The allure of dusty, old computer monitors was too intriguing to ignore. They looked as if they hadn’t been used in years, and the two boxy contraptions were amusing to me. Overcoming the urge to leave a musty lounge in the Byron Park retirement residence, where I was volunteering to haul away old furniture, I asked an elderly man if anyone ever uses these computers. “No,” he replied, “no one knows how to use them.” I began going back...

The allure of dusty, old computer monitors was too intriguing to ignore. They looked as if they hadn’t been used in years, and the two boxy contraptions were amusing to me. Overcoming the urge to leave a musty lounge in the Byron Park retirement residence, where I was volunteering to haul away old furniture, I asked an elderly man if anyone ever uses these computers. “No,” he replied, “no one knows how to use them.” I began going back...

Of course, how happy you are during your college years should be big factor in choosing a school! Given how many colleges there are, chances are you can find one that will...

Instruction is often overlooked when considering colleges. However, given that one of the primary goals of college is supposedly to learn and given that you are (or certainly should be) spending a plurality of your time in the...

Apply as early as possible. We read applications as soon as they come into our office. But we receive a huge number of applications on the actual deadline day, which can be...

Whether you join the ski team, a sorority or a people-watching club (yes, Campus People Watchers is a real club at the U),...

I'm always hesitant about using the word passion, simply because it comes up so often when talking about college apps. Just the same, having passion for something - excitement, fervor, a fire in the belly,...

A college application is, by its very nature, an invitation for you to highlight your accomplishments without being haughty about them. Admittedly, walking the line between self-confidence and arrogance is hard - my personal opinion is that, on...

Every school has its own culture, and Berkeley is no different. Although you don't have to know the whole history of each school you apply to, I think it helps to at least know a little about the...

Between college applications, classes, extra-curriculars, and everything else, senior year is very stressful. I understand, because I've been there. Ultimately, even though sometimes you may want to tear your hair out over this, that, and the other - I can...

There’s no hard and fast rule about how many colleges you should apply to. I personally applied to 11, and that was too many....

You should start by casting a wide net of possible colleges. One good way to find a good starting list of colleges is to use the College Board’s College Search function. This contains some good methods for choosing colleges, but it does not have anything close to an indicator of quality. To look at...