YCM Journal
Essays, testing, college fit, recommendations, curiosity, campus culture, and the questions families keep revisiting when the process gets noisy.
As some schools attempt to move away from a highly metrics-only evaluation of applicants to a more holistic assessment, students are challenged to provide a clear, concise, and cogent view of their...
Read the latestMeasured advice on testing strategy without panic theater.
EssaysHow students can write with clarity instead of performance.
College ListBuild lists that are strategic, honest, and personal.
RecommendationsPractical guidance for support letters and context.
Latest essays
The pressure is on. The high school classes of 2021 and 2022 will provide invaluable evidence regarding the SAT/ACT and whether these tests actually predict...
Read article
One student wrote, “I couldn’t do anything.” Another student said, “I did this,” and quickly outlined five things they made and did over the...
Read article
Colleges want to know if you are curious. But what are they really looking for, and where can you provide evidence of your curiosity? “I have...
Read article
Who creates a school’s culture? Given that the first tenet of modern psychology is: “Human behavior is consistent and predictable,” school culture has traditionally...
Read article
Congratulations, you have graduated. Your academic achievements are documented and you have attained a level of understanding and mastery that is recognized…by someone. Your...
Read article
As an educational planner I work with teens who are contemplating their next important academic and life step, college. We work diligently—sometimes for years—to...
Read article
“What should I do during vacation… you know, to look good on college applications?” I hear this question often. Students and parents usually want...
Read article
I just returned from the land of over a thousand, small, outstanding, liberal-arts colleges. I believe it is called… Minnesota. Okay, that might be...
Read article
And then dad said,... "$400... for Uber?! Are you kidding me?"* An important and unsettling disconnect—and in some cases, a blatant clash—often exists between...
Read article