Mercer Educational Consulting

My latest blog post. If you have questions about college admission test strategy for a 10th-grade student you know, please reach out. The 10th Grade Standardized Testing Dilemma https://www.mercered.com/the-10th-grade-standardized-testi/

If you have been thinking about homeschooling and how this impacts admission to college then you are not going to want to miss my latest episode on the Education Channel on University of California Television I was honored to be joined by Rebecca Stuart -Orlowski who, after two decades helping homeschool families apply to college, is my "secret weapon" for all questions related to homeschooling and college admission.

This opinion piece has excellent and level-headed insights about this year's admission cycle. The author asks a great question that also recently came up during discussions in the courses I teach for the UCSD College Counseling Certificate Program. The question (which is asked but not fully answered in the LA Times piece) is, "why do elite colleges keep ratcheting down their admit rates?" Indeed, what do the most selective colleges, that are already so selective that it's ha...rd to get your head around, get out of being even more selective? If the op-ed author who is a former university president does not know why this is happening, then who does? https://www.latimes.com//college-admissions-ivy-league-kar

Have to admit, I'm a bit perplexed by this one. Of course, I'm biased because I make my living by assisting students and families applying to college and university. Since reading this article, I just can't stop scratching my head. There are overwhelming data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and study after study that demonstrates a college education is a good return on investment. College graduates earn more money than those that don't graduate college. So, if a famil...y asks the question, "will my student make enough money to justify the investment and to live a happy and healthy life?" Then it seems like it's a pretty straightforward answer to why going to college is valuable. Does everyone need to go to college? Of course not. There are many paths to an impactful and whole adult life. But when I hear families or students say they believe they can get all the things they want without the burden, cost, and stress of completing a college degree, it makes me think that they are missing an important idea. While this may sound elitist, from this poll, it is clear that college's "real" value is something more people haven't yet put their finger on. In my opinion, getting a college degree is valuable because it is hard. Earning a college degree is a rite of passage like no other. If college is so valuable, then it must be worth attending at any cost. Well, I disagree with this way of thinking. Making smart, prudent decisions about where students apply, where they enroll, and taking advantage of all the available opportunities to grow into an adult who impacts the world is the key to an invaluable college education. If you think your family or high student could benefit from guidance through the many important decisions to be made when considering a college education, please reach out. https://www.the74million.org/poll-nearly-half-of-parents-r/