It’s been a busy summer, with a lot of great meetings and progress. Unfortunately, writing blog posts hasn’t been part of that, and I’m hoping to post more once school is fully underway. I’m also planning to add an audio page to my website, and to finish some needed updates of the pages.
A few key messages (while preserving client confidentiality):
Congratulations are in order to: Jack, who went from doing poorly at two colleges to above a 3.0 GPA this past year. Also, to Bryan, who has regained his honors student path at a small college in Ohio. And to Zach, who has found his calling in the traditional college system. Best wishes to them for the fall, and also to: Ricky, Peter, Meredith, Sam, Burke, Aaron, Karen, Anna, Anna Maria, and many other students I worked with or talked to this summer. Also, to Brian, who began graduate school in Florida after a lengthy examination of pathways.
Among the many parents I worked with during the past year and this summer, best wishes for the fall to: Paul & Cathy (Pittsburgh), who got to see their son succeed. To Steve & Betsy (Indianapolis) and Amy & Eric (Pittsburgh), whose sons’ got accepted at preferred schools via good strategies. Also, to Sam & Maria (Washington, DC), Cynthia (Pittsburgh), and to Jane & Rooney (Johnstown) who learned a lot about colleges this summer. Also, best wishes to Jim & Beth (Seattle), Eva (Sacramento), and Bill and Carol (New York) whose daughter got to see good pre-college strategies pay off when it came time to apply to competitive schools. Special wishes and prayers go out to Cathy (Greensburg) on her son’s recovery, and also to Kathy (Chicago) for her son’s condition.
Among the colleges I dealt with this summer, many thanks are in order to: Carnegie-Mellon, Wittenburg, Oakton, Carlow, Duquesne, Marian, Butler, Pitt, St. Francis, Allegheny, Lake Forest, Franklin & Marshall, Kendall, Penn State, and many others. Among the majors we covered were physician assistant programs, pre-med, history, political science, east Asian studies, computer science, international business, and various graduate programs.
A very warm thank you to the colleagues that I’ve worked with this past year and summer, many of whom are part of the resources that I routinely draw on to help my students and families. Many thanks to Brett Cione at Pitt, Canice Dolan and Joan House at Carlow, and Sharon Manella at Carnegie-Mellon. Also thanks to Dr. Dan Monti, Wendy McSparren, Dr. Heather Fry, and Dr. Horatio Spina. Also, thank you to Rachel Mann, Senior Attorney at the Disabilities Rights Network, whom I‘ve collaborated with for almost 10 years, and to Rich Pokrass at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for his help on accommodation issues. Thank you also to Eric Pierson at Thrivent and Zach Smith at Prudential for the college financial planning input, as well as to Renee Wrights-Pinchol for her editorial and creative input. Thanks also to Mary Ann at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as to Adam Shapiro and Stephen Brotschul at the Kiski Academy. Finally, thank you to Emily Melious, whose enthusiasm for giving fact-driven guidance to students and families almost rivals mine.
Here’s looking forward to a good 2010-11 school year, and to working again with all of you.
Jeff
Jeffrey Ludovici, M.A., is a national level Higher Education Consultant based in Pittsburgh, PA. He’s worked with students and parents across the U.S. about college issues since 2001, and is a member of CSRDE that focuses on best practices in helping students. He is also a member of NACADA, the national college advising association in the U.S. Please see the program page for services Jeff offers.