college admissions

I spoke with a mom this week who I just can’t stop thinking about. She has two great kids, with two sets of college aspirations, and two very different personalities. Planning for college with/for them has been…tricky.

Last week I spent a few hours in Ann Arbor and on campus at the University of Michigan! An impromptu visit on an unfortunately smoky day (Canadian wildfire smoke).

A new national survey found that confidence in higher education continues to decline…

Fifteen years ago I wrote an article called “Saving for College.”
At the time, the economy was struggling, tuition was climbing rapidly, and many families assumed that if they simply saved enough money, they’d be prepared.
Today, the admissions landscape looks completely different.

Quick question: do you know how to designate ownership of a 529 asset on the financial aid forms? Yours? Your child’s? A grandparent’s? The answer changes your aid award by thousands of dollars, and many families get it wrong.

If it feels like students are applying to more colleges than ever before, it’s because
they are.
The question is whether it’s actually helping their chances?
And the answer… well that might surprise you:

Jill and I are traveled to Boston last weekend for our 35th reunion at Tufts University — the place where we met the first night of our freshman year. True story, but not the point..

I’ve been an independent college advisor for more than 20 years, a husband for 31 and a Dad for 27. So I say this with the love and experience of all three.

The 2026 Admit Results Are In (And They Tell a Bigger Story…

Oh the countdown is on!

May 1 (Decision Day) is almost here, so I’m gonna switch gears for a second and focus on 12th graders in particular.

Right now, too many 12th grade families who should be celebrating their ACCEPTED students, are instead still scrambling. With just two weeks to go, they’re still trying to make the numbers work.