This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting several colleges and universities in Oregon! It was my first trip to the state and my first trip to see some pretty well-known and popular colleges for students from northern California. I have heard about these schools for years--even had students apply to them!--but I had never seen the campuses with my own eyes.

Summertime-- and I'm supposed to write essays. Wait! That's not how the song goes!! But it is how summer seems to go for the rising high school seniors of today. College applications are looming and getting an early start on the college essay can make the "application season" easier. Where to begin?

It's been a fun week talking and reflecting with the seniors I've worked with over the past year or two. They are older, more mature, reflective and grateful for the journey. Many have said they are surprised how much they actually ENJOYED the application process, in hind sight. It was a time to learn about who they were and who they wanted to become.

Time flies when you're having fun!--or just raising a family. Suddenly you realize it's January, not even early January, but mid-to-late January! Should you panic? When is the right time to start looking for an independent college counselor, and really, do you need one?

There are many STEM programs in wonderful universities and colleges across the nation! Below are the names of some I received from professional educators and colleges, as well as comments. Also a few links for internship or camp-type activities to learn more about the world of STE(A*) M…(A* is for Artistic/Creative Arts students)

For the past week I have been touring 13 colleges, mostly in South Carolina, with 41 other high school and independent college counselors and consultants. As the guests of these great schools, we saw how interesting and unique each one is in its own right.

As your child progresses through high school, particularly now during the second semester of sophomore and junior year, you are probably thinking about whether you need an independent counselor to help with the college search and admission process.

Each year students face each the looming prospect of having to write a personal statement for their college apps. This year, in particular, with the new questions, students and some counselors are truly struggling with how to get the "right" answer.

This is an open letter to my private independent counseling colleagues: I think it is difficult--always--to know how a college is making their decisions. They give us parameters, publish statistics and yet, and yet... deserving kids get in and deserving kids don't. There is no right or wrong. Fair or unfair? Hard to know.