Jessie's Blog

DON'T CALL ME AVERAGE!— Accepting Your Best, Unique, and Totally Awesome Average Self in a Culture of Extremes

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At the Boston IECA convention, Dr. Ellen Braaten opened her keynote speech, “The Curse of the Average Child,” with this slide. "Walmart or Harvard." All other high schoolers should just go home, settle in with their iPads, hide under the T-shirt quilt Aunt Donna had custom-made, and binge watch Game of Thrones. If these are the only options, then it’s winner take all—because stocking shelves doesn’t play well on Instagram.

My yoga instructor had a similar thought nearly a decade ago. “We are a …

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Can We Afford College? How Much Does it Cost, Anyhow? — Meet Bertha, The Financial Elephant In the Room

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College aid formulas expect parents to contribute up to 47% of their after-tax income to pay for college each year. —Troy Onink SOURCE: Forbes

Last week an email came across the IECA Talklist regarding a high-achieving student who was graduating from a private high school but who couldn’t afford to attend any of the schools to which he had been accepted. He had had a significant financial aid package at his secondary school.

While we talklist folks don't know the specifics of this case, we kn…

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TALKING TO YOURSELF, AGAIN? — Everyone does it, but is what you are telling yourself taking you where you want to go?

guitar_strummingWhat’s that tune you can’t stop singing to yourself? We’ve all got one; in fact, I feel pretty safe in saying we’ve all got more than one. We’ve got a whole chorus of tiny voices demanding our attention, but here’s the thing: Some of our internal voices empower us, reinforce our authentic selves, and feed the greater good. Too often, though, they are the roadblocks that spring from our deepest fears about ourselves. And, they are remarkably good at keeping us stuck, especially when we don’t even…

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Branding, Higher Ed, and the Right Fit

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Years ago, during a shopping excursion at the Tannersville Outlet Center in eastern Pennsylvania, I wandered into the Cole Haan store. I browsed the offerings a few times but found I kept returning to a pair of strappy dress sandals. Summer is nearly here, I told myself. And just look at the lovely box complete with scripted Cole Haan on the outside!

I gave in and tried them on. The straps were toward the front of the shoe, and while the heel was just the right height, those straps felt a litt…

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These Schools said, "Yes!" to Elevated Admissions Students

American University

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Bucknell University

Calvin College

Caldwell University

Cal Tech

Carnegie Mellon University

Catholic University

Clemson University

Calhoun Honors College at Clemson University

Chapman University

Dartmouth University

Elon University

Franklin & Marshall College

Franklin & Pierce College

Gettysburg College

Georgetown University

Gordon College

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Immaculata University

Ithaca Col…

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