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The Pilgrim College Guidance Blog

News, trends, insights, and the occasional self-indulgent fluff piece

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Mental Health and the College Admission Process
Benjamin Lah Benjamin Lah

Mental Health and the College Admission Process

I can’t believe this is my first post of 2023. I guess my break from blogging was longer than I had anticipated, but I’m excited to begin with some very important information. I am part of an organization of former independent school college counselors turned consultants (more on this in a future post) and we meet monthly to exchange ideas and best practices and hear from occasional guest speakers. We recently had the wonderful opportunity to hear from Alice Huang, LCSW, MA, who shared some thoughts about anxiety and resilience in the college admission process.

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Talking About College During Thanksgiving
Benjamin Lah Benjamin Lah

Talking About College During Thanksgiving

This will be a quick post for parents of juniors and seniors. We can all probably use a break right now, and luckily one is coming up. Thanksgiving is the time of year for family to get together…and talk about college. I’m kidding, but I’m also not. I recall in my youth trying to avoid pointed questions about my college and unrealistic life plans and more recently, I’ve had students express frustration about the Thanksgiving dinner conversation. Words like “ambushed” and “interrogated” have been used. Now that we’re officially in the holiday season (I’ve seen Christmas lights already), and especially with Thanksgiving coming up, let’s talk about talking about college.

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