Jessie's Blog
Success Stories — Chester, College of Engineering at Montana State
You had better like mountains and snow at Montana State!
#trexselfie Mom's hair at least made the pic."Jessie and her team at CompassU have been invaluable in our college selection endeavors. Chester received many generous merit scholarships offers, and we are very excited that our son will attend the College of Engineering at Montana State University.
From the beginning, Jessie, using her depth of knowledge, was very helpful setting up our list of potential schools and the goals we needed to ac…
News Worth Sharing — A Link for You
Diane Anci and son, Kenyon College. Source: NY TimesA Link for You — Advice College Admissions O…
College Visit Follow-Up Dos & Don'ts
The truth, straight up: Students that engage proactively land in better places. And, they feel better about things, too.
Visited a campus? Met an admissions officer at a college fair? Have a collection of college rep and tour guide business cards? If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, there is a next step, and it isn’t to let the cards migrate under the seat of the car, fall to the bottom of the backpack, or end up under your bed in the pile of college marketing glossies.
Is your goal to…
Sometimes School Sucks, but Thanks Mom & Dad
“Leave your pride, ego, and narcissism somewhere else. Reactions from those parts of you will reinforce your children’s most primitive fears.” —Henry Cloud
Martin Family Vacation, Spring 2009Bryn, our sophomore in college, called in February. “I just don’t get it, Mom.” One of his closest friends had just withdrawn in the second semester of his sophomore year. …
Success Stories — Grace and Sofie
Grace, Class of 2015, is an accomplished rider. Grace was also Park Scholar Finalist at Ithaca College, but felt Marist to be a better fit. Jessie helped both of our daughters find their unique voice and through the process they became more confident and better writers. This was undeniably valuable for my now freshman at Marist College because she continued to develop this new found skill in her freshman year writing course and used the writing center at her college, just as she had learned …
Success Stories — Brianna Shares Her Story
We are so proud of Brianna! Brianna received a named scholarship to cover her undergraduate and medical school tuitions, sealing her decision to attend Calvin College."I wouldn’t want to imagine my college search process without Jessie. Senior year is a transitioning year, regardless of who you are. Having Jessie walk with me through is a blessing I am so grateful I had the opportunity to experience.
Life counselor. These two words describe Jessie’s role in my life this past year. Jessie helped …
Success Stories: Cassie — Sacred Heart University
Cassie and I met to talk about her incredible offers including merit aid for BSN Programs. It is a few weeks before May 1, the big decision day! Cassie will attend Sacred Heart University, plans to compete on SHU's Figure Skating Team and study abroad in Australia her junior year."When your child begins the college process, it can be an exciting yet nerve “wrecking ” time of your life. Like all parents, we wanted our daughter to have the best possible outcome with all aspects of the college pr…
Testing — Tie a String on Your Finger
The Spring testing season is upon us. Each student's testing schedule is unique. Some have chosen to only prep for the SAT or ACT. That said, if your student is planning on applying to highly selective schools, your student's AP and SAT Subject Test scores matter more than you may suspect. Schools with admissions rates 30{475f6e8ad7be3161114314a988b7e8f491719bdeedead1da50322e1eadee8259} or less fall into these categories. The more competitive the admissions rate, the more these additional test s…Whatever you do, don't ask about my major.
A few years out of college and newly married, David and I headed back to South Mountain for the annual Lehigh-Lafayette Football Game (in this century this tradition is known as LeLaf). Following the game we went to a cocktail reception at Theta Chi, and the brick exterior, white columns, and pungent odor of beer long-seeped into the parquet floors greeted us — almost as if we had never left. As the crowd gathered and the volume rose a couple of drinks in, I overheard a question posed by one of …