Insights.
Essays and reference material from our counseling work, made public.
- 2026-05-13 · Application StrategyRecommendation letters — building the relationships that produce them, years before they are needed.
A great recommendation letter cannot be requested two weeks before a deadline. It is built years earlier, in the substance of how a student engages with teachers. A senior counselor on how to cultivate the relationships that produce useful letters.
- 2026-05-12 · Application StrategyApplying to selective U.S. universities: a senior counselor's strategy guide, from college list to final decision.
Applying to a top U.S. university is not a sprint. It is a campaign that begins in ninth grade and reveals itself across selection, curriculum, testing, narrative, and timing. This is the overview we wish more families had when their student was a freshman.
- 2026-05-11 · Application StrategyAfter the offers arrive — a senior counselor's framework for the final May 1 decision.
The May 1 commitment date is a different kind of pressure than the application itself. A framework for evaluating multiple offers — finances, academic fit, campus culture, long-term trajectory — so that the final choice is genuinely the right one.
- 2026-05-08 · AP PrepAP U.S. History — building the historical framework from zero, as a Taiwanese student.
AP U.S. History (APUSH) is one of the most-taken AP humanities courses among American high-schoolers — but for Taiwanese students, the lack of background knowledge in U.S. history is the main challenge. A senior counselor on building the framework from zero, plus DBQ and LEQ writing strategy.
- 2026-05-08 · Application StrategyHow to read a U.S. college admissions decision letter — and what each line actually means.
The phrasing of an Ivy League decision letter is studied. Every clause is signal. Here is how a senior counselor reads them — line by line, and what each line is doing for the school.
- 2026-05-04 · AP PrepAP Physics C — prep strategy for Mechanics and E&M.
AP Physics C — Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism — is the hardest AP physics course, using calculus as the tool for analyzing physical problems. A senior counselor on the exam scope, FRQ strategy, and how to prepare for the AP physics that the most selective STEM programs most look for.