Ian Parker

College Applications

Common App 2023-2024 Quick Guide

By Ian Parker
August 30, 2023 | 6 minute read

Every year, Collegewise releases our highly trusted Guide to the Common App, and we're excited to announce that this year's 2023-2024 edition has arrived! Read on to find out what things...

Choosing a College

Best Colleges in California

By Ian Parker
March 30, 2023 | 13 minute read

You’ve decided you’d like to go to college in California. Now: how do you choose? What are the differences between different California colleges? How should you prepare? My students have...

What Colleges Look For

Do Letters of Recommendation Help You Get Into College?

By Ian Parker
March 17, 2023 | 9 minute read

Which teachers to ask for letters of recommendation is one of the biggest questions facing any college applicant. But why is it so important? How do colleges use letters of recommendation?...

Choosing a College

The Top Schools with a Big College Library

By Ian Parker
October 9, 2022 | 7 minute read

We guess students will spend most of their time in a college library during their four years of undergrad. Studying, meditating, reading, whatever it is. So why settle for a boring one?

College Applications

Common App 2022-2023 Quick-Start Guide

By Ian Parker
July 29, 2022 | 5 minute read

The year was 2005. George W. Bush was beginning his second presidential term, Star Wars: Episode III was the biggest thing in theaters, and gas cost $2.30 a gallon. And, reader, I was...

Choosing a College College Research

Applying to Multiple Colleges? Here's What You Need to Know

By Ian Parker
May 16, 2022 | 5 minute read

What’s the “right” number of colleges to apply to? Decades ago, college applicants mostly applied to somewhere between one and three institutions. That wasn’t wrong, or bad, or weird – it...