While I may still have some more things to share before the year is out, it seems like a good time for reflection and taking notes. In case you’re new to Apply to Sanity, missed anything, or want to re-visit some of the best content, here’s what was best, most popular, or both for the past year.

Web Page. The most visited parts of the web page this year were also popular last year. People seem to like the “How do I…?” section, especially “How do I write a college mission statement?” Readers also like Meet the Class, where I interview a few high school seniors every month to follow along with their college admissions journey. This spring we said goodbye and congratulations to Jack and Grace, and this fall we were introduced to Kati, a different Grace, and Faulkner. I was a little surprised by this: the “What should I be doing now?” section that got the biggest response was for the spring semester of 9th grade. Way to go, early planners!

Blog posts. I posted just under 100 blog updates in 2018, and here are the most popular:

Will a Humanities degree make you poor?

What are good test scores?

Making the most of a campus tour

Thinking about lemurs at college

Results from my student survey

Asking for more money

Stories shared in the newsletter. Apply with Sanity’s monthly newsletter is a way to catch up on all the month’s blog posts at once, and it’s also where I put links to college stories that don’t make it on to my web site. (You can subscribe to the newsletter here.) This year’s best news stories you may have missed:

College campuses are constructing buildings that look like they’re straight out of Harry Potter’s world (LA Times)

“Happiness 101” courses are a necessary stopgap for the campus mental health crisis (Slate)

Does college turn people into liberals? (The Conversation)

Admissions packet lands back at college, returned to sender 45 years later (Michigan Live)

Colorado University sends incorrect acceptance emails to 11,000 potential students (Newsweek)

Abby Wombach’s graduation speech (Barnard)

“Find your passion” is awful advice (Atlantic)

The college admission blind taste test (Forbes)

What makes the ideal university? (Salon)

Real college costs, sticker prices stay level this year (Education Dive)

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