03/30/2026
Every year we see students with strong grades, a full activity list, and an essay about perseverance. On paper it looks great, but in an admissions office it disappears.
The problem is the sequence. Most students collect activities first and try to find the story later. By senior year they're reverse-engineering a narrative that doesn't hold together.
I wrote about why this keeps happening and what the fix looks like.
Read the full article:
The Packaging Trap: How to not sound like everyone else Imagine that you’re an admissions officer during peak season. You’re 12 days into the application reading crunch. Clif bar wrappers litter the narrow space on the side of your desk. You haven’t had time to clean your well-used Aeropress, which you’ve been using to brew coffees during your 6-...
01/27/2023
11/27/2019
08/09/2018
08/09/2018
06/10/2018
05/25/2018
05/24/2018
05/23/2018
05/22/2018
05/21/2018