Confluence College Admissions Consulting

A common question my clients and my families ask me about the summer is this: "When it comes to college admissions, would it be better for me to look for an internship, find a job, or work at a summer camp?"

My answer is yes. Yes to any and all of the above. These are all excellent opportunities for young people. If you are a high school student interested in pursuing a degree in nursing, for example, it might make sense to look for volunteering or interning opportunities at a local hospital or nursing home. This would have the benefit of helping you decide whether or not you might actually enjoy nursing as a career, and it would signal to colleges that you are sincere and committed to pursing this area of interest.

But maybe you and your family need for you to bring in some income. In this scenario, it might make more sense for you to look for paid work. You could pursue something that aligns with your intended field of study in college, but this isn't completely necessary. It's also perfectly fine to work as a barista at a coffee shop with some of your friends, or sell popcorn at your local movie theater so you can sneak into last-night screenings after your shift. Colleges will look upon your paid work favorably, as it shows initiative and a sense of responsibility that will help you succeed in college.

Working as a camp counselor, guide, or trip leader can also be great. These are usually opportunities to get outside during the summer, work with other people your age, and engage in a lot of physical activity. Some of my own favorite summer experiences involve guiding multi-week canoeing and backpacking trips. The pay might be middling, but you generally have your meals and lodging paid for.

Contrary to some conventional wisdom indicating otherwise, most colleges do not value one type of summer experience over another, and they won't penalize you if your city or region lacks certain kinds of opportunities that exist elsewhere. Take advantage of what's out there, and do your best at it!

If you'd like to learn more about summer opportunities, internships, college applications, paying for college, and more, use the contact form on my website to reach out!

Confluence College Admissions Consulting is accepting new clients for 2025-26 senior packages, including our Essays and Applications package. Now that the 2024-25 admissions cycle is drawing to a close, I’m now scheduling new clients to start work on their personal statements and supplemental essays. In my observation, summer is an ideal time for students to work on their essays because they have more brain space and more time in their schedules to think deeply about their writing.

Rather than asking my clients to brag about their accomplishments—something they will do anyway on their Common App—I teach them how to reveal something important about themselves through the subtle art of vivid, perceptive storytelling. The result of this spacious process is a personal statement that brings each student’s unique experiences alive for the reader in the student’s own authentic voice. Whereas some of their peers will undoubtedly resort to AI or their parents to write their college essays for them, my clients will have a leg up on college admissions because their essays will be written in a way that only they can write. They’ll also have the pride and satisfaction in knowing that their work is theirs alone.

I help my clients build powerful, emotionally resonant essays through simple sentence-level prompts, followed by conversation, questioning, and reflection over multiple drafts. Nearly all of my feedback for my clients comes in the form of questions. Some writing coaches treat this process as a kind of “boot camp” (some use that phrase!), whereas I prefer to think of it as storycraft and discovery.

The essays my students write are not conventional five-paragraph essays that many students learn to write in middle school and high school. The Common App personal statement is brief—650 words maximum—so students must learn to pack a lot of meaning into a concise story. Students who invest their time and energy in the process I teach them nearly always come away feeling proud of what they accomplished. Admission to a great college is only one aspect of this valuable learning exercise.

Want to learn more about my approach to writing college essays? Sign up today!

Every year around this time, I hear from a few families of high school seniors who are getting started only now on their college application process. The stories of these students vary widely. Some thought initially that they didn’t want to go to college right away, or that they wanted to take a gap year. Others have had some major disruption to their lives and education, and weren’t able to prioritize college applications.

The first question these students have is this: “Is it too late for me to apply to college and start in the fall?”

The answer could be yes or no, depending on their expectations.

If they’re expecting to apply to a highly selective college, or if they want to optimize their chances for receiving scholarships and grants, that ship has sailed. Most highly selective colleges have application deadlines in January or earlier, and colleges tend to award more financial aid to the early birds.

All that said, it’s not too late to apply, and be accepted, to a great college or university that is a perfect fit for you. Many schools have rolling admissions, meaning you can apply well into the summer and still enroll in the fall. I don’t necessarily recommend doing this, but it’s possible. My current late clients are looking at great schools such as Prescott College, Montana State University, University of Montana, and University of Hawaii, as well as universities in Italy and the Netherlands. Reach out now via my website if you’d like help!

I’ve had a few questions from clients recently about the Trump administration’s plans to make college scholarships taxable income. Here’s what I know at this time.

Republicans in Washington, D.C., are planning to extend tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. To pay for these tax cuts and new spending, lawmakers are considering slashing dozens of federal programs and benefits. One proposal Republicans are considering is making all college scholarships and fellowships taxable income. This change would immediately make college more expensive for millions of students who receive grants and scholarships to help pay their tuition and fees. It is not clear at this stage whether the plan would include athletic and academic scholarships, merit-based scholarships, need-based financial aid, or all of the above.

As it currently stands, if a student receives grants and scholarships that are used to pay tuition and fees, as well as books and supplies, they are not considered taxable income. Scholarships that cover expenses not directly related to educational activities—housing, food, and transportation principally—are considered taxable income.

Because of the uncertain future for higher education in the United States, some clients and their families are inquiring about post-secondary opportunities outside the United States. I am becoming more familiar with these options, and I will have a blog post coming soon with more information on that subject. Stay tuned!

Just in the last week, I have had two people here in the Gallatin Valley inquire about help for high school students who are currently homeschooling. It’s too early to say whether this is pure coincidence, or the start of a trend.

Without getting into specifics of these students and their families, I often work with students and families who have undergone at least some homeschooling. I have had a lot of success working with these students, first as a teacher, then as a school administrator, and now as a college counselor and educational consultant. I can envision helping families by meeting with them, understanding their situation, gaining a sense of the student’s interests and strengths, designing a personalized curriculum, helping to plan experiential field trips and family travel, managing colleges visits and applications, and supporting their progress toward their educational and career goals.

I’m not making any changes at this time to the packages I’m offering on my website, but if you or someone you know is looking for support with tutoring, homeschooling, curriculum design, family travel planning, and college and career counseling, I am intrigued by the possibility of expanding and deepening my practice to include this kind of all-inclusive work. If you’d like to discuss details, don’t hesitate to reach out!

The number one question I’m hearing from clients and their parents in recent weeks is how they should prepare for the changes coming with the new federal administration. To me, the biggest proposed policy change affecting future college students is President Trump’s pledge to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

The Education Department spends most of its budget on education and training for college students, students enrolled in career and technical programs, and people with disabilities who need help finding jobs. In fiscal year 2024, the Education Department spent about $161 billion of its $268 billion budget to fund its office of Federal Student Aid, the country’s largest provider of student financial aid.

Here’s what I recommend:

Limit your reliance on federal grants and student loans to pay for college. Do not assume there will be income-based repayment plans. These could be significantly reduced or go away altogether.

Consider private colleges that are generous with merit-based aid. They have more academic freedom than public universities, and their merit-based aid isn’t subject to federal oversight.

Avoid public universities in states that do not have strong state-level support for higher education.

Follow me and stay in touch! I will monitor the situation closely and keep you apprised of changes.

I don’t know what will happen in the future and what changes will be blocked or held up in court, so I suggest playing it safe. Reach out if you want help!

This year, all of my senior clients decided to apply early (by early decision, early action, or just submitting a regular decision well ahead of the deadline) to their top-choice colleges. I am proud to report that 100% of my clients this year were accepted to their first-choice colleges. Congratulations to all!

I am pleased that my clients have been accepted to a range of different kinds of schools. This year’s list is the most eclectic I’ve had: Brown University, Colorado College, Maine Maritime Academy, Montana State University, Saint Michael’s College, and University of Washington. I think this list represents the range of students I work with, as well as the individual journeys they embark upon to find the post-graduation opportunities that best align with their academic interests, social styles, long-term goals, and financial circumstances.

Now that all my clients know where they’ll be attending college next year, our work together moves into a new phase. First, I’m helping families get the best possible financial package from the colleges. Once that’s done, students will begin planning for their transitions from high school to college, which includes at least five aspects: academic, social, physical, financial, and emotional. Together we’ll map out a plan for each of these.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with some incredible young people, and I am proud that each of them has been thoughtful and thorough, put their best foot forward on their applications, and made sure that their college process places them in a position to be successful, now and into the future. I can’t wait to see where their paths lead them!

Many colleges and universities have Early Decision and Early Action deadlines coming up, some as soon as October 15. One of the strategic decisions I often help students with is deciding whether or not to apply early. Here are a few general thoughts I share with my clients on the different options:

Early Decision: This is a binding agreement with the college where you agree to attend that school if you are accepted during the Early Decision process. You may only apply Early Decision to one college or university at a time. Applying Early Decision can increase your odds of being accepted at that school, so it can be a great option for students who have a clear first choice. The downside is that you probably won’t be offered any merit-based scholarships via this route.

Early Action: Early Action is a non-binding way to get an admissions decision back from schools long before the regular admission pool. This may help you to eliminate schools from your college list, and it can also provide peace of mind knowing you have been accepted to one or more schools that you like.

Regular admission: This is a good option for students who want to weigh acceptance offers from multiple schools before deciding which school they want to attend. If you want to wait and see what your financial aid offers are, and if you want to know whether or not you’re eligible for merit-based grants, it can be best to enter the regular admission pools at multiple colleges.

Rolling admission: Some schools do not have a specific deadline for admission. It can be nice to have a rolling admission school or two as backup options in case you are not granted admission to one of your top schools.

Above all else, recognize that your situation is unique! You don’t have to apply Early Decision just because your friends are all doing it. Conversely, it can be kind of nice to have your college decisions for next year made before the winter holiday break—if that’s the right choice for you. This is a great discussion to have with your college admissions counselor. At Confluence College Admissions Consulting, we can help you think these decisions through with your unique situation in mind.

The junior year of high school is the time I recommend for most students to begin their college search process in earnest. Here are Jim’s top 5 tips for high school juniors wanting to get ready for college:

1. Do well in school. If you’re applying to selective colleges, doing well academically is always important. But it’s especially important to rise to the challenge during your junior year. Eleventh grade is the year colleges examine most closely when they look at your application. Be sure to shore up your study habits, take care of your health, and ask your teachers for extra help when you need it.

2. Begin drafting a college list. This can begin with thinking about your high school. What do you like and dislike about your high school’s community? Do you like a small school or a large school? Do you want the option of taking honors classes? Do you like sports teams and a strong sense of school spirit? Do you prefer urban or rural? Then make plans to visit schools, either as part of family travel or as a college-specific trip.

3. Study for, and take, the SAT and/or ACT. Many colleges and universities are now test optional, but some still require standardized testing. Once you get your results back, then you can decide whether to take the test again, send your results to colleges, or omit sending scores.

4. Practice kind, respectful self talk. You may experience pressure from parents, teachers, coaches, and peers to get good grades and also perform well in sports and other extracurricular activities. This can be stressful. Remind yourself that you are doing your best, be proud of your achievements, and offer yourself words of affirmation and positivity. You deserve it.

5. Make use of your college counselor. Whether this person is an employee of your high school or an independent college admissions consultant, this person knows the process inside and out and is there to support you.

If you’d like to learn more about any aspect of the college admissions process, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free one-hour consultation.

Sophomore year of high school is often regarded as a kind of “middle child” year. Some students experience existential ennui and a resulting loss of purpose. But it doesn't have to be that way! Here are my top 5 tips for making tenth grade a meaningful year in the college preparation process:

1. Read, read, read. If there’s one thing you can do to improve your academic performance across all classes, it’s developing your reading skills. The great news here is that it mostly doesn’t matter what you read; to derive the intellectual benefits of reading, it only matters that you read.

2. Continue to grow as a learner. How did freshman year go? What do you want to build on, or improve on? I recommend setting goals that are less about results (“I will get an A in Spanish”) and more about habits. “I will show my English teacher a draft of all my papers before handing them in” is a worthwhile goal, as is “I will read one book for pleasure over winter break.”

3. Deepen your involvement. Maybe last year you joined your high school’s badminton team. Consider committing to a regular practice and training schedule to help you improve as a player and team leader.

4. Keep a journal. Write in it at least four days a week for 30 minutes. No need to show it to anyone else—this journal is for your personal use only. It’s a great way to collect thoughts, process your experiences, vent your frustrations, and celebrate your successes. Research shows that keeping a journal is good for your emotional health. This is especially important during the inevitable turbulent times that will come.

5. Prepare for, and take, the PSAT. Taking the PSAT in the spring of sophomore year sets you up to take the SAT in your junior year. That way you can re-take the SAT if you wish to improve your score. Before you take the PSAT, I strongly recommend preparing for it so that you’ll be familiar with the test format. Khan Academy has a free online course designed for PSAT prep.

If you'd like to learn more about the college preparation process, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free consultation.

High schools in the Bozeman area began the fall semester this past week. If you are a ninth-grade student or parent of one, here are some thoughts about what you can do now to get yourself set up well for life during and after high school:

1. Prioritize healthy routines. Establish a consistent bedtime and stick to it. Aim for at least eight hours of sleep every night. Put your phone away an hour before bed. Eat nutrient-rich food, mostly vegetables. Start with a protein-packed breakfast. Get regular exercise: at least 20 minutes a day, five days a week.

2. Get involved. Pick two activities to participate in. They could be activities you’ve done for years, or you may choose to do something entirely new. Ninth grade is an ideal time to explore. If you feel like joining the wrestling team, do it. If you want to try out the forensics club because you’re a true crime aficionado, give it a whirl. You’ll create new friendships, and you’ll learn new things. Make your selections based on what sounds good to you. Don’t try to guess at what colleges want.

3. Focus on developing good study habits. Rather than setting goals centering on grades (“I will get an A in math”), set goals focusing instead on your own habits of mind (“I will study math 30 minutes every school night,” “I will meet with my math teacher after school one week before every exam”).

4. Plan intentional family time. Sit down for a home-cooked meal with your family at least once a week. Everyone should put their phones and digital devices away. If your parents are too busy to cook, consider volunteering. It might sound hokey, but consider planning an interesting conversation topic for your time together. Make your family memories something you’ll look back on fondly.

Consider signing up for my ninth-grade package to help with all this! And note that I've said basically nothing about college. That's intentional. We'll have plenty of time later to get you set up for success in college. Let's focus now on getting you situated in high school. If you're ready to take a deeper dive into getting ready for college, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free one-hour consultation!