Blog

Summer Executive Function Intensive in NYC

For college students and soon-to-be college students based in NYC!

This intensive, two-day program will be in person in a small-group format and cover general planning, time management, study skills, reducing procrastination, accomplishing long-term assignments, routine building, self-care, and resilience. Please see the flyer below and learn more about Dr. Josephson’s practice here.

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The Most Common Graduation Advice Tends to Backfire

The Most Common Graduation Advice Tends to Backfire

Following your passions can be a bad idea. 

Sharing a great read as graduation month comes to a close and high school juniors and sophomores kick the college process into a higher gear.

Identifying potential passions means having the confidence to pursue what you truly enjoy or even what you think you might enjoy—sometimes, you have to just go with your gut! It also helps to explore interests in which you have some natural affinity but keep in mind that skills can be developed, it just takes time. Don’t pick an academic interest based on what you think society expects or, worse, what you think your parents want you to pursue. 

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Supply Chain Summer Program for NJ High School Students

Supply Chain Summer Program for NJ High School Students

The Rutgers Business School’s first Supply Chain Education Partnership Program aims to give local high school students a sense of supply chain management as a career. 

As global economies become more connected, supply chain management (SCM) has grown in popularity as a business undergraduate major. SCM encompasses every step involved to get products made and into the hands of consumers, from finding quality suppliers of materials to making and moving products to marketing them.

Rutgers SCM professors and guest speakers from board member companies such as Schindler, Pfizer, Panasonic, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and PSE&G covered procurement, sustainability, inventory management, logistics and planning and forecasting. These companies “represent the ‘private’ component in the partnership of the public, private and community sectors”.

Get more info here! 

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U.S. Department of State (NSLI-Y) Language Learning – Virtual Option For Fall ’23

U.S. Department of State (NSLI-Y) Language Learning – Virtual Option For Fall ’23

Virtual National Security Language Initiative for Youth (Virtual NSLI-Y), a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), introduces U.S. high school students to languages critical to U.S. national security in an interactive online format. Launched in 2019, Virtual NSLI-Y is a 10-week, beginner-level foreign language and culture experience in line with the ACTFL World Readiness Standards. In addition to language learning, Virtual NSLI-Y introduces participants to the people and culture of places where the target language is spoken and fosters intercultural understanding, with program components designed in line with Asia Society’s Four Domains of Global Competence.

NSLI-Y Goals

  • To increase the number of young Americans with the language skills necessary to advance international dialogue, promote economic prosperity and innovation worldwide, and contribute to national security and global stability by building understanding across cultures.
  • To improve Americans’ ability to engage with the people of Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Russian, and Turkish-speaking locations through shared language.
  • To provide a tangible incentive for the learning and use of foreign language by creating overseas language study opportunities for U.S. high school students.

 Deadline is June 15. 

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2nd Annual Break Into Law Conference

2nd Annual Break Into Law Conference

The Break into Law Conference is a free and virtual conference with a mission to help BIPOC, first-generation, and other marginalized students and professionals break into the legal field. 

The conference will take place July 8 – 9, 2023, with a Law School Fair taking place on Saturday for prospective law school students and a Law Firm Career Fair taking place on Sunday for current law school students and recent graduates. Both days will also feature a Resource Fair for vendors. 

In addition to the fairs, they will have 13 panels discussing topics ranging from Equity in Law School Admissions featuring Law School Admission Council Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Angela Winfield, Financing Your Legal Education featuring representatives from Penn Carey Law, AccessLex, and UT Austin School of Law, Understanding Federal Clerkships, Corporate Litigation, IP Law, and Sports Law, to practical sessions such as Interviewing and the Job Search led by Dean Lauren Jackson, Assistant Dean of Career Services at Howard University School of Law and Dean Akua Akyea, Associate Dean for Career Services at Cornell Law School.

All students (prospective and current) who attend the conference will also be eligible to enter to win a scholarship to help defray some of their law school costs. The registration link can be found at bit.ly/break-into-law.

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High School Students: Use Your Summers Wisely

High School Students: Use Your Summers Wisely

Rising Seniors

Time flies, right? Hopefully, you’ve planned something interesting to explore your academic interests this summer. If not, there is still time! It might be too late for a formal summer program (a good thing, OK to skip these!) or linking up with a local faculty member to engage in research or work in their lab. Still, it is not too late to get a job and design an independent mini-project or community engagement activity. 

You will also want to spend time on your college application materials, so don’t feel like you need to fill your entire summer with a laundry list of activities. Instead, it is best to do one or two things that are well-thought-out and meaningful and leave time for app work and some relaxation before senior fall because it will be an insanely busy time for you! 

If you’ve finished or are nearly finished with the ACT/SAT, you might also want to consider starting your Common Application essay and completing the base data of your Common App this spring/early summer. If you are in need of essay guidance—shameless plug—grab a copy of The Complete College Essay Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing the Personal Statement and the Supplemental Essays. 

Rising Juniors

A big ticket item is preparing for and completing standardized testing. Take an ACT and SAT diagnostic and meet with a tutor to determine which test might be best for you, and then put a formal plan and timeline in place to prepare for that test. Junior year is no joke academically, and you’ll likely take the ACT or SAT more than once, so starting prep this summer is a good idea. 

Like rising seniors, hopefully, you’ve got something interesting planned to help you explore your academic interests. The same guidance above applies. Here’s why this is important: colleges aim to create diverse, well-balanced classes made up of students with a range of identities and academic interests. For this reason, most colleges will consider your major of interest when making admissions decisions—and you need to have coursework and extracurriculars that demonstrate your interest. For the most competitive majors (CompSci, business, engineering, pretty much anything STEM, to name a few), demonstrating a high level of understanding paired with experience gained outside of school is critical if you want to stand out as an application. This is, of course, on top of stellar grades and test scores.

If you don’t know what your academic narrative is, now’s the time to decide and work on developing it; if you’re lost on how, reach out

Rising Sophomores and Freshmen

Summers are for exploring! You could attend a pre-college program on a college campus, get a job, read, take free classes online, and volunteer. The key is to do something, or preferably, a few things! Get out there and get some experience and exposure—it’s how you figure things out. Make sure to write down everything you get involved. You’ll need a resume or activity sheet for college, and you can start it now. If you are fairly certain what you might want to study in college, pursue an opportunity this summer that helps tell that story. 

The school year can be a grind, and your “job” is getting the best grades you can while balancing the limited time you have to spend on extracurriculars with homework…and hopefully some sleep. No matter what year you are in high school, think of summer as a time to explore, recharge, and dip into (or dig deeper into!) what you might not have time for from September through May. 

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High School Class of 2023 Acceptances

High School Class of 2023 Acceptances

Congrats to all of our seniors!

Arizona State*
Bard*
Barnard
Baylor
Butler
CalPoly SLO*
Case Western*
Chapman*
Clemson*
College of Charleston*
Colorado College
Cornell*
Drexel*
Elon*
Fairfield*
Florida Gulf Coast*
Florida State
Fordham*
Georgetown*
Georgia Tech*
Haverford
Holy Cross
Indiana University + Kelley School of Business*
JMU*
Lehigh*
Loyola Marymount
Loyola MD*
LSU
Mary Washington
Miami Ohio*
Michigan State*
NJIT
Northeastern*
NYU*
Ohio State*
Penn State*
Providence College*
Purdue
Quinnipiac
Reed*
Rice*
Santa Clara*
Sarah Lawrence*
Scripps
SDSU*
Seton Hall
Southern Methodist University*
St. Johns
SUNY Binghamton*
SUNY Buffalo*
SUNY Geneseo
SUNY Stony Brook*
Syracuse*
Tampa*
TCU
Towson
Tulane*
University of Alabama*
University of Arizona*
University of California, Berkeley*
University of California, Davis*
University of California, Irvine*
University of California, Santa Barbara*
University of California, Santa Cruz*
University of California, San Diego*
University of Colorado, Boulder*
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware*
University of Denver
University of Illinois
University of Florida*
University of Illinois*
University of Maryland*
University of Massachusetts, Amherst*
University of Miami*
University of Minnesota
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill*
University of Oregon
University of Pittsburgh*
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond*
University of Rochester*
University of South Carolina*
University of Southern California*
University of Tampa*
University of Texas, Austin* (including Plan II Honors)
University of Texas, Dallas
University of Vermont*
University of Washington*
University of Wisconsin*
Vanderbilt*
Villanova*
WashU*
Wellesley

and probably a few more!

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Calling All Creatives – Artistic Portfolio & Statement of Purpose Coaching

Calling All Creatives – Artistic Portfolio & Statement of Purpose Coaching

Meet Justin: Justin is a practicing New York-based painter who graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a BA in Art and minors in Asian Humanities and Art History. Studying a wide variety of artistic mediums and histories, Justin has a comprehensive understanding of creative fields. He aims to help students better express themselves both creatively and critically and believes writing to be a fundamental backbone in expression – from one’s own artistic practice to the art of writing a college application essay. 

For students in grades 9-10:

Justin’s work with artists begins with a review of their interests and background in the arts and continues through personalized assignments. Included are routine progress check-ups, constructive critiques, and the provision of relevant historical materials. To develop a high-quality portfolio of approximately 10-15 artworks, students will embark on a course of 15 one-hour-long meetings focused on technical proficiency, experimentation with a variety of mediums and practices, and a continued focus or theme. 

For students in grade 11 (rising seniors) summer 2023:

Highly individualized program based on where the student is in the process and current portfolio development. Work is on an hourly basis. 

For a more detailed outline of the course or information regarding how we help students design portfolios and draft their artist statement of purpose and other essays, please email us or call 609-618-3584. 

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2023-2024 Common Application Essay Prompts

2023-2024 Common Application Essay Prompts

In case you missed it, Common App announced that the 2023-2024 essay prompts will remain the same. Past research shows that overall satisfaction with the prompts remains high among students, counselors, and member colleges.

They hope that by sharing the prompts now, students will have the time they need to reflect on their own personal stories and begin thinking about what they want to share with colleges. Now is a fantastic time to begin brainstorming for the Common App essay (aka the personal statement), especially if you have completed standardized testing or will be applying test optional. 

We’ll be posting plenty of essay tips and related content in the coming months, so stay tuned! You can also check out The Complete College Essay Handbook.

If you would like a complimentary copy for your school library or counseling office (or for yourself) please write to us

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2023 College Waitlist Advice

2023 College Waitlist Advice

We must keep it real: most students are not admitted from the WL at highly selective schools.

Our primary advice? Get excited about where you have been accepted! Applying to college is hard; when a college says YES, that means something. Lean into those schools—you won’t think twice about where you were waitlisted a year from now. 

Before implementing any waitlist strategies, it is important to deposit at a school where you have been admitted. Take advantage of admitted student days and other events that connect you with potential future classmates, including joining “Class of 2027” social media groups. These forums are often very informative, and fun, and can help you take your mind off the waitlist waiting game. Again, try to get excited—college is simply awesome. Where you go is not nearly as important or impactful as what you do once you get there to make it all that it can be. It can be everything you want it to be; it’s up to you to make that happen no matter where you go. 

If you do want to stay engaged with your WL options, first get familiar with the WL data from past years. How many students are offered spots on the WL? How many accept their spot, and more importantly, how many does school X ultimately admit? Some of these numbers are dismal, but it is best to know what you are up against. Look at the Common Data Set first (http://www.commondataset.org/). A few other sites to review:

Once you have accepted a spot on the WL, deposited elsewhere, and familiarized yourself with the waitlist data, consider the strategies below. Not all of them are novel, but without much to lose, why not do all you can so you can look back without any what-ifs?

  • Read the materials they send you when you are waitlisted. Follow ALL waitlist instructions. You might be asked to send updates to a specific WL manager or upload them on your applicant portal. If you previously connected with your rep (you should have at the beginning of the process), reach back out and ask them if they have any advice for you as a waitlisted candidate. Keep this line of communication open; do not send updates every week, but stay in touch to continue to demonstrate interest.
  • If a school is open to it, send a waitlist letter. This letter should contain information updating the school on what you’ve been up to both inside and outside of the classroom since the time you applied—but most importantly—it needs to fill in any GAPS from your original application and highlight a few specific value-adds you will bring to X campus. This is where individualized feedback can be critical.
  • Consider including:
    • Academic Updates. Spend some time talking about coursework and school projects, and make connections to future courses of study. You can even drop in related courses you’d like to take at school X, like those you’d include in a “why school essay,” but only do this if you did not submit an essay of this type when you applied, otherwise you are being redundant, and that is not well-received.
    • Extracurricular Updates. Include these only if significant and can be connected to how you will add value to the school where you are deferred. This includes school and non-school clubs, service commitments, and/or other leadership experiences you can highlight. Like the academic paragraph(s), making connections to similar opportunities you plan to undertake in college can be helpful additions. For example, if you talk about a new project you spearheaded as VP of your school’s Interact Club, you may want to include that you hope to lead a similar project within a specific club or group at school X. Being very specific is important.
    • The additional ways you have connected with and continued to get to know school X since you applied. This could include setting up an informational interview with a local alum, a current student, reaching out to your regional alumni group, or continuing to connect with your regional rep via email. Show school X they have remained on your radar. 
  • Ask your guidance counselor to advocate for you. Ask them to send updated grades/transcripts promptly. Your grades should have remained the same or gotten better, not dipped.
  • Obtain and have an extra letter of recommendation sent, but only if the school welcomes extra LORs.  A teacher, coach, or someone else close to you who can speak to your potential contributions to school X could draft this letter. Some schools explicitly state on their WL docs they do not welcome or want extra LORs; if that is the case, don’t send. *Side note on alumni letters­ and letters from well-known and or famous people. Many students ask if these are helpful to send, and the answer is no. If you think that a big name vouching for you will help, it generally doesn’t as a stand-alone factor, and officers can see through these often brief and less than meaningful notes.
  • Worth saying again: Make sure you follow any directions they provide!

Additional strategies…

  • Check if school X has a local alumni group (Google it) and if so, reach out to them and ask if there is anyone willing to meet with you via Zoom for an informal informational interview. Use this meeting as an opportunity to learn more about the school, as those learnings might be nice to include in a WL update.
  • Use social to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to engage with your WL school on TikTok, Instagram, or other social channels. Don’t forget to open all email correspondence from the school, as schools track opens/clicks as interest.

You don’t need to…

  • Show up on campus or engage in other over-the-top moves that you think will make an impact. They won’t. Please understand that this type of behavior is not appreciated or welcomed.

More questions about the WL? Email us!

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