Meeting with Dartmouth Dean and a Times Article

Greetings, folks.

Sorry it has been awhile.

I've been a bit out of pocket at the Woodbound Inn located in a remote, rustic part of New Hampshire. Been attending the 40th annual Fitzwilliam Conference. The conference is made up of elite, liberal arts college deans and college counselors. This was my second year to attend. Most of the "old guard" know Dr. Rumsey. "How's old, Tom?" Bill Elliot, now semi-retired Dean of Admissions at Carnegie Mellon, asked me, just before he teed off on the first hole yesterday.

Anyway, I've emerged from the mountains and am now by the bay in Boston.

Just came off of an amazing visit with the Dean of Admissions at Dartmouth this afternoon. Dean Maria and I sat out in the New Hampshire sunshine, dangled our feet over the "Senior fence", and talked about a cadre of college admission topics ranging from "hooks" to parental advice [she has a sophomore daughter at Wesleyan], from the "rich and global diversity of thought and ideas and worldviews" that shape Ivy campuses today [Dartmouth boasts 50 states and 60 countries represented in student pop.], to the "crushing volume" of this year's applications [25,000 for 6 readers] and the challenges of preserving "thoughtfulness" in their reviews.

Tomorrow I'm visiting with Deans at BU, BC, and Wellesley. Very excited about reintroducing Casady to these fine institutions.

One other thing. Mark Hoven sent me an essay from The Times today. It's a parent's reflection on college admissions and temptations to lose the "big picture" with SAT statistics, etc. Parents - THIS IS A MUST READ.

Perspective. Perspective. Perspective.

Click here to read the article.

More from the field tomorrow.

Go Sox.