Welcome to Apply with Sanity, a new web site dedicated to helping high school students figure out the college application process.

Apply with Sanity is a college application coaching site for ambitious high school students who want an effective and efficient college application process in the U.S. Instead of focusing on getting students into “the best schools,” Apply with Sanity helps students change their mindset and their approach so they can have a less anxious, more student-centered application process.

There are already a lot of voices out there giving you advice. What makes Apply with Sanity different?

· I want to reduce the amount of pressure you feel, not increase it.

· I want to empower you to feel in control, not feel like a passive product for schools to consider.

· I know that you, a unique and interesting person, are important regardless of your college situation.

· I understand that a big-name, highly marketed college isn’t necessarily a path to happiness.

· I feel that self-knowledge is the most important knowledge.

What you’ll find here:

· The Five Foundations to Applying with Sanity. These are five big-picture strategies for making your college search more efficient and productive

· How do I…? This section answers specific questions about the application process.

· What should I be doing now? This is a semester-by-semester calendar, beginning with the 9th grade, that builds on the Five Foundations.

· Blog. Here I give updates and start conversations, several times a week.

About me:

If you think that a big-name college is the only place you’ll be happy, that you need insider tricks from an admissions counselor, or that you need to change who you are to get into a “good college”...then you’re at the wrong place.

I taught high school for 17 years, including three AP courses, and I spent a lot of time and energy helping students with college applications. I’ve had hundreds of conversations with students, written over 100 recommendation letters, and edited at least 1,000 student application essays.

I came to believe that we’re going about applications wrong, and I’ve dedicated myself to helping students do it more sanely. This involves self-knowledge and self–acceptance, letting go of the false promises college advertising gives us, and treating college as an important step of being a productive adult—not a social status marker.