Author: tlcfairfield

“One of my friends told me…”  a client told me in relation to one of her friends in a soccer-mom clique in Darien. Much like investment advice from random people makes no sense to follow without due diligence, advice from fellow Connecticut parent circles should follow the same guidelines. Parents dealing with their first child’s […]

My natural people pleasing tendency coupled with my great worry of ever appearing self-serving has caused me to give flawed advice over the years. Budget conscious clients would contact me about what they should do for SAT prep. They knew me or of me so they trusted that I would give them honest advice. And, […]

Through 15 years of providing college counseling to parents and students in Connecticut, I have observed a dramatic uptick in anxiety among parents in relation to both the college and career paths of their children. Several reasons for increased college anxiety: 1.) The Great Recession: Actual Economic Effect After 2008, Americans, even in prosperous states […]

“What’s the most important thing I should teach my children next year?” a parent recently asked in relation to her 4 children. “Work character.” was my two word answer that was met with a a blank stare. 15 years of working with all types of high school students in Connecticut has provided me a distinct sense […]

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Theresa Anzaldua.  She is a journalist for Seasons magazine and a writer of the highly praised book We Had A Job To Do, a book about World War II veterans. I mentioned that one of my mini-lectures that I give to students in our SAT classes is inspired by World […]

While we hear collective groans from our Fairfield County students, the options for test score submission are more favorable today than ever before. Back when most Connecticut parents took the SAT, every score was consequential.  Most took the SAT once or twice and were advised not to take the test a third time as it […]

As March approached, we were bombarded with calls from parents and the media about the New SAT.  Most juniors simply called the test “the SAT.” For them, there is nothing new. Since many parents of high school juniors in Connecticut are losing their minds over the NEW SAT, I thought it would be helpful to relay […]

“No way.” Mrs. Addison exclaimed when I suggested a certain college in the Boston area for her son, Mike, a rising senior at at an elite Connecticut high school. The college matched the criteria for what Mike wanted. But Mrs. Addison’s reaction stemmed from her understanding of colleges thirty years ago. “The C students went to […]

“I hate the college process.” This may be the one thing that Connecticut parents and teens agree upon. My immediate comment: “You should be grateful.” is often met with confused looks. I am a parent of three, one of whom is a senior applying to college. So, I know the stress of applying to college […]

To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, author of The World Is Flat who paraphrased Bill Gates: Twenty years ago, from a purely career-financial perspective, if you had the choice of being a “B” student from Brooklyn or an “A” student from Bombay, you would choose the former because America’s economic domination was so thorough that opportunities were […]