DavidAltshuler,M.S. I now devote myself full time to helping children and their families choose and apply to colleges and working with troubled teens. But for 20 years I ran a tutoring and test prep shop. My friends and I, most of whom I met in graduate school, would help students prepare for the SAT. As part…Read the full article
Life is an exam. Failure is not an option. There is only one score card. Before elucidating the scoring system, here is a paragraph about myself: I live on the top floor of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. My 2.3 children go to Cornell and Princeton respectively. My wife is an attorney who…Read the full article
“Why do you want to go to college?” “To get a job.” This conversation, of which I’ve been a part well over a thousand times with my college counseling clients, is exactly backward. Indeed, the reason to go to college, the only reason to go to college, has always been because–wait for it–you don’t need…Read the full article
The Following Article is from my colleague, Patrick O’Connor at the Roper School: The Best Advice When Colleges Say No School counselors know the real March Madness begins next week, when some of the nation’s most selective colleges release their admissions decisions. As a pre-game warm-up, let’s stick with the facts we’ll need to comfort…Read the full article
“There is no possibility whatsoever of reconciling science and theology, at least in Christendom. Either Jesus rose from the dead or he didn’t. If he did, then Christianity becomes plausible; if he did not, then it is sheer nonsense. I defy any genuine scientist to say that he believes in the Resurrection, or indeed in…Read the full article
Mark’s profile was stellar: Five APs as a senior including Advanced Placement Government/Economics, AP English, AP Calculus; AP Psychology; and AP Biology. He had 1400 on his SATs: CR, 690; Math, 710. He wasn’t a starter on his high school basketball team but he worked harder than some of the taller boys with more talent….Read the full article
As many of the families who depend on my gentle guidance are enthusiastically filling in the FAFSA and the CSS Profile this month, I have prepared the following simple, straight forward Guide to Financial Aid so that our children can make concrete plans for a lifetime of indentured servitude. I have summarized the sometimes complicated…Read the full article
A student is caught texting during an exam, a clear violation of the honor code at her high school. The teacher looks at the student’s phone. Who is on the other side of the conversation? Who is supplying the answers to the test? Another ethically challenged student? No. The answers are coming from mom. At…Read the full article
Every reputable guide to marathon running, every competent coach, takes into consideration the background as well as the goals of each athlete. No sensible coach fails to consider how many miles were run last week and the expectations for race day. An athlete running her first marathon might build up to running 20 miles on…Read the full article
As a grandmother enjoys a sunny day at the beach with her five year-old grandson, the sky darkens and an enormous wave comes out of nowhere washing the child out to sea. Hysterical with fear the grandmother frantically shouts to the lifeguard who is already sprinting toward the ocean. Fighting the chaotic waves, the lifeguard…Read the full article