Thanksgiving is on November 26 this year, and in kitchens from Old Lyme to Darien, parents are about to see their first-year students for the first time in weeks. Many of those students are not quite who parents expected to see. Some are exhausted. Some are quiet. Some are saying, “I hate it there.” After […]
Read More“He Was Fine in September” A mother from Old Lyme called us in the first week of November with a sentence we hear every year around this time. “He was fine in September,” she said. Her son, whom we’ll call Lucas, was a junior who had started the school year with a freshly organized binder, […]
Read More“I Didn’t Want Her to Think We Couldn’t Afford Her Dreams” A father from Madison reached out to us this fall with an unusual opening line. “My daughter doesn’t know I’ve been up until two in the morning with a spreadsheet,” he said. His daughter, whom we’ll call Claire, was a junior who had just […]
Read More“We Missed the November Deadline. Is It Over?” On a gray Monday in late October, a mother from Waterford called our office. Her son, whom we’ll call Noah, was a senior with a strong transcript, a part-time job at a shoreline marina, and one nagging loose end: he had never taken the SAT. He had […]
Read More“Nothing I Learned About College Applies Anymore” A mother from Essex came to us last fall, and she began our first meeting with an apology. “I know this sounds silly,” she said, “but I feel like I’m failing my son, and I can’t even say why.” Her son, whom we’ll call Jonah, was a sophomore. […]
Read More“Do We Even Need This Test?” A Madison Family’s Question In September, a father from Madison sat in our office with his son, whom we’ll call Ethan. Ethan was a thoughtful, hardworking junior with a B+ average and a talent for robotics. His dad opened with a question we hear often: “His older cousin got […]
Read MoreThe Night a Junior from Guilford Realized She Had No Plan Last spring, a mother from Guilford called us on a Sunday evening. Her daughter, whom we’ll call Maya, was finishing junior year with strong grades, a spot in the school orchestra, and a long list of “maybes” about college. “She has a spreadsheet with […]
Read More“I want to write an essay about the college application process.” So said a generally thoughtful senior from Guilford High School. “I’m going to write about how stressful the process is…” I politely let her finish and then, as tactfully as possible, let her know that such a topic is both unoriginal (every year, there […]
Read MoreWhen I first started running SAT prep classes on the Connecticut shoreline over twenty years ago, walking into a classroom was an energetic, noisy affair. Ten to twenty high school juniors would be bantering, laughing, and arguing across rows of desks. I never minded having to quiet them down to start the lesson. I took […]
Read More“I Don’t Know What to Tell Her Anymore” Lisa, a mother in Old Saybrook, called us in the fall of her daughter’s senior year. Her daughter, Hannah, was a thoughtful, creative student who wanted to study design and communications. Lisa was worried, and she was honest about why. “Everything I read says artificial intelligence is […]
Read More
Central Office:
121 Main Street, Office 3A Old Saybrook, CT 06475
Branch Office:
71 Bradley Street, Madison, CT
Fairfield Office:
10 Sasco Hill Road, Fairfield, CT