by Brenda Shepherd As the application season approaches, now is the time for juniors to consider who can best advocate for them. It’s...

When I work with students, we focus on the parts of their applications they can mostly control: selecting appropriate courses, earning...

Last year a scandal unfolded exposing the fraudulent paintings displayed by the Orlando Museum of Art, purporting to be originals of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The FBI is still unraveling the details, but basically a guy created artwork on wood and cardboard in the same style as 1980’s Basquiat paintings, said they were authentic, and sold them for lots of money with some help from a network of shady characters. It’s curious to me that these scammers felt their own work

In episode #500 of the Freakonomics Radio podcast, Dr. Ruth Simmons, President of Prairie View A&M University, recounts a time when she questioned an academic requirement at her undergraduate institution. She was not successful at making an immediate change, but the experience taught her “it’s very useful to get to know what’s important to you and what matters.” As I listen, her words stand still for a moment, even as her interview continues. I think about the brainstorming s

One of the best times of the year is now, when students send me their acceptance letters from their rolling, early action, and early decision schools. Although the format of each letter is similar, the overall tone and details vary, often reflecting the culture of the college. Of course—as one of my students admitted last week—students often do not get past the line that exclaims “Congratulations!” So, I had to smile when I skimmed through the letter from the University of Te

When I notice a student struggling to write their main college essay, I sometimes ask how they would complete the sentence “If you really knew me, you would know…” Thinking about how to complete that sentence leads to discussions about what matters in their life. I am not necessarily looking to elicit a big idea or an earth-shattering achievement. Truthfully, I want to know what makes them smile and motivates them to look ahead. For those of you who know me personally—and the

The admissions deans from Tufts, Northeastern, and Boston University presented a “Best of Boston: Year in Review” webinar yesterday, reflecting on this most recent application cycle and emphasizing messages for future applicants. The pandemic forced admissions offices to make changes more rapidly, and for the most part, the changes have been good ones: New Test Optional Policies All three of these schools announced test optional policies for the first time this past year as a

“Institutional priorities” is the fancy-schmancy way of explaining why an admissions officer may choose an All-State oboe player with a 3.6 GPA over a champion chess player with a 3.8 GPA. Quite simply, the college may be looking to maintain its distinction as having one of the most prestigious college symphonies in the country, and their last oboe player is graduating. This same college may be perfectly fine with its chess club finishing in the middle of the pack at most com

Eighth grade was a long time ago for me. So, imagine my recent surprise—my disbelief, really—when I glanced at my computer screen and its...

I stopped by my office yesterday afternoon: checked my mail, threw away the last dead plant, re-assessed my cleaning supplies, and turned on the computer to load the updates. I know one day I’ll be meeting with students face-to-face again, but for now my tiny bright office simply serves as a change of scenery—and a reminder that for the work I do, location does not matter. This summer I have not had to work around vacations, summer job schedules, or camp dates. Instead, my s