by Leigh Moore (The pace of our blog will heat up for the next 3 weeks, as I continue my annual tradition of March Madness posts. This year, the posts will align with the kind of information a family should evaluate before the student makes a final decision.) As Moore College Data increasingly focuses on family resources, the most important message I have for parents is this: Be parents. When it’s time to make the final decision, adults need to be in the room—not to choo

By Leigh Moore (Update to blog post first published in 2020) Tens of thousands of early round application decisions have already begun to appear on student portals, but many more of you still wait. December 15 usually marks the crescendo of December results. Students, are you ready? Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m typically a touchy-feely encourager type, sometimes told I “care too much.” I am sorry if this message seems harsh in contrast; I write it only because

"Students don’t always attend the most selective college which has admitted them." Every year, I post the above reminder on my personal Facebook page. And, without fail, somebody reaches out and thanks me for writing it—I suppose because that which is intellectually obvious during normal seasons of life can lose meaning when the emotions run high. If you ask a twelfth-grader where they are going to college, remember: your response matters to them. They are sometimes too roa

Last Updated on November 10, 2020 by Real College Matters What is the most profound thing you’ve ever heard? Who said it to you? Amy Frederick is a fellow mom at my church. She is someone I’ve always respected because of her intellect and character, but I can’t say that our lives leave room for a lot of time together. Anyway, somewhere in the dense church mom-fog between infant room drop-off and mission trip send-off, Amy and I found ourselves in a theological discussion. I d

Forgive me if I write too much about our older son during the next few weeks. It’s been an emotional year of “lasts,” and his journey through high school has and will continue to inform my counseling practices. Almost three years ago, Bob had just returned home at the end of his first year at boarding school. From my perspective, the kid was living large. In addition to all of his fundamental needs being met, he earned good grades, participated in exciting athletics, and enjo

(Originally printed December 2020) by Leigh Moore Tens of thousands of early-round application decisions have already begun to appear on student portals, but many more of you still wait. December 15 usually marks the crescendo of December results. Students, are you ready? Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m typically a touchy-feely encourager type, sometimes told I “care too much.” I am sorry if this message seems harsh in contrast; I write it only because I fear no o

by Leigh Moore Please forgive me for the long delay since my last post. It’s been a season of introspection for sure, one which culminated in the decision to phase out my advising practice in order to focus on writing projects. In an effort to describe the rationale for doing so, I created a document which has now grown to 10,700 words. The good thing is, I guess I’ve written my book. The bad thing is, it was supposed to be this blog post. My current state of affairs can be w

March 10, 2020 All day, every day, the reality of one’s college experience is a lot more important than test scores or binding Early Decision stats. Spring is the time to set admissions hype aside, because hype doesn’t matter. Real college matters. It’s time to start differentiating between the sense of scarcity, the amenities which launched a million applications….and the real place the student plans to attend. It’s a little tricky to write about admissions hype without sou

Tomorrow, May 1, will be college decision day for some students; for others, it’s six months past decision day. For more than a handful of colleges, it’ll be a day to calculate how much space still remains in the class and strategize ways to fill those seats. In our house, this May 1 will be Brian Beckley Day. Brian is our senior’s school counselor. He’s one of those people who is too wise for his years, and the philosophy he articulated to us a while back has come to inform