Cristina Bain

14/09/2026

how crap would it be to apply in Jan and only THEN realize you missed the boat on scholarships and best chances for admissions 😬🙄🫠🤷‍♀️

09/09/2026

All my seniors NEED to remember this. Get words on paper. They’re almost always crap the first time but they’re THERE. 💻 🖊 📝 ⌨️

Share with your friend/teen who’s struggling with app writing ❤️

01/09/2026

If you’re applying to US universities this autumn, please don’t ignore demonstrated interest.

Some colleges genuinely don’t care whether you’ve attended an information session, opened their emails, visited campus, joined a virtual event, or otherwise interacted with them before you apply.

Others do.

And at schools that track demonstrated interest, it can become one more piece of the admissions decision.
This is especially worth thinking about NOW, as we head into September and US application season gets properly busy. Go through your college list and find out which universities consider demonstrated interest. Then make a plan for those schools.

You do not need to spend the next two months frantically clicking every email they send you. 😂 The goal is genuine engagement: learn about the university, attend things that are useful to you, ask good questions when you have them, and show that this is a school you’ve seriously considered.

But first: know which schools on your list are paying attention.

28/08/2026

Blue skies in Dorset!!!! 😍

Ok ok sorry - back to the programming.

Yes your job this semester is to get acclimated, and to make friends. But this is also the time for you to start making connections with faculty, and to get yourself set up for four years of success. I promise it FLIES by...so don’t push things off until later!

1. physical planner or Google Calendar - you NEED to be organized
2. at minimum, get a folder for each class. don’t be that guy with a backpack full of loose paper
3. you are very likely to skip 8am classes. choose later sections.
4. go. to. office. hours.
5. take your time, soak it all in. don’t rush through this amazing experience
6. set realistic goals (daily, weekly, whatever!)

21/08/2026

i think writing about AI might be shouting into the void a bit…but here we are 🤷‍♀️🫣

AI, authorship, and the problem with judging our own use

14/08/2026

This week I'm focusing specifically on students in the GCSE → A level pipeline, and the impact of those choices on USA admissions

What parents should understand about academic rigor before those choices are made

07/08/2026

One of the things that has genuinely surprised me since moving to the UK is how uncommon long-term, comprehensive university advising is here.

In Hanoi, this was the model I knew best: students often started planning for US applications in year 10 or 11 (sometimes 9!), with time for testing, extracurricular exploration, reflective writing, summer planning, and all the other pieces that eventually shape an application.

The UK system is simply different, and for most domestic applicants, that makes complete sense. But for students considering the US, the contrast is worth understanding — especially because they may be applying alongside international students who have been preparing on a very different timeline.

This week’s Friday Insights looks at what “comprehensive” advising actually means, what that extra time is used for, and who may or may not benefit from it.

Why US admissions support can and [sometimes] should begin in Year 11 or Year 12

05/08/2026

American admissions interviews can feel unpredictable. They’re focused more on getting to know you and assessing your fit for the community than testing your intellectual preparation, which means they’re often less structured and more personal. Your interviewer could be a current student, an alum, or even the primary reader of your application—and you might not know which until you sign up.
Doing well isn’t just about having good answers ready. You also need to know which parts of your story matter most, and how to help lead the conversation towards them. The worst feeling is finishing an interview and thinking, “Crap, I didn’t get to talk about the thing I most wanted them to know.”
Some students are managing their applications independently but feel less confident about the interview. Others are working with a school, counsellor, or company that supports the written application but doesn’t offer interview preparation. You might not need help with the whole process. You might just need focused support with this one part.
In interview prep sessions, we work on likely questions, stronger examples, answers that sound natural rather than rehearsed, and ways to steer the conversation towards the experiences and qualities that represent you best. We also practise what to do when the interviewer asks something unexpected or the conversation goes off-script.
A strong interview isn’t about memorising perfect answers or pretending not to be nervous. It’s about being prepared enough to speak clearly, confidently, and like yourself. If you have a U.S. university interview coming up and want focused support, message me and I’ll explain how the sessions work.

hocbongmy

04/08/2026

☝️ ignoring a big project or task is not going to make it go away, it’s just gonna make the stress worse. And give you less time.

✌️ if you break it up into small pieces, and reward yourself for each mini task achieved… you get more ‘lil treats, however you define those 😘

02/08/2026

Writing your personal essay for US universities can feel daunting. Unlike a UCAS personal statement, the Common App essay gives you an enormous amount of freedom…and sometimes, that freedom makes choosing a topic even harder.

But your essay does not need the cleverest metaphor or a perfectly tied-up ending. It needs to tell a story that matters to you and reveals something meaningful about who you are.

You might write about growing up with traditional family expectations. You might explore how moving countries changed your relationship with your culture, or what happened when you finally achieved something you wanted and realised it was not right for you after all.

There is no single “best” college essay topic. But a strong US college application essay should do four things:

💛 Be honest and vulnerable - Let the admissions reader feel that they have been given a genuine glimpse into your mind, heart, or experience.

💛 Reveal your values. Your story should help the reader understand what matters to you… not because you announce it, but because they can see it through your choices and reflections.

💛 Have a purpose. The reader may have lived a completely different life from yours, but they should still come away understanding something about you.

💛 Show expressive writing skills. US college essays are personal and creative writing pieces. Strong ideas matter, but so does the time and effort required to shape those ideas into an engaging story.

Your goal is not to sound like the kind of student you imagine a university wants. It is to help the reader meet the thoughtful, complicated, still-growing person behind the grades and activities.

Send it to someone staring at a blank document right now 😉

UniversityApplications CommonApp