Turns out students at the University of Maryland created an on-line calculator that takes all the guesswork out of deciding whether or not to skip class. Although it started as a bit of a joke, almost 2,000 students have used this application. Let’s hope most of them went to class.

Congratulations to the class of 2014! You’ve just started what many consider to be the best four years of your life – your undergraduate college years. While we hope that you will make your academic work the focus of your experience, be sure to take full advantage of all that your college has to offer, both within and beyond the walls of your classroom buildings.

We wish all of you the best of luck!!

We’ve always been a bit suspicious of the usefulness of college rankings, believing that it is up to the individual to decide, based on their own criteria, which schools top their lists of “Best Colleges”. This powerful graphic by the Chronical of Higher Ed show that the college rankers themselves (Forbes, U.S. News, etc.) have also “personalized” their college lists by selecting their own criteria on which they rank colleges. Interestingly, there is very little overlap in the data they use to create their lists.

A friend called me a few weeks ago to report that she had just finished buying all the pieces she needed for a layette. “For whom?” I inquired, anxiously, knowing that her youngest child was 12. “For Ben, of course” was the reply. I couldn’t help but laugh – Ben is 18 years old and headed off to college this week. In just the way she had prepared for his arrival into this world, his college layette included all the sheets, towels, blankets and toiletries he would need to embark on his new life. The important difference being, of course, that his college layette is a gift of the things he needs to start his life away from her, and independent from her.

This moment of separation seems increasingly difficult for parents who aren’t ready to say goodbye, even after they have moved their child into their freshman dorm room. Colleges vary in response to this separation anxiety in various ways but many are becoming increasingly clear about when it is time for the parents to leave and for the college to take over in its roles and responsibilities.

Ben is going to be just fine in college – his parents have spent 18 years teaching him how to be self-sufficient, independent, and self-confident. He will stumble, he will make bad choices, and he will recover. But, most importantly, he will do all these things without his parents looking over his shoulder because he can. And on really bad days, he’ll have a nice blanket to wrap himself up in.

This is a humorous and mildly impertinent piece on how unhelpful college rankings can be. In this season where every few days another ranking list is published, it’s good to keep perspective on what’s important. No, it’s not how available free parking is on campus – it’s how well the college meets and matches the applicants talents and interests.

Our goal for many of our college clients is for them to have most of their common application completed by the end of the summer. In July and August rising seniors have more time and fewer distractions so they can fully focus on completing the common app, and completing it well. The Fall is can be a very busy time and students should be focusing their energies on their classwork as this is the last opportunity for early applicants to show their academic metal. Final visits to colleges, interviews either off or on campus, and filling out the supplemental materials required by some colleges takes a tremendous amount of effort and emotional energy, leaving little for the common application.

That said, pulling all-nighters over the summer just to “be done” or to be the first applicant at a school seems imprudent. With only one chance to make a good impression on admissions officers, it’s important to devote time and care to the application so that you will be viewed in your best possible light. So, work to get that application done well, but don’t sacrifice quality for speed.

According to a new report by Forbes, Williams is the college that best meets students needs. Having just visited Williams last month, I can tell you that the campus is stunning, the facilities are state-of-the-art, the faculty are very impressive, and their Tutorials Program, based loosely on the tutorial style teaching at Oxford and Cambridge, make this a top-notch place to live and learn. It seems like a no-brainer to encouage students to apply here. And therein lies the rub of these one-size-fits-all rankings. While Forbes evaluated colleges based on ten factors including the students’ rankings of their academic experiences, the amount of debt they incurred, their opportunities to distinguish themselves academically, and their ultimate career success, no one ranking can decide for an individual what school should be on the top of their list.

For example, for student looking for a lively weekend scene, the opportunities to be involved in Greek life, or the excitement of cheering on a Division 1 Football team, Williams would fall towards the bottom of the list. And there are other, much more subtle, distinctions between schools that prospective students should make. What type of students thrive here? What is the social/political climate? What does the school value? There are all questions that should be asked of any college, but are factors that will never be included on college ranking lists because there is no way to objectify this data.

So, congratulations to Williams College for ranking Number 1 on Forbes’ Best Colleges in America List – you certainly are an outstanding liberal arts college in rural Massachusetts with a very strong math and science program. But, if for those looking for something different in their college experience, don’t let Forbes create your college list for you.

With the rising price tag on college education and the tightening job market, parents are increasingly concerned about whether or not their son or daughter will be able to get a job upon graduation. Fair enough – with four-year tuition bills approaching the quarter of a million dollar mark, it’s not unreasonable for parents to hope that their child will have the skills they need to land “a good job.” However, many employers are looking beyond the bullet points on the resume and are asking job applicants questions that tap into their abilities to reason, problem-solve, and be creative. So, while some jobs do require a specific set of skills that can be acquired through course work, internships, and research projects, attractive job applicants also can demonstrate not just what they have learned in during their undergraduate experience, but how their college education, regardless of their course of study, has taught them to think.

Over the next few months, select high school seniors will be recieving “V.I.P. Applications” from colleges encouraging them, through a simplified process, to apply to their institutions. Colleges send out V.I.P applications to those students whose SAT scores fall within a certain range as a way of increasing their applicant pool as well as intentionally raising the average SAT scores of their applicants. Both these moves make colleges appear more selective. The other advantage to the college is that it increases their chances of yielding students from this targeted pool.

However, V.I.P. applications have advantages for the student as well. Typically not requiring a long essay and waiving the application fee, the V.I.P. applications don’t take as much time to fill out. As an acceptance is not a binding commitment, for some students having an acceptance in their back pocket early in the application cycle can be a real confidence booster that also takes away the concerns of finding those “safety schools.”

Of course, students should not be lured into completing V.I.P. applications to schools in which they have absolutely no interest. But, if the invitation comes from a school that piques their interest, students should take advantage of this opportunity.