Build Your Study System in the First Two Weeks of the Semester
The students who look calm in November usually set something up quietly in September, during the two weeks when almost nothing was due. Here is the three-part weekly template, why retrieval has to be scheduled rather than improvised, and how to keep the system alive through a week that goes badly.
What No One Tells First-Gen Students About Office Hours
I went to office hours in my first week of college, and then used them badly for years. Here is what they are, who they are for, and five things you can say when you walk in.
College Essay Topics That Actually Work (Yours Doesn't Need to Be Dramatic)
Most students search for impressive college essay topics, which is exactly the wrong search. The topic is rarely the problem, and here is the test that shows you why.
What College Essays Are Really About (And What They're Not)
Every year, students spend enormous energy trying to figure out what colleges want to hear. That is understandable. It is also, in most cases, the wrong question to be asking.
First-Generation College Student: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me
Being the first person in your family to go to college means navigating a system that was not designed with you in mind. Here is some of what I have learned — and what I wish I had known earlier.