July 2025

Happy Fourth of July! Instead of some small note about how things are going with my clients or college admission in general, let me say something about Independence Day.

The cool thing about the US Independence Day is when we celebrate it. Not on October 19, the date of the victory at the Battle of Yorktown that effectively ended the Revolutionary War. Not September 3, the date that the Treaty of Versailles was signed that officially ended the Revolutionary War. Not March 4, the date the first session of Congress began on. Not April 30, the date of George Washington’s first inauguration. Not June 19, the date that Americans living in slavery finally had their freedom recognized. Not August 18, the date the 19th Amendment was ratified. We celebrate the date when our Independence was declared, not gained.

We often talk, whether optimistically or cynically, about America being the “land of opportunity,” about the “American Dream,” about the possibility available here. And, appropriately I think, we celebrate our independence on the day that the possibility of America was put into place.

I hope you’re having a great Independence Day. May your life be full of possibility, of opportunity, of independence.

—Benjamin

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up to receive it monthly here.

All of the material on Apply with Sanity is free to anyone. No ads, no pop-ups, no pressure to buy or do anything. All it needs is readers. Will you please take a moment to share Apply with Sanity with a friend, colleague, child, or teacher? Will you share a blog post on a social media feed? Thank you for supporting Apply with Sanity!

Here’s what I covered on the website in June:

Get a service industry job if you can. There’s a lot of pressure to get some kind of job within your chosen field, to work with people in your chosen field, and to have a job history within your chosen field as soon as possible. I understand that pressure and don’t necessarily disagree, but if you plan to ever work with other people, then you can’t go wrong getting some experience in a service job.

Three Quick Questions:

The full Three Quick Questions archive. I ask the same three questions:

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to your school?

Naturally every college wants to recruit the perfect student--high grades, high test scores, involved in their community, leadership...everything. But what kinds of imperfect students tend to flourish at your school?

When people come to visit your school, what's a place off campus that you recommend they check out while they're there?

Have a look at this:

7 life skills to master before college (RIT). Some of these I had down before even starting high school. Others…I’m still working on decades after college.

Here are some blog posts from the archive that are good for this July:

Four quick tips for your application essays. I strongly believe that college-bound seniors should have a solid draft of at least one application essay before the first day of school. If you haven’t quite begun yet, are in the middle of drafting and revising, or feel you’re just about finished—here are four tips for improving your essay.

Paying for college: some basic principles. The pricing for college is some of the most complex and opaque pricing out there. Still, there are some basic principles that can help make the process a little easier and more rational in the long run.

Here's more great admission news from around the internet:

*Some articles may be behind a paywall.

Working-age adults with some college but no credentials reaches 37.6M, report finds (Higher Ed Dive)

Colleges are slightly less diverse as admissions officers seek ways to adapt post-affirmative action (CBS News)

Gen Z, parents lack knowledge of post-high school options (Gallup)

The myths of GPA in college admissions explained (Bellowings)

Politics, “belonging” drive college choice (Inside Higher Ed)

College essays were always bed—ChatGPT makes them worse (TexAdmissions)

Hispanic-serving college program is discriminatory, lawsuit alleges (New York Times)

How House and Senate education proposals could reshape higher education (Forbes)

College Board cancels award programs for high-performing Black and Latino students (Hechinger Report)

A Texas law made college law more affordable for undocumented students. What happens now that it’s gone? (KUT)

Why did Syracuse offer $200,000 deals to students who had turned it down? (New York Times)

For elite college admissions, fewer activities may mean more (Forbes)

The college essay in the age of AI (Forbes)

The hidden bias in college admissions tests: How standardized exams can favor privilege over potential (The Conversation)

A simple tool aims to clarify college cost (Inside Higher Ed)

Tuition discounting hits another high (Inside Higher Ed)

Majority of high school students say they don’t feel prepared for post-graduation (Higher Ed Dive)

The latest idea for molding perfect college applicants? Take over their entire education (Town & Country)

Cornell College’s early financial aid promise could be a trend-setter (Forbes)

Federal cuts put institutional aid at risk (Inside Higher Ed)

Survey says parents matter in college admission and they feel it is rigged (Forbes)