Going Geek: What Every Smart Kid (an Every Smart Parent) Should Know about College Admissions

The Balancing Act of Senior Year: A Checklist For Keeping on Track

Posted on Mon, 09/16/2013 - 11:46

John Carpenter is the author of Going Geek: What Every Smart Kid (and Every Smart Parent) Should Know About College Admissions and a monthly guest blogger for us here at College Admission. Today, John looks at the balancing, juggling, ring of fire, joyous act that is senior year. Read on to learn how students can enjoy the beginning of senior year and, with a checklist in hand, seize the day.

Classes are going full steam ahead, you’re getting used to your new schedule, you’re discovering ideas and people you hadn’t noticed before--yep, you’re a senior. You’re in your last year of high school. Very cool.

What a Bug Can Teach You about Colleges

Posted on Wed, 09/12/2012 - 11:18

Today's column is from John Carpenter, author of Going Geek: What Every Smart Kid (and Every Smart Parent) Should Know About College Admissions. Read on to learn what mustachioed caterpillars can teach you about finding a great college.

Many people know that I’ve been living in Costa Rica for the last year, and that I work at an amazing school with people from 65 different countries. Sometimes I can’t believe how cool things are here.

The campus is home to some incredible bio-diversity. There are more trees, flowers, and plants than I’ve ever seen. Most days I just walk right by them and don’t really pay much attention to the huge variety of growing things around me. But I’m beginning to learn that there’s more to a bunch of leaves than I thought.

About a month ago, our new teachers arrived on campus, and one of them is this very cool guy called Isaac. He’s a Wesleyan grad, and he’s really smart--a geek who loves biology. What sets him apart is that he will stop to look at any random plant on campus and instantly find very cool stuff living on it. He caught a giant moth, for example, just to see how long its tongue was.