Jessie's Blog

Check This Box if You're a Good Person

Image Source: Public Domain Images At a recent college admissions event, a prospective student got up, and a bit nervously asked a panel of admissions officers, “What do you look for in a college admissions essay? What makes one application stand apart from others?” I could feel this teen’s heart beating in his rib cage, the look on his face that begged the panel to help him hone in on which of all of his experiences he should write about, what he should share, to make these people see he was a…

  Sticker Shock! I hear it every day. My husband and I are living it with two kids in college, every day. And if you have a senior and are comparing offers it may be worth your while to ask the question. There are absolutely no guarantees, however, if you don't ask the question the answer is a resounding, "NO!"                  

1. Don't Storm the Financial Aid Office (These are some of the hardest working folks on campus, so be nice. They get it.)
2. For More Need-Based Aid, Be Specific — and Ha…

Santiago Salvador Ascui Source: NY Times Subscribing to valuing only one type of college applicant is a disservice to all of us. Do we value only one type of person? And what message are we sending the next generation by perpetuating the everyone-must-be-a-leader ideal? Is this akin to the same vacuous thinking that convinces us that everyone-must-be-a-winner at all times? In this recent article, published in the New York Times, Susan Cain continues a conversation that is decidedly worth having…

Maybe. Maybe not. Source: Bitmoji “I’m not good with this waiting business.” “What if I don’t get in?” “I just want to know.” “When will I find out?” “Why does it have to take so long?”   The above is a sampling of text messages I received from both students and parents over the past eight weeks. Applications to college are out the door, and we now wade through the dark, often angst-ridden middle, what some may consider the most difficult, and perhaps the most nerve-wracking, part. During the w…

                When we dip our toes or perhaps a foot and a hand, choosing to not wholly commit the universe responds in kind, partially. Is there a goal that you've been only willing only to dip a toe? Accomplishments, small and great, require a willingness to let go of the uncertainty of outcome and the courage to dive in, headlong, knowing that sometimes the water will be chilly but the swim exhilarating.

A recent piece by Jeffrey Salingo was published by The Washington Post.       Everyone's got an opinion on crazy these days; I suspect it has always been this way. However, this piece is worth your time, in as much as Salingo is making the worthy point that what a student chooses to do during his or her undergraduate years, is just as valuable as the name on the sheepskin. We knew this already, but in the midst of scarcity hype, it's good to be reminded.

The ambition to get into the best colle…

Did you know that college acceptances are "contingent" on your performance?

After the rush of applications and push to bump up your GPA, some may succumb to the lure of leisure, of showing up a little less academically. Of posting on social media sites sharing about your "in-school" staycation.

A few years back a student named Liv shrieked with excitement when she received her acceptance letter to Super Selective College. She had taken the hardest classes, written dozens of papers, prepped for…

“The irony is that we disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness—even our wholeheartedness—actually depends on the integrations of all our experiences, including the falls.” —Brene Brown

Experiencing, in totality, and accepting all of ourselves, —yup, the good, the bad, and the ugly: this is the toughest, and the most important, work of all. I was denied Early Decision from Trinity College in December of 1984. The envelope, although of nice card st…