Jessie's Blog

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How Drinking with the Buddha Helped Me Survive This Year’s Back-To-School Churn

Image based on Lodro Rinzler's book and designed by Daniel Urban Brown of Lithographs. Image based on Lodro Rinzler's book and designed by Daniel Urban Brown of Lithographs.

“Mom!!” rings from every corner of my small world. The couch, the top of the bunk bud, the bathroom, the kitchen table, and via Facetime and relentless texts.

The 10 year old: “We have two book reports. I thought we only had one book report, and I have only read fiction. I need to read a nonfiction. I like fiction. And my backpack is ripped. I found a new backpack on Amazon; would you look at it now?”

The 12 yea…

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Links Worth Sharing — Lessons From the Olympics for Students Writing the Common App Essay

SOURCE: The Huffington Post SOURCE: The Huffington Post

"I just have to write ONE ESSAY, right?"

This is the question I hear from parents, from students, and just about anyone that hasn't been through the admissions process lately.

"Well, that's not usually the case," is my typical response before I go into the ACTUAL number of essays. This recent Huffington Post Blog by Stacey Brooks highlights lessons that the Olympics can offer to students as they wrestle with just what to write. Brooks takes on each of the prompts and of…

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Modern Epidemic: The Comparison Flu, Is it Mucking With Your Teen?

 

Rushing here and there and clocking in over 5 hours daily of smartphone use. Is yours giving you Comparison Flue? Arstist: Jon Han SOURCE: NY TImes Rushing here and there and clocking in 5+hrs/daily on our smartphones. Have you succumbed to the Comparison Flu? Arstist: Jon Han SOURCE: NY Times

Do you post, like, comment, tweet, retweet, forward, share, reply, reply all, or stream? If so, you may, from time to time, or more than time to time, suffer from a near epidemic in our modern existence: the Comparison Flu.

There may not be a vaccine, but don't worry. There are ways to interact with your beloved social media platforms and build up you…

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News Worth Sharing — A Link for You

This article appeared int the NY Times last month. Are you curious about the advice admissions officers give their own kids? I know I am, and often ask when I meet with admissions officers and IEC colleagues. The article interviews officers from Kenyon College, Penn State University, Vanderbilt University, UCLA, UNC, Chapel Hill, Allegheny College, MIT, GA Tech and University of Richmond. Good Stuff.

Diane Anci and son, Kenyon College. Source: NY Times Diane Anci and son, Kenyon College. Source: NY Times

A Link for You — Advice College Admissions O…

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These Venn Diagrams Compare Colleges, Happy Picking

“How To Choose A College, In 5 Venn Diagrams,” an article published by Huff Post, creatively compared colleges on various attributes. Diagram categories included: Happiest v. Most Religious, Best Dorms v. Best Food, and Reefer Madness v. Least Religious. Choosing a college comes down to finding a fit academically, socially and financially. Given the thousands of choices and plethora of information available, you’ll find few who find the process less than overwhelming. You are not alone. IECA mem…

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