25/02/2026
Financial aid - what is demonstrated need and what does it mean to “meet” it?
24/02/2026
The purpose of essays for U.S. colleges is different.
They’re not academic.
They’re not formal.
They’re not “prove you can write like a literature student.”
They are creative. Reflective. Personal.
They’re about who you are — not what you want to study.
Your job is to communicate something essential about yourself.
You know what will NOT get you there?
Writing like you’re in:
– high school literature class
– IELTS prep
– history class
– the dreaded 5-paragraph essay structure
If you sit down thinking:
“What’s a strong opening sentence?”
“Now I need evidence.”
“Now I need analysis.”
Congratulations. You’ve just written a history essay.
And admissions officers? They do not need another history essay.
Instead — and yes, this is uncomfortable — just write.
Pick the memory.
Pick the moment.
Pick the idea that won’t leave you alone.
And write like you’re talking to a friend who actually cares.
Write like you’re journaling. Write fast. Write messy.
Let it be stream-of-consciousness. Crafting comes later. Editing comes later. Structure comes later.
Drama, trimming, cutting your 200-word tangent about A-Levels? That comes later.
But first?
You have to get something real on the page. The structure of a strong personal statement isn’t five paragraphs. It’s however many paragraphs your story needs.
Write first.
16/01/2026
My LinkedIn is less parent focused and more "professional network" focused, but it's the space where I write more about the ethos/ideas behind my advising practice. If you're interested 🥰
information asymmetry and decision-making under uncertainty in international college counseling | Cristina Bain
I’ve been thinking a lot about how much university counseling relies on parent trust... and how different that is from parent understanding, especially across cultural and linguistic distance.
16/01/2026