Posts by Dave Bergman:

Thirty Miles Out: A Nantucket Student’s Guide to Building a Competitive College Application

Posted on: 26 Sep 2025

Nantucket sits 30 miles off the Massachusetts coast. It is reachable only by ferry or small plane, and it has a single public high school. That isolation shapes how students there build a college application. Instead of choosing among a dozen nearby internship providers, Nantucket students work with a small, tightly connected set of island […]

Is Eugene a Good Place for College Admissions?

Posted on: 24 Sep 2025

Eugene, Oregon, is a mid-sized university city with a strong progressive culture, deep outdoor recreation traditions, and an educational landscape that reflects the broader character of the Pacific Northwest. Families here have access to a range of public schools with varying levels of academic intensity, and the presence of the University of Oregon shapes the […]

Do Colleges Look at Social Media?

Posted on: 24 Sep 2025

Wondering if colleges look at the social media accounts of prospective students, and how they find them? Let’s start with a cautionary tale. In a well-publicized story that made international news, Harvard University rescinded offers of admission to more than ten students who posted obscene, sexually explicit, and racist memes in a private Facebook group. […]

Case Study: How a Nantucket Student Turned Island Preservation Work into a Winning Admissions Strategy

Posted on: 23 Sep 2025

Families on Nantucket face a college admissions landscape unlike almost anywhere else in Massachusetts. The island has exactly one public high school. Consequently, its students compete for selective seats against applicants from large mainland districts with dozens of AP sections. However, Nantucket also offers something those districts cannot: direct, hands-on access to one of the […]

Greenville, SC: A Growing Upstate Market with Real Academic Depth

Posted on: 18 Sep 2025

Greenville has transformed over the past two decades. Specifically, it moved from a textile town into one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the Southeast. In turn, that growth has reshaped the local secondary school landscape. Additionally, families relocating for jobs at BMW, Michelin, and other advanced manufacturers have raised expectations for rigor. As a […]

Case Study: How One Brookline Student Earned Admission to Selective Colleges

Posted on: 17 Sep 2025

Families in Brookline and the surrounding Greater Boston suburbs know that selective college admissions have never been more demanding. High-achieving students at schools like Brookline High, Newton South, Newton North, Needham, Wellesley, and Weston routinely present exceptional academic records. Many find themselves asking the same question: how does a strong student rise above a peer […]

How Competitive Is College Admissions for Triangle Students in 2025?

Posted on: 15 Sep 2025

What follows is a realistic look at why the Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill region has become one of the most academically intense admissions markets in the South, and how families can make sense of it. If you are raising a college-bound student in the Triangle, you have probably already noticed something: college admissions feels harder here. It […]

Is Boca Raton a Good Place for College Admissions?

Posted on: 15 Sep 2025

Boca Raton sits at an unusual intersection for college-bound families. A research university, a nationally ranked magnet high school, and a wide bench of AP-heavy private schools all share the same twenty square miles. However, that density brings its own pressure. So many strong students compete for the same handful of spots at selective colleges. […]