Jessie's Blog
College Visit Follow-Up Dos & Don'ts
The truth, straight up: Students that engage proactively land in better places. And, they feel better about things, too.
Visited a campus? Met an admissions officer at a college fair? Have a collection of college rep and tour guide business cards? If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, there is a next step, and it isn’t to let the cards migrate under the seat of the car, fall to the bottom of the backpack, or end up under your bed in the pile of college marketing glossies.
Is your goal to…
Sometimes School Sucks, but Thanks Mom & Dad
“If you spend your life feeding people’s vanity, you get so you can’t distinguish what should be respected in them.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald “Leave your pride, ego, and narcissism somewhere else. Reactions from those parts of you will reinforce your children’s most primitive fears.” —Henry Cloud 
Martin Family Vacation, Spring 2009 Bryn, our sophomore in college, called in February. “I just don’t get it, Mom.” One of his closest friends had just withdrawn in the second semester of his sophomore yea…
Success Stories — Grace and Sofie
Grace, Class of 2015, is an accomplished rider. Grace was also Park Scholar Finalist at Ithaca College, but felt Marist to be a better fit. Jessie helped both of our daughters find their unique voice and through the process they became more confident and better writers. This was undeniably valuable for my now freshman at Marist College because she continued to develop this new found skill in her freshman year writing course and used the writing center at her college, just as she had learned …
Success Stories — Brianna Shares Her Story
We are so proud of Brianna! Brianna received a named scholarship to cover her undergraduate and medical school tuitions, sealing her decision to attend Calvin College."I wouldn’t want to imagine my college search process without Jessie. Senior year is a transitioning year, regardless of who you are. Having Jessie walk with me through is a blessing I am so grateful I had the opportunity to experience.
Life counselor. These two words describe Jessie’s role in my life this past year. Jessie helped …
Success Stories: Cassie — Sacred Heart University
Cassie and I met to talk about her incredible offers including merit aid for BSN Programs. It is a few weeks before May 1, the big decision day! Cassie will attend Sacred Heart University, plans to compete on SHU's Figure Skating Team and study abroad in Australia her junior year."When your child begins the college process, it can be an exciting yet nerve “wrecking ” time of your life. Like all parents, we wanted our daughter to have the best possible outcome with all aspects of the college pr…
Testing — Tie a String on Your Finger
The Spring testing season is upon us. Each student's testing schedule is unique. Some have chosen to only prep for the SAT or ACT. That said, if your student is planning on applying to highly selective schools, your student's AP and SAT Subject Test scores matter more than you may suspect. Schools with admissions rates 30{475f6e8ad7be3161114314a988b7e8f491719bdeedead1da50322e1eadee8259} or less fall into these categories. The more competitive the admissions rate, the more these additional test s…Whatever you do, don't ask about my major.
A few years out of college and newly married, David and I headed back to South Mountain for the annual Lehigh-Lafayette Football Game (in this century this tradition is known as LeLaf). Following the game we went to a cocktail reception at Theta Chi, and the brick exterior, white columns, and pungent odor of beer long-seeped into the parquet floors greeted us — almost as if we had never left. As the crowd gathered and the volume rose a couple of drinks in, I overheard a question posed by one of …
ACT or SAT? — Three Considerations for Each
The landscape of standardized testing shifts more often than the faults running beneath California.
Like it or not, standardized tests play a significant role in an applicant’s file. In 2015 the ACT underwent “quiet” changes and in a few short weeks the new SAT will go live, in a “loud” way. Sometimes less information is more, so here are three considerations for each of the tests.
Knowing your students strengths will go a long way when deciding which standardized test is right.
Boredom, Questions & Zombies
Zombies. They are an official "thing."
One Saturday evening, I was walking through the living room with a load of laundry in my hands. A commercial for a new movie flew across the screen. I exclaimed, startling everyone including Pickles, our evil cat: “Zombies! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”
I don’t know how you feel about it, but the term zombies is creepy to me. It sounds creepy. It looks creepy (I know they are just letters, but they're both visually and audibly grating.). And the image…
The New SAT and Your Student
Illustration by Roger Chouinard, NYTimes