Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 400

How to Prep for the SAT or ACT: What Parents Need to Know

For over twenty years, I’ve been talking to parents, students, school counselors, and admission officers about the college application process. In that time, we’ve seen a ton of changes in the tools students use to apply to colleges and universities and the trends in how those schools attract applicants. Many schools have adopted test-optional admission policies, demonstrating their commitment to holistically reviewing applications.

Yet high school students (smartly!) continue to take the SAT...

How to Talk About Sexual Assault With Your College-Bound Teen

“Safety first,” is the universal parenting motto, but how should parents approach more sensitive topics regarding their college student’s safety, particularly in regards to measures to protect against sexual assault?

Campus sexual assault – which according to the 2015 report by the Association of American Universities still affects nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 16 men – can be a very intimidating topic to talk about with your teenagers. However, it is essential to have this conversation with y...

Mother’s Day Gifts: Here are 14 We Would LOVE to Receive

Shopping for Mother’s Day gifts can be hard. Maybe that is the reason we so often fall back on flowers, cards or chocolates. This year we resolved to do something different. So whether you are looking for your own mom, another mom or friend who you just want to make feel special, or want to drop a few suggestions for your kids, here are 14 ideas we love.

14 Mother’s Day Gifts For Your Mom, Sister, Aunt, or Friend 1. Find an experience to share with Mom.

Buy tickets to a show, a sporting event...

Why Community College is the Right Path for Many

Community College is the right path for many, and there is zero shame in that.

All the four year college and university acceptances letters are currently rolling in. Facebook feeds are full of giddy and proud parents declaring where their kids will be matriculating at for the next four years. It’s the happy culmination of years or study, work, and dedication for both parents and students, and a well deserved accolade. But for many, it’s simply not an option. For a multitude of reasons and fam...

Does Your Teen Want to be a College Athlete? 10 Things to Know Now

If you are sending an athlete to college next year you will need to know more than the basics of freshman life. Being a new college student is a joy and a challenge and being a college athlete comes with more of both. Here is some hard earned wisdom from the parents of varsity and club athletes from all over the country.

10 Tips for Students Interested in Being a College Athlete

Prepare yourself for the fact that your student will be home a lot less than their non-athlete classmates. Fall at...

Job Interview: How to Help Your College Student Prepare

As a college professor, I want nothing more than to see all my students graduate and transition into great jobs. When I’m working with seniors, especially, I love to get them thinking and talking about their future.

A few weeks ago I had my students write down their top three strengths on index cards and turn them into me. The good news: they had all thought about the question already and had answers to write down. The bad news: almost all of them had some version of the same three strengths...

When You Struggle, I’ll Be Along for the Ride

In first grade, I took the public bus to school.

You would have to know what our old neighborhood was like, and how protective and careful my mother was, to fully understand how unbelievable this is, but you will just have to trust me on this. The hometown of my youth, today a tony suburb of Baltimore and D.C., was just a piece of Americana then, a small boating town where everyone knew everyone.

Like most of the moms in the neighborhood in those days, my mom had the car only one day a week,...

College Fit: What it is and Why it is So Important

Over the next month, there will be countless conversations between high school seniors and their parents about which college is the best choice for them. Here is some advice on finding college fit from Dr. Adam Weinberg, President of Denison University and parent of two college-age children. 

Let me start with an observation. The college search process has changed a lot over the last decade, as the general economy has continued to shift. For many families, selecting a college is considered am...

College Night at High School. This is the Last One for Me

Last night was the fifth time I have attended college night at my sons’ high school. My third and youngest son is a high school sophomore and, as I reminded myself many times during the evening, although I have done this before, he has not. It’s his turn and I want to give him my support, encouragement and possibly a bit more than a smidge of enthusiasm. But, as with many of the milestones in his life, it can be challenging to engage the third time around.

The classroom we were in was hotter...

10 Truths of College Admissions for the First Time Parent

April is here and the dust has settled on college admissions decisions. High school seniors across the country have either already enrolled or are making their final choices in a matter of weeks. If you are the parent of one of these students, you are finally exhaling, yet still possibly shaking your head over which schools admitted – or didn’t admit – your child. If you have yet to personally experience this process with your own child, you may have heard a horror story or two about how comp...