Posts by Dave Bergman:

College Admissions in Baton Rouge: What Louisiana’s Capital City Gets Right (and Where Students Need to Plan Ahead)

Posted on: 04 Jun 2025

Baton Rouge sits at a distinctive crossroads in American college admissions. It is home to LSU, one of the South’s flagship research universities. It is also home to Southern University, the flagship of the only HBCU system in the country. The East Baton Rouge Parish School System runs one of Louisiana’s most developed magnet networks. […]

Case Study: A Talented STEM Student from Fairfax County, VA, Seeks Direction

Posted on: 01 Jun 2025

When Arjun first came to College Transitions, he was performing well in McLean High School’s demanding academic environment. At a school where the mean SAT score is 1292 and AP and dual-enrollment access is expansive, standing out required more than a strong transcript. Arjun loved biology, chemistry, and calculus. He was fascinated by medical technology, […]

Public vs. Private in Montgomery County, MD: What Actually Matters for Selective College Admissions

Posted on: 11 May 2025

If you’re raising a student in Montgomery County, you already know: school decisions aren’t simple. The region is home to some of the highest-performing public high schools in the U.S., Walt Whitman, Winston Churchill, Wootton, Walter Johnson, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Poolesville, Richard Montgomery, Montgomery Blair, among others, and a cluster of elite independent schools like Georgetown […]

College Admissions in Round Rock, TX: Silicon Hills, Strong Schools, and a Crowded Field

Posted on: 07 May 2025

Round Rock sits at a genuinely unusual intersection for college-bound students. It is the home of Dell Technologies’ global headquarters. It is also a bedroom community adjacent to one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. In one school year, a Round Rock ISD senior might intern at a Fortune 500 company and then drive […]

Public vs. Private in Houston: What Actually Matters for Selective College Admissions

Posted on: 03 May 2025

Choosing a high school in Greater Houston is rarely simple. With nationally recognized public schools across Fort Bend, Katy ISD, Conroe ISD, CFISD, Pearland, Clear Creek, and Spring Branch, and elite private options like St. John’s, Kinkaid, Awty International, Strake Jesuit, Episcopal, St. Agnes, Village, and John Cooper, families face an unusual challenge. There are […]

How to Write a Brag Sheet for College Recommendations

Posted on: 01 May 2025

Beginning in the spring of one’s junior year of high school, it is common for guidance counselors to send out a “brag sheet” form that will help guide their letter of recommendation. Sometimes this document is for the student to complete, other times it is for the parent/guardian—and, in some cases, there is a section […]

Top High Schools in the Riverside, CA Area: How They Compare for College Admissions

Posted on: 29 Apr 2025

Riverside is a city that tends to surprise people unfamiliar with its educational landscape. Anchored by the University of California, Riverside and situated in the heart of the Inland Empire, the city has developed a secondary school ecosystem that extends well beyond what most out-of-area admissions readers expect. Families navigating college preparation here encounter a […]

Is Marin County a Good Place for College Admissions?

Posted on: 23 Apr 2025

Marin County is one of the wealthiest and most educated counties in the United States. It sits just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCSF are all within commuting distance. Its public schools outperform the California average by substantial margins. On paper, Marin looks like an ideal place […]