By Lee Shulman Bierer What are the advantages of taking a gap year? For the student with a defined career interest, a gap year offers a terrific opportunity to delve into more depth. Many gap year students are able to perform research, volunteer domestically and/or abroad, job-shadow,...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Have you or your child ever even considered the possibility of NOT heading to college immediately after graduating from high school? Think about it for a moment. It’s liberating. I am not suggesting not attending college. I am, however, suggesting the concept of...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Thankfully once students reach high school, they are no longer required to write the often painfully boring “what I did over my summer vacation” essay. But that doesn’t mean that what they do choose to do over summer isn’t important. One of the...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Summer provides the best opportunity for students to separate themselves from the pack. As the number of students applying to colleges continues its upward trajectory, so, too, does the need for students to make an effort to distinguish themselves from their peers. So how...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Tis the season, no, not Christmas, but it’s senior slump time. Like seasonal allergies, “senioritis” goes into attack mode around this time each year. Merriam-Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senioritis defines senioritis as, “an ebbing of motivation and effort by high school seniors as evidenced by tardiness,...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Many seniors feel as if the entire college admissions process is behind them; they've been accepted and made their final decision. Some have "checked out" of high school early. They may be attending class, most of the time, but rarely doing any...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Being deferred is NOT the same as being rejected. It may feel that way for students, but this year, with a record number of early applications, there has also been a record number of deferrals and even at some schools, skipping the...
By Lee Shulman Bierer When students apply to college via Early Decision- ED (binding) or Early Action-EA (non-binding) programs there are earlier deadlines and earlier notification. Most students expect one of two outcomes: acceptance or rejection. So, some students are surprised and confused when they receive...
By Lee Shulman Bierer The college interview. It was once an important staple of the college admissions process. Young men dressed up in jackets and ties, young women wore short heels and pearls and they sat down for a formal interview inside the college admissions office. Not...
By Lee Bierer You’ve probably seen the headlines where 8th graders who can’t drive yet and haven’t taken Algebra are being recruited to play athletics in college. Both sides of this equation sound a little crazy to me. The idea of a college or university betting...
