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

The week before Thanksgiving, one of my students met up with me in my office and regaled me with stories from her recent campus visits....