College Overviews
Arizona State University in the Summer
I spent an afternoon recently exploring the Arizona State University Campus in Tempe, Arizona. I found the campus to be surprisingly compact, given the size of its student body (over 51,000 students). It’s a huge place. Would somebody please explain why I chose to visit in the summer? First of all, like most college campuses [...]
read more »Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois – A Pleasant Surprise
Visiting college campuses can surprise you. Augustana College in Illinois surprised Mark...in a good way!
read more »Austin College: A Great Place to Work
When I visited Austin College last fall, I was really impressed by this little gem of a campus north of Dallas, Texas. The students I met were enthralled with the place, and I sat next to a very dapper professor of Spanish at lunch, who, despite my grilling, could not find a single bad thing [...]
read more »Austin College: The Liberal Arts Gem of Sherman, Texas
I recently spent half a day in Sherman, Texas, visiting Austin College. I was very impressed with the campus, the students, the administration, and the faculty. What’s not to like about it? Very little. The students are academically serious. The faculty does an outstanding job of preparing students, and everyone in Texas knows that if [...]
read more »Baylor University Changes SAT Policy Under Pressure from Peers
Sometimes peer pressure is a good thing. I read an article the other day in Inside Higher Ed that Baylor University had implemented a policy to pay admitted students to retake the SAT scores, in a bid to build an appearance of greater selectivity and (so Baylor officials said) to give away more scholarship money. [...]
read more »Baylor University's Lovely Campus
I spent some time on Baylor‘s campus today. It was not the best day for a visit (Sunday) and I arrived around noon before the campus was awake. Thus I had a nice, solitary, reflective walk around the sprawling, well-kept grounds. Once the buildings opened around 1 pm, I poked around the library and the [...]
read more »Bennington College–An Independent, Individually Planned Curriculum
I spent some time on the campus of Bennington College in Vermont, where the curriculum is very different from most other colleges. Bennington requires students to create educational “plans” that map out their entire academic experience. Faculty members review these plans very thoroughly, and apparently about 70 or 75 percent of plans are rejected in [...]
read more »Bennington College: Creative, Self-Directed, Intellectually Serious Alternative
I recently spent a gorgeous spring afternoon on the campus of Bennington College in southern Vermont. The campus is a lovely mixture of colonial architecture and internationalist modern styles, and 650 students are proud to be known as a relatively off-beat, alternative, and artistic bunch. Like Marlboro, Bennington does not offer traditional majors, but requires [...]
read more »Bryn Mawr–Education At An All Women’s College
Considering an all women's college? Bryn Mawr is gorgeous, and affords outstanding opportunities for women.
read more »Cal State Hidden Gem- Sonoma State
Have you thought about Sonoma State lately? See my impressions of this Cal State hidden gem after a recent visit.
read more »
Our Team
-
Mark Montgomery
A former college professor and administrator, Mark Montgomery, PhD, is a college insider who can demystify universities and deliver solid advice to students and their families.
-
Katherine Price
Katherine Price has over 10 years of experience in admissions and student affairs at selective colleges and universities that enable her to counsel students for success.
-
Cara Ray
Cara Ray is a former admissions officer, and has a Master's degree in Higher Education. She enjoys helping students navigate their educational path, whether toward small liberal arts schools or large public universities.
-
Juliet Giglio
Juliet Giglio, M.F.A, heads our upstate New York office. In addition to general college advising, Juliet specializes in working with aspiring performing artists. She holds a professional certificate in college counseling.
-
Andrea Aronson
Leading our New Jersey office, Andrea Aronson holds an MBA from the Wharton School and is a candidate for a certificate in college counseling from UCLA. As a marketing expert, she assists all students in presenting themselves in the best possible light.
-
Heather Creech
Heather Creech is an award-winning teacher who with over 15 years of experience in helping students with special needs transition from high school to higher education.