General Education Advice

Talking to kids about college is almost as fun as talking about going to the dentist. For that reason,  I better understand why so many parents avoid the conversation.  Choosing battles is a natural tendency. But such conversations are a must. Going to college is the most common child to adult transition for suburban America. […]

Overcoming legitimate structural hardship  – as in poverty, parental drug use, and growing up amidst violent crime – make for eye catching stories. Overcoming a lacrosse injury, getting cut from the school play, and dealing with an ADD diagnosis – standard Connecticut high school resilience stories – while unquestionably challenging to the students involved  -are […]

We (parents) were conditioned during a different economy.  Even parents in a highly educated state like Connecticut cannot easily overcome their past programming and, thus, start the career conversation far later than they should. Through Career Counseling Connecticut. we work with college students who transfer because their college of choice does not have their major, […]

“The Learning Consultants has become a public health service for Connecticut students and their parents,” so said a well known public health doctor from Yale as she extolled our college counseling, tutoring, and test prep services in an e-mail to her friends. I really loved reading the line about public health.  It made me laugh […]

“One of my friends told me…” Much like investment advice from random people makes no sense to follow without due diligence, advice from Connecticut parent circles should follow the same guidelines. Parents dealing with their first child’s experience navigating the high school to college transition often defer to parents who have done so previously. In […]

People motivate other people.  We have an online SAT class that is right for some of our students, but there is no doubt that our in-person class is superior to anything online.  Our children are already too engaged in screens.  With something as important as SAT-college admissions, I urge you to take the class I […]

I started teaching college courses online in 2001.  I also consulted to online learning companies during that time period.  So somewhere in obscure magazines related to technology, I was frequently quoted as an expert in what was then a cutting edge area for both technology and education.  One of my quotes was the most frequently […]

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Theresa Anzaldua.  She is a journalist for Seasons magazine and a writer of the highly praised book We Had A Job To Do, a book about World War II veterans. I mentioned that one of my mini-lectures that I give to students in our Old Saybrook […]

“Grade inflation is now so out of control that we are forced to rely on standardized tests to make admissions decisions.”  Direct off the record quote from a college admissions official friend. Perhaps it was an overstatement.  Grades still matter a lot. But his point is one that I noticed a few years ago.  In […]

We live in a wonderful summer community.  I did not grow up on the Connecticut shoreline but I’m glad my kids have. As I wind up my meetings with tired teens and parents ending the school year throughout the Connecticut shoreline, I remind parents to plan the summer. Some part of the summer should be for […]