Forlorn? Depressed? Inconsolable?

Read this article by journalist and author Joan Didion on being denied admission to Stanford in 1952. As timely today as it was when first published in 1968!

On Being Unchosen By The College of One's Choice

Cheer up. Your very best days are yet to come! :-)

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The Col...

Continue reading ...

Since the advent of the college Net Price Calculator, parents and students alike, having pretty much figured out which colleges are good fits, are still walking around in that proverbial fog when it comes to figuring out the true cost of college, let alone comparing the cost of college A to college B.

Yes, the College Scorecard helps a bit, but can we say that the fog has actually lifted?

Enter the latest tool in the effort to find the "best" college, calculate and compare costs, and determine ...
Continue reading ...

"At South Side Middle School in Rockville Centre, on Long Island, more than half of the eighth-grade class, 134 out of 260 students, opted out of the exams..." So reported The New York Times in an article on New York's standardized English Language Arts (ELA) exam for third and eighth graders. [Standardized Math exams are scheduled for next week.]

The protests, certainly not restricted to Rockville Centre, Long Island, or, for that matter, New York, are not so much aimed at the so-called Commo...
Continue reading ...

Boston and New York have always shared a special kinship. Sure, at times it seems like a bitter rivalry. Who will be the best? Which is number one? Yankees vs. Red Sox. South Street Seaport vs. Quincy Market. NYC Marathon vs. the Boston Marathon.

Beneath this nearly transparent tit-for-tat, though, is that which we have come to embrace in common bond. A profound sense of place, as thriving centers of finance, culture, education and civility. An abiding sense of self, ever vigilant but never fe...
Continue reading ...

 

Choosing that "perfect" college -- whether to apply or to attend -- is no easy task. The College Whisperer™ offers some advice on how to find the college that's best for you. 

Lily Herman, college student at Wesleyan University and Co-Founder of The Prospect, writes:   

What do you think is the most important thing for a student to look at when choosing a college? Or, what's an important aspect that many students don't look at or think about but they should?  

The College Whisperer™ ...

Continue reading ...

There are many women The College Whisperer™ knows -- and many more he does not -- who are tough as nails. Smart. Courageous. Undaunted by the most pressing challenges of our times.

Take Linda Flanagan. Ms. Flanagan is a freelance writer (frequently, at The Huffington Post), researcher, and editor, specializing in national security issues. Most recently she was Executive Editor for the HELP Commission, a federal body mandated to produce recommendations to reform foreign assistance. Before tha...
Continue reading ...

The New York Times published an article that caught The College Whisperer's™ eye -- actually, both eyes. Software Seen Giving Grades On Essay Tests.

Like something out of a Stanley Kubrick film, it seems the computer can not only read the essay, but score it and give immediate feedback to the writer. Wow!

Imagine that. Artificial intelligence, of the likes that places us in orbit and finds breakthroughs in medicine, reading and grading essays. [Is that a demotion for the computer, or what? K...
Continue reading ...

Our good friend and most knowledgeable colleague, Randy Levin of WriteToCollege.com will be offering FREE (yes, we said FREE) workshops on writing that perfect college essay.

Believe me, The College Whisperer™, in the scheme of what's critical in the college application and admissions process, the college essay is right up there with the Common App and FAFSA. And when it comes to what to write on those college essays, and how to write it, few people can put it all together like Randy Levin....
Continue reading ...

College Connection, home of The College Whisperer™ and Official Sponsor of College Admission Success™, is offering free, one (1) hour college planning consultations with an independent college counselor to Long Island’s veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and their immediate families. Services include college matching, admission strategies, the application process, essay development, as well as scholarship and financial aid sourcing.

Understanding the unique needs and special circumstance...
Continue reading ...

Special to The College Whisperer™

Hot off the presses comes news of the most selective among the nation's highly selective colleges and universities.

Princeton? Nope. Harvard? Uh uh. Stanford, perhaps? Go fish!

No, this year's most selective college in America, hands down, is none other than Maza State, a small, liberal arts college in the town (formerly city) of Maza, North Dakota.

Ah yes. Maza State. Not on every student's tip of the Common App. Or any student’s, for that matter. And yet...

Continue reading ...