Summer Shouldn’t Become Another Performance Season
As summer approaches, it can be tempting to think of these months as something to optimize. Take the class. Find the internship. Add the activity. Build the résumé. But that is not how I hope students think about summer. Summer matters, yes — but not because it needs to be jam-packed with meaningful activities. It…
Read MoreA different way to think about high school
In middle school, close involvement is usually exactly what is needed. Parents are still managing a lot behind the scenes—keeping track of assignments, monitoring organization, helping interpret social dynamics, stepping in quickly, and providing a fairly active scaffolding for daily life. That’s not overparenting. For many kids, it’s simply appropriate parenting for the stage. But…
Read MoreThree College Application Mistakes Students Make and How Parents Can Avoid Making Them Worse
Is your student with ADHD or executive function challenges getting overwhelmed by the college application process and pushing you into “take over” mode? In this post, college counselor and licensed clinical psychotherapist, Dot Kowal, shares the three common application mistakes students make and four practical ways to support your teen without becoming the default editor.…
Read MoreThe College Process Is the Mirror We Didn’t Know We Signed Up For
It happens slowly: one day you’re tying their shoes, the next you’re refreshing the Common App at midnight. This piece explores how the college process becomes a mirror—revealing our fear, control, and love—and invites us into a steadier kind of support rooted in mindfulness, trust, and letting go.
Read MoreBeyond the Score: What the Data — and Experts — Reveal About Supporting Teens in College Admissions
The latest NACAC findings and leading voices like Jennifer Wallace and Lisa Damour show why rethinking achievement pressure helps teens thrive. Parenting a teenager applying to college in a high-achievement culture can feel like walking a tightrope. You want to nurture their ambitions, but you worry about fueling burnout or crowding out their own voice.…
Read MoreWhy I Never Write Essays for Students — But How I Ensure Their Authentic Voice Shines
Because what matters most isn’t polish — it’s authenticity, honesty, and voice. Every year, as college application season ramps up, I hear a version of the same request: “Can you just tell my student what to write about?” or “Can you really tighten up their draft for them?” It’s an understandable instinct. The stakes feel impossibly high, the…
Read More13 Years in College Counseling: What I’ve Learned About Families and Anxiety
After a nearly a decade and a half in elite schools, here’s what I’ve learned about families, pressure, and possibility. What if anxiety isn’t just an inner knot we carry, but a current running through classrooms, workplaces, and the expectations surrounding young people? It shows up in GPAs and college lists, in résumé lines and…
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