By Lee Shulman Bierer Gaining admission to some of the most elite colleges is remarkably more competitive today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Unfortunately, this increased competitiveness has spurred myths that need to be dispelled. Admission isn’t all about scores. Students should look for...
By LEE SHULMAN BIERER Parents and prospective students talk with Fayetteville State officials. Photo by Ezekiel Best, FSU Used to be that parents packed up the station wagon, drove their son or daughter to college, unloaded the boxes, made their bed, kissed them goodbye, shed a few...
Photo courtesy of UNC Chapel Hill If you’re a rising senior and you ask any of your soon-to-be-college-freshmen friends for one piece of advice about college applications, I know what it would be. They would tell you to NOT procrastinate and to do your best to get...
Freelance writer Kyle DeNuccio traveled and surfed during a gap year away from college. Photo by Joe Johnston Every year, more and more students and parents talk to me about the pros and cons of a gap year experience. Taking a year off between high school graduation...
Photo by UNC Greensboro People always seem to apologize when they’re making plans for summer campus visits: “I’m sorry, I know we should have done all this sooner, during spring break, but we couldn’t work it out.” Campus visits during the summer are fine. I just say...
By LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Robert Kinlaw, collegetownnc.com Unfortunately, the lazy, hazy days of a summer full of splashing in the pool and hanging out with friends are but a pleasant memory for many high school students. Standardized tests and test prep were usually put on hold...
Photo by Travis Long for The News & Observer Perhaps you’re not one of those super-organized, type-A people who firmed up their summer plans last January. And right about now, you’re finding yourself with more than a little free time this summer. Don’t worry. You’re not...
By: LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by collegetownnc.com What should you do with your “boomerang kids” who come home from college for a place to stay over the summer? A first piece of advice is for everyone – parents and students – to be mindful of the transition. Parents...
By: LEE SHULMAN BIERER Many students unwittingly treat letters of recommendation as an afterthought. They ask teachers and recommenders late in the process and often fail to provide them with sufficient tools to get the job done right. Big mistake. Letters of recommendation can often play a critical...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Robert Kinlaw, collegetownnc.com A letter of recommendation will never outweigh a student’s performance in the classroom, but it can be a tipping factor in the college admissions process. Recommendations carry varying weight, depending on who writes them and the perspective of the college...
