College Review: Lehigh University
Lehigh University is obviously beautiful, with a campus that has lots of either Gothic or super-modern buildings nestled into the side of a mountain. This 6,000 undergraduate institution is definitely one of the “haves” in the higher education scene. Every building and interior of the school is impeccably maintained and filled with the latest and greatest technology. Lehigh’s star is on the rise, and they have the sharp increase in submitted applications to prove it. Students apply to one of Lehigh’s schools—Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business, or Health. They also have a small “undecided” program in which students enter undecided [...]
College Review: Dickinson College
Dickinson College was founded in 1773 by Dr. Benjamin Rush, who went on to sign the Declaration of Independence. The school has a close relationship with the adjoining town, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a town of 40,000, which is dialed up on the quaint/cuteness factor. Nearby, nature beckons—Dickinson is five minutes away from the Appalachian Trail, and provides access to all sorts of outdoor activities. Dickinson Combines Liberal Arts with Real-World Experience With 2300 students, Dickinson’s mission originally was to provide a liberal arts education because Dr. Rush believed that democracy could only survive with an educated population. Today, the school focuses [...]
College Review: Drexel University
Drexel University is situated in an urban part of Philadelphia, with much of the campus being high-rise buildings. It doesn’t have a contiguous campus feel, but what it lacks in quads and green spaces it makes up for in energy — you can feel that this is a place where people are busy doing things. Drexel serves 13,000 undergraduates, but still manages to have small class sizes, with involved professors who predominantly focus on undergraduate teaching. The university comprises seven colleges: arts and sciences, business, education, engineering and computer science, media and design, nursing, and public health. In addition to all [...]
6 College Essay Mistakes We See Every Year
After years of working with students on their college essays, certain patterns emerge. Not the good kind — the kind that makes us wince a little on the inside while remaining mostly calm and encouraging on the outside. In the spirit of helping your student avoid the most common pitfalls, here’s an honest rundown of what we see again and again, and what to do instead. Mistake #1: Starting with the Prompt We know. The Common Application has prompts. They’re right there, staring at your student. It seems logical to begin there. It isn’t. Students who dive straight into a [...]
Why Teens Procrastinate on College Essays
There is a particular tension that settles into a house where the college essay is sitting unwritten. You can feel it in the way the topic comes up casually at dinner, “So… any thoughts about your essay?” and then disappears just as quickly. You can feel it in the open laptop that somehow never quite gets past the blinking cursor. You can feel it in your own rising internal monologue: We had all summer. Why are we still at zero? Parents often interpret this delay as avoidance or lack of motivation. Teens insist they “work better under pressure.” Both sides feel [...]
College Review: Penn State University
One of the most popular Big Ten schools, Penn State’s main campus is filled with so many good things—275 majors, with all of the greatest hits, but also including niche ones such as Immunology, Rail Transportation Engineering, and Turfgrass Science. In addition, they are an R1 research institution, have thousands of clubs, play many types of “sportsball,” as Lynda and I call it, and have endless opportunities for student advancement. Along with all of those great things, however, come 40,000 or so other things—undergraduate students. As a lifelong introvert, I won’t lie—my first reaction to all of the people and [...]