David Altshuler, M.S.
(305) 978-8917 | [email protected]

Category: College Admissions

Music Time

One of my camping buddies is a musical savant. Peter can play any song he has ever heard, a human Spotify without the concomitant $9.95 recurring charge. What about tunes he has never heard before? Peter listens to the first verse—I met him on a Monday and my heart stood

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‘Enery, 2021

I wasn’t there. But I have heard tell that Henry VIII divorced a couple of his wives and beheaded two more. Because they did not give him a male heir. Poor planning on the part of two thirds of the spouse census. I load the dishwasher when my bride tells

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Storm Trouble

If fate whispers to you, “you can’t withstand the storm,” whisper back “I am the storm.” Remember whose daughter you are and straighten your crown. –Unknown How do we get from here to there? Because for me, that’s the daughter I want. I want the daughter who can look fate

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Gone Fishin’

Discounting the disconcerting possibility of being eaten by a bear, I am practicing what I preach this week and tromping around the great outdoors with one of my adult children. Said child pointed out, “Dad. Nobody on his death bed every said, ‘I wish I had spent less time in

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Running Smoothly

A tee-shirt proclaiming that, “our sport is your sport’s punishment” is about as snarky as runners are likely to be. There’s not a lot of trash talking within our ranks. Because the other participants aren’t the enemy. We talk about competitions but not competitors. Runners are brothers in arms. In

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The Who on Parenting?

Can you see the real me? Inquired Roger Daltrey in 1975 on Quadrophenia. Teenage angst wasn’t new to muh muh my generation even half a century ago. Not seeing kids for who they are rather than for who their parents want them to be is a recurrent theme in rock

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Alienation

I have never been kidnapped by aliens. To my knowledge. Although there was a weekend my senior year of college about which I remember very little. Those who do mention having been kidnapped by aliens report remarkably similar narratives. Invariably the alien is described as looking similar to the (second)

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Orange Juice

When I started touring college campuses 30-something years ago, there was a strong relationship between how hungry the college was and the quality of the meals provided. My colleagues and I—“hordes” is such an unpleasant word—would descend from our chartered buses famished after a two-hour excursion from College A to

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No Why-ning

My recent column about the randomness of admissions decisions garnered more than the usual number of “attaboys” and “tell-me-mores.” One of my old running buddies shared 40 years of frustration regarding alumni interviews. One of my colleagues described an exemplary student with some disappointment results. Another colleague shared a brilliant

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Random 2.0

As college admissions decisions continue to descend upon hapless seniors and their well-intentioned parents this week, all involved revert to the cognitive capability of a three-year-old. “Why?” asks a toddler in response to any and every statement. “Let’s brush your teeth,” “it’s time for bed”—are all followed by the ubiquitous

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Copyright © David Altshuler 1980 – 2022    |    Miami, FL • Charlotte, NC     |    (305) 978-8917    |    [email protected]