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college rankings expert guidance USNWR rankings

U.S. News & World Report: College Rankings 2026

Every fall, families across the country scramble to interpret the latest college rankings, treating them as if they were gospel. But here’s the truth: rankings, including those from U.S. News & World Report, are not definitive roadmaps to educational quality. They’re built on formulas that often prioritize prestige, selectivity, and future earnings over other critical […]

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Campus Visits college admissions college counselor college planning College Visits

Campus Visits: What I’ve Learned as a Parent, Counselor, and Former Admissions Officer

I have personally toured more than 60 college campuses: first as a prospective student, then as an admissions officer, now as a counselor guiding other families and (most recently) as a parent walking my own child through the process. Each role offers its own lens, and seeing it all converge has been enlightening and sometimes […]

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Application Strategy expert guidance Top Tips

Building Your College List: A Guide for High School Students

Applying to college used to be a pretty straightforward process involving just a handful of schools, like higher education journalist Jeff Selingo recounts in his recent Wall Street Journal article. But today’s landscape looks very different. With the ease of the Common Application, many students are casting a much wider net. Add in sensationalized stories […]

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Admissions Trends college admissions college admissions year in review Insider Tips

The Biggest Shifts in Higher Education

Recent news and trends in higher education paint a picture of an industry under immense pressure, with selective college admissions at the center of a perfect storm. From legal battles and new federal directives to significant budget cuts and institutional shifts, the landscape is changing at a rapid pace. Universities nationwide are facing a period […]

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Common Application Insider Tips

Common App 2024-25 Application Trends Revealed

Each year, the Common Application releases an end-of-season report, and it offers a comprehensive look at how the college admissions landscape is shifting. This year’s “First-year Application Trends” was recently released, and it outlines noticeable changes in application volume, as well as demographic and geographic shifts in the applicant pool. This admissions cycle marked the […]

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