I was in DC recently and visited American University and Georgetown University. Both midsize-larger schools with healthy endowments. Both powerhouses for government and international relations. So what are the differences? If you tour both, what can you learn? Let's try something a little different. Here's a little quiz. From what you know of these schools, which answer would you choose? (check your answers below) Q1: At which school do your tuition dollars get you a free unl

Our kids chase so many things: an A in this class and that one, a spot on this team, a role in that play. Choose the right top, thrift the right shoes, collect the right number of likes. Even friendships at this age can feel like a scoreboard. Too often, adding college admissions to the mix only amplifies this stress-inducing way of life. Thinking about college becomes yet another scorecard -- apply to 10, no 15, no 20 colleges; getting into this one gets you ten (imaginary)

It's November. Seniors have submitted their early action or early decision applications. Some even have started getting their acceptances. Now comes the really fun part -- figuring out where they've gotten in, which school might be the best fit; what their freshman year of college will look like. As they -- and I -- begin that work, we're also looking back at the lessons of this application season. I had a good crop of hard-working, motivated, brilliant seniors -- what I cal