Posts by Dave Bergman:

Top High Schools in the El Paso, TX Area: How They Compare for College Admissions

Posted on: 17 Nov 2025

If you are raising a college-bound student in the El Paso, Texas area, you are navigating a secondary-school landscape that is both more distinctive and more strategically complex than most families initially appreciate. El Paso is a majority-Hispanic border city of nearly 700,000 people, sitting at the intersection of Texas, New Mexico, and the Mexican […]

How to Get into Top Colleges from Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Posted on: 13 Nov 2025

Anne Arundel County is one of the most strategically positioned counties in the United States for college-bound students. It is home to Fort George G. Meade, the largest employer in the state of Maryland and headquarters of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. It borders the Chesapeake Bay to the east. It […]

Case Study: How One Boulder Student Turned a Quantum Physics Passion into Elite Admissions Offers

Posted on: 12 Nov 2025

Boulder’s Competitive High School Landscape Boulder, Colorado sits at the center of one of the most academically demanding regions in the state. Fairview High School, part of Boulder Valley School District, ranks 8th in Colorado and 358th nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report. Its AP participation rate stands at 68%. Peak to Peak […]

Case Study: How One Houston Student Leveraged Business Analytics and French to Earn Admission to Elite Colleges

Posted on: 12 Nov 2025

In the Houston metro, home to globally oriented industries, multilingual communities, and academically ambitious schools, students interested in business face a competitive admissions landscape. Programs like UT Austin McCombs, NYU Stern, Georgetown McDonough, and Emory Goizueta attract thousands of business applicants each year, many with strong grades, leadership roles, and polished résumés. Today we highlight […]

Current Events: Building a College-Ready Profile in Jefferson County, Colorado

Posted on: 12 Nov 2025

Jefferson County stretches from the office parks of Lakewood to the mountain towns of Evergreen and Conifer. It also wraps around Golden, home to the Colorado School of Mines and the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, renamed from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory). For a student aiming at a selective engineering or science program, […]

From Hamilton Farm to the Raritan: Building a Somerset County College Application

Posted on: 11 Nov 2025

Today, Somerset County sits in an unusual spot on the map of New Jersey admissions. Families in Basking Ridge, Bridgewater, Bernardsville, Montgomery, and Hillsborough live close enough to Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus to treat it as a second classroom. However, they are still far enough from the city that students must seek out labs, internships, […]

Case Study: How One Jefferson County Student Earned Admission to Selective Colleges

Posted on: 07 Nov 2025

The Jefferson County Landscape Jefferson County stretches from Denver’s suburbs into the Rocky Mountain foothills. Its 37 public high schools compete across very different settings. D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School anchors the county academically, ranked sixth in Colorado by U.S. News & World Report. However, several comprehensive, address-zoned schools also push students toward selective outcomes. Chatfield […]

Should I Complete Optional College Essays?

Posted on: 07 Nov 2025

Many battle-worn applicants, weary from the slog of completing a dozen or so applications, encounter optional essays and requests for other non-compulsory application components, such as a resume, interview, or writing sample(s), and simply wave the white flag. On one level, this response is understandable. You’ve spent years grinding out strong grades in honors and […]