As college acceptances, and some rejections, flood in, I eagerly enter each one into my software  and search for trends and logic behind the results.

The first trend I see is the ever-increasing importance of college visits as a form of demonstrated interest. Another one is the value given to substantial community service and giving back. Pursing knowledge outside the classroom is third critical factor.

Some of my students have awed me this year with the amount they have accomplished in their brief lives, and by how little sleep they seem to subsist on. This year I have worked with artists and musicians, would-be historians, and pre-law, pre-vet, pre-whatever you can think of as these eager young students rush headlong into the next phase of their lives. I've also had students with almost no extra-curricular activities.

​Students with learning differences so challenging that every spare moment has been taken up with tutors, therapies, and doctors appointments. I am no less impressed by these students. They remain determined in the face of incredible difficulties, and with very little immediate reward. The courage and grace they exhibit makes working with them a privilege.