Getting into college is like winning the Cold War

28 Dec

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, Esoterotica, Teenagers, odd & fun, personal

Getting into college is just like winning the cold war. You’re excited, everyone congratulates you and you feel like you’ve done something really great. You feel good about yourself.
The only problem is that afterwards you don’t know what to do with yourself. It’s not the free time that poses an issue, though for some that […]

6 Comments

Ten “Must-read” popular posts from 2006 on the SJ College XP

22 Dec

Posted by Sam Jackson as Esoterotica, Internets, personal

I decided that in the spirit of reflecting back on the past year (wait, wasn’t that Yom Kippur?) I would dig through my “Most Popular Posts” (as determined by visitor patterns!) and the ARCHIVES and make some personal picks for entries that are as much fun now as they were the day they were written. […]

4 Comments

No Hesitation: Why I’m matriculating into Yale 2011

21 Dec

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, CCO, College, personal

I sent my reply card back to New Haven almost as soon as I got it; there was no question that I would be going to Yale next year. It wasn’t that way when I sent in my application November 1st, though. So what changed?
I would not have applied early if it had been binding, […]

16 Comments

The two scariest books in the world for high school seniors

21 Dec

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, College, Esoterotica, Internets, odd & fun

Disclaimer: I just set up my Amazon affiliates account. Remember, I have to cover my self-help portion of Financial Aid somehow…
Well, at least one who hasn’t already been admitted into their dream college!
These make excellent christmas gifts, if the recepient is a high school student and the gifter is a sadist.
Still, I’m bringing them […]

4 Comments

Mark Zuckerberg is coming to town (literally) : submit questions for me to ask him

20 Dec

Posted by Sam Jackson as College, Esoterotica, Exeter, Internets, odd & fun

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is coming to my school to give an assembly on January 26th. This is because he was an alum, ‘02. Phillips Exeter Academy is running some year-long assembly series for the 75th anniversary of the Harkness method at Exeter–the discussion-based teaching around a table that was made possible through the […]

5 Comments

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Who is Sam Jackson?

I'm currently a freshman at Yale University and I've been blogging about college admissions and higher education marketing trends since I began my college application process in 2005. I now also write about my experience here at Yale, and am an official Yale blogger. Click here to read my 'about' page.

Kind words about my blog:

Andrew Careaga calls it “a service to all of us in the higher ed marketing business.”

Christian Long says it has “dramatically inspired college admissions folks to take notice”

Bob Johnson says “I like [it] because I agree with so much of what he says.” and that “Paying attention what Sam writes will let you focus more closely on students who will actually attend your school.”

Karine Joly says my witty and fresh style “offers a rare glimpse at the mind of our elusive prospective students”

and TargetX calls my blog “good reading” and me “wise-beyond-my-years.”