Category: College Admissions

Warning: the newsletter this week contains material that may be triggering to some, offensive to others. This essay contains references to eating disorders which, as someone for whom weight issues are professional rather than personal, may be seen as insensitive. No offense is intended. Feel free to delete if this

The Marshall Plan didn’t kick in until April, 1948. The war in Europe ended in May of 1945, giving people who had plenty of practice being hungry since 1939 a chance to perfect their ability to starve. Supply chain issues—defined today as a failure to acquire a toy with the

How much is that doggie in the window, the one with the waggly tale? How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie’s for sale. Patti Page’s concern for protecting her absent boyfriend by buying him a doggie may have been the primary issue in 1952.

The inequality also means many players lack the resources to improve. “The players ranked 150 to 250 are on the cusp of breaking through, but they need to be able to invest in themselves,” Gaby Dabrowski, another player, said. “You need a coach to guide you, to have a vision

Let’s play a game? It’s simple. We’ll flip a fair coin. If the coin comes up heads, I’ll give you two dollars. If the coin comes up tails, you only have to give me one dollar. Cool? This is a great game. For you. For me, not so much. Because

Is it just me? Or are you also annoyed with pretty much everything? “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” is how the the protagonist of the 1976 film expressed it. There’s this guy. He’s driving a station wagon. (That’s how old this joke is.

The Varsity Blues Scandal is the humiliation that keeps on giving. More headlines this week. More wealthy people headed to the hoosegow. Another herd of gazillionaires in handcuffs. Schadenfreude seems to be the most popular response: Schadenfreude from the German, “schaden” meaning “damage” and “freude” translated as “nanny, nanny, boo,

 Parents would never out-source the religious upbringing of their kids. “Oh, sure. We are devout Christians/Jews/Muslims/Atheists, but we tell the kids to believe whatever they want, to worship with whomever they choose.” Words no parent ever spoke. To the contrary, parents encourage their kids to come to church/synagogue/mosque/or not/ with

You might think that the “fundamental theorem of arithmetic” would be ponderous and scary given its imposing title. “Fundamental.” Woo. Indeed the “fundamental theorem of calculus” suggests strongly that there are still a few open seats in Art History 101, a class most likely to be taught in an air-conditioned,

A mother tells her 30-something daughter that she is overweight. (The daughter, not the mom.) “Your arms are flabby, “mom says. “You are at risk for heart disease and diabetes; you will never find a husband.” “Thanks, Mom, “the daughter responds sarcastically. “I had no idea. Now that you mention