As a kid, "The Sound of Music" was one of those movies I watched over and over again. There was something about the melodies of Rodgers and Hammerstein that fascinated me, and while my days of watching Julie Andrews as Maria are over, some of those lessons are still relevant today. At the beginning of the movie, Maria—a nun—gets kicked out ...

A High School Senior Shares is experiences preparing for college. Different Year, Same Old Blog Jan. 11, 2006 Ahoy, my friends! Happy belated new year to you all! It's 2006 and you know what that means….absolutely nothing! That's right, it's a different year but it's still the same old song and dance here on my quaint little blog. Now that it's ...

Personally, I think it is reasonable to assume that most Americans can shamefully (or proudly, in some cases) admit that they have watched a teen flick. Whether the movie is Clueless, High School Musical, Mean Girls or Napoleon Dynamite, they all have that same cafeteria scene. The stock characters isolate themselves in their cliques at the lunch tables while appeasing their ...

Is Virginia really for lovers? Yes, if they are lovers of knowledge. Teeming with campus folklore, arresting landscape and warm hospitality, Virginia has left its mark on higher education in the United States. A place of passionate tradition and enormous history, Virginia is perfect for the intellectually and socially attentive. The commonwealth is designed for students, so long as they are ...

One of the best resources for students thinking about college is the college website (or portal). Here you’ll find the most distinctive and best features of each college – or at least what the college would like you to think are its best features. But no matter. With some skillful surfing, you’ll be able to examine the underbelly of that ...

In a move to court foreign students, US News and World Report has just released its first-ever issue of the World’s Best Colleges and Universities. These new rankings, released November 20th and based on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, are a befuddling play off of their annual America’s Best Colleges rankings, a 25-year-old who’s-who of the country’s top colleges. ...

On July 31, the Common Application became available to students all over the country applying to college for the 2013 – 2014 school year. According to the Common Application website, the application was launched four hours ahead of schedule, and within 30 minutes, approximately 300 individuals had set up an account. The Common Application enables prospective students to fill out one ...

Chess has always impressed me as a game that challenges two players to use all of their cognitive capabilities to outwit, outsmart, and outstrategize their opponent. Chess is a thinking person’s game where skill, planning, strategy, and some degree of gamesmanship are paramount. When I advise student-athletes and their parents, I remind them regularly how their preparedness must be strong and their ...

As a college-bound student, I will admit that preparing for the college process takes more than good grades and activities. While students strive to find a place in the realm of academia, I believe that scholarships are a crucial element. Universally, most people concur that a decent education doesn’t come cheaply. Indeed, knowledge is power, but obtaining that power costs a ...

Clinging to the narrow railing, I eagerly waited for my turn to mount the remaining steps of the dilapidated book mobile. My seven-year-old eyes scanned the narrow shelves lining the trailer looking for the perfect book to borrow. As I glanced around, my eye was drawn to one particular book. Propped up in the back window and illuminated by a single ...

Going into your senior year can be stressful, but it becomes a whole lot easier if you’re prepared for the road ahead. Preparing will make your senior year much more enjoyable and decrease the work you’ll need to do in addition to your schoolwork, stopping you from getting overwhelmed. Utilize the summer between your junior and senior year in high school ...

Each year, students obtain interesting, substantive and career-related internships. The keys to their success: preparation and an early start in the internship search process. Your search for an internship or summer job should be conducted in the same manner. 1. Determine Your Priorities. Do you want career-related experience? The opportunity to travel? Funds to support tuition fees? 2. Identify Prospective Employers. ...

On one not-so-different Friday evening, I glared at the computer with my eyes wide open. Exhausted from a strenuous week, I sat with a deep exasperation and wondered why my computer must warm up so slowly. On that Friday, I would learn whether the University of Florida accepted me. Recently, the competition has skyrocketed for that college, and many students from my ...

"Where are you applying?" This is a question I have to answer multiple times a week. Both of my parents ask once a week or so, and usually some friend's parent asks me at some point in the week. And of course I'm asking myself the same question numerous times a day at this point. I get so frustrated when people ...

Not all people have a smooth experience in high school. It takes some people longer to adjust, and others make choices that could have been better. And some students have to deal with serious life issues while in school: death, divorce, athletic injuries, or an end of a serious relationship. Whatever the situation, it might have meant a bumpier road rather ...

The process of finding the right college can be as exhilarating as it is exhausting, just as any high school competition can be. Find the right fit academically, athletically, socially, and financially. It may sound simple, but I assure you it is not. I recommend that my clients look at the entire process as though it were a 4-quarter game—9th and ...

Close your eyes. Picture yourself four years from now, standing in front of friends and family on your graduation day, waiting in line to receive your diploma. As you wait for the line to move forward, you begin to think about the four years you've spent at college, how much you've experienced, and you say to yourself, "My college experience ...

The ACT does more than just provide students with a standardized test score to use in the admissions process. Each year, it’s looking for key indications of college readiness on the whole. Last week, the ACT unveiled the results from last year’s testing. Once again, the results showed that only one in four students are meeting all college readiness benchmarks in ...

Life can give you moments of various emotions. Personally, I tend to cherish my moments of happiness, inspiration and laughter. These emotions came to me when I first made a soufflé rise, single-handedly mastered a tough calculus problem, or laughed at a horrible movie with my friends. However, I often wince or laugh at my less-flattering moments when I felt sad, ...

While many students believe there’s a college out there that is absolutely perfectly suited to their needs, the truth is, that’s unlikely. Although it's true that some colleges may be better suited than others, you will likely be happy at several different colleges. As long as you get a wonderful education in the meantime, you likely won’t have many complaints about ...