Jessie's Blog

Sometimes what you most need to do... is stop

I was reminded recently of how ceremony, ritual, and tradition can be just what we need to take time for reflection, time to feel, time to stop the relentless adherence to the almighty to-do list in our burnout culture. Milestones – great and small and in-between – arguably deserve more of our attention.

Our daughter’s path to attend medical school began years ago; preparing for and applying to med school is akin to an extra year-and-a-half of co…

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Do you ever experience feelings of Back to School churn or am I the only one? (I tell myself I can't be alone on this.)

When July's long summer nights start to shorten and get cooler as we slide into August, the churn gathers energy. Forms, physicals, new notebooks, and whatever is left on the summer bucket list — it all has to go on the calendar now lest I find myself again in a shoe store over Labor Day weekend trying frantically to find a pair of school shoes that even fit my teen. …

Assisting your teen in finding a college that is the right FIT for them is undoubtedly complex, and a major source of stress on parents and student alike because it must take into account dozens of factors that may or may not be readily apparent. Additionally, the foundation for each of those factors can shift at a moment's notice. 

Identifying the Fit is a family affair, and at Elevated Admissions, we break it down by saying that there are three key elephants in this room. The three are Academ…

Recently I had to re-establish a hard boundary with one of my brood. It hasn't been easy or pleasant, nor do I expect it to be moving forward. However, as I have wryly observed before, parenting is not for sissies. I am not going to go into the story here because I am just don't have the bandwidth nor the energy at the moment, and to be uncomfortably transparent, I'm still not sure I'm handling the situation appropriately and I'm still muddling my way through, as so many of us do. 

This latest …

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We field variations on the following questions ALL OF THE TIME: "What's the best way my teen can spend their time over the summer?" and "What activities will help my student boost their application?"

In this short video, I share one of my favorite go-to services offered by Give3600. Teens are paired with a volunteer opportunity that aligns with their interests, whether they have two weeks or ten months. The Give3600 College Application Spotlight package is reasonably priced at ab…

I recently participated in a Clubhouse chat with 125 of my esteemed admissions coaching colleagues across the country. Going full wonk talking about admissions is what we like to do best.

"What the Heck Just Happened?" was the way one of my colleagues so aptly described this past admissions cycle during the open chat. 

Here are the things I heard repeated by multiple consultant and coaches: 

• This year's decisions were the most unpredictable they had ever seen. 
• The number of applications t…

One of the most frequent questions I'm asked by parents and students alike is: "What do you recommend for test prep?" Another repeat question is: "Does 'test optional' really mean 'optional'?" 

The data shows that students who submit test scores earn admission at higher rates than those who don't. Additionally, merit aid at many schools is directly tied to test scores. 

Further, according to NACAC's most recent annual report, of all the factors that admissions officers take into account, GPA i…

Can we just take a hot second and talk about time?  As in, timelines and everything that needs to get done when you have a budding college applicant in the house.

Our third, Aaron, is a high school junior. I  just booked his first official college visit that is not virtual!  I was so excited by this accomplishment that I sent a screenshot of the confirmation to the family group chat. (I usually ONLY send pictures of Aspen, Buxy, and Bella because I'm the crazy dog lady in our tribe.)

You may —…

Hello , 

We've been so busy here readying to launch our new website (woo-hoo!) that I realized that it had been two weeks since we last connected. Today is a quick post about the number one thing to discuss with your teen (regardless of where they are in the process).

There are two lenses through which teens can view admissions.

The first is that an acceptance from FabulousU will:

• validate that I am smart, accomplished, worthy, and this will ensure my highest potential will be reached.
• re…

In the summer of 2005, we were renovating our home. One of the countless decisions that had to be made amidst the chaos of that project was whether or not to add a cable hook up in each of the three children's bedrooms. As a family, we had cable and we were keeping cable, but in my mind, hooking up the kids' rooms was a non-starter: "NO WAY! They'll be hiding in their rooms, by themselves, not learning how to negotiate the remote to decide between The Dukes of Hazard and The Six Million Dollar M…