an adapted version of her list. Some of the myths, noted by [...]
The Grocer’s Apostrophe
The apostrophe should not be used to make nouns plural. It is instead intended to allow nouns to show possession. We make singular nouns possessive by adding an “apostrophe s,” [...]
Splitting the Infinitive– just don’t do it, OK?
An infinitive is a verb that is used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Usually it is the simple verb form preceded by the word “to.” In the [...]
Subjective Pronouns
Sing the following to nice C major scale. “I, you, he, she, it, we, they—will NEVVV-VER be objects.” Now repeat it. “I, you, he, she, it, we and they” are [...]
The Wrong Time to be Normal
The Wrong Time to be Normal I usually have to write about my students with aliases. But since I want to share my own son’s admissions horror story, I [...]
Why students should apply for financial aid even if they think they won’t qualify.
When it comes time to apply to colleges, too often students and their families dismiss the idea of applying for financial aid. The reasons for this are varied, but a [...]
The Gerund
The possessive modifies a gerund. A gerund is a verb that has been turned into a noun by the suffix “ing.” Visiting a college can be awesome. “Visiting” is a [...]
My Approach
As an independent college counselor and educational consultant, I specialize in the college admissions process. I approach students with respect and optimism. I am often humbled by the trust my [...]
Just Another Perfect Mother
Kalie’s mom, Pandora, interviewed me at a noisy hamburger joint when I first began my work as an educational consultant. As a mentor and high school volunteer I had helped [...]
