How we see the college admissions world

Before we dive into the what and the why and the when of the application process, we’d like to take a minute to step back and talk about how we like to view it, and why we think ours is a useful frame for thinking about what can seem like a cutthroat, competitive (and likely confusing) process.

We think the college application process can actually be a meaningful experience (particularly in a culture that has fairly few rites of passage), one that allows for what we’d guess is one of the most important things to your family: creating space for your children to grow.

In fact, we think growth—in the form of greater introspection and reflection on a student’s part—leads to stronger applications anyway. Though we do worry that telling students this is good for them may be like telling a kid who loves eating broccoli that it’s great for them…

We also think that it’s possible for a family to grow closer through this process, as teenagers step into their own and explore what they value and how they want to engage with the world. And to our minds, that’s a beautiful opportunity as your family gets ready to send them off into this next phase of their lives.

How and why we’re building this handbook

We wanted to offer this handbook for a few different reasons. Here are some of the biggest:

• Access and equity—we’ve tried to build our company in ways that help to democratize education and the admissions process, and though our society has a ways to go, we’d like to think this handbook can be one step among many.

• Creating some ease and clarity around what can feel to many families like a stressful, confusing, momentous time, one that can raise difficult questions: How can parents or guardians best help their students in this process? What should we be doing now? Was I firm enough in trying to get them to eat their broccoli? (Answers: That’s why you’re here. We’ll take it a step at a time. There was probably nothing else you could have done.)

And since we’ve spent a lot of time building some level of expertise in these areas (we’re not sure how many people around the world spend time sitting in a room talking through 9 different transition techniques for essays, for example, but we have a hunch it may not be many), we’re excited to share.