Kristen BixbyWhen the news first broke earlier this week about the scandal in college admissions, we here at Campus Bound were, as I imagine was the case for many of you, appalled. Even for those of us in this industry, it is hard to believe that people would go to such great lengths to guarantee admission to a particular university. I have wanted to write about this news from so many different angles — and I hope it is obvious that Campus Bound, and in fact most counselors in our industry, would never even consider participating in such unethical practices. The people involved in this admissions scandal are not representative of the majority of college counselors, coaches, or parents.
I’d like to share Campus Bound’s core beliefs when it comes to helping students and parents through this intense but important process. Many of these values were in place even before day one of Campus Bound. In conceiving the business, I watched as my mother helped students with the college admissions process. Her care and personal investment in the students was obvious. That was the key to her success and what I wanted to replicate with Campus Bound. While others may represent… and even promise… that they have the secret sauce to “get a student in” to an elite college, that’s not our philosophy. We partner with families to help find the best fit academically, personally, and financially. We then help students to navigate the admissions process in a thoughtful and methodical way, while encouraging them to put their best foot forward in each application they submit. Campus Bound provides an independent, objective, expert perspective and helps to manage the process step-by-step.
At the end of this process, regardless of which schools admit, waitlist, or deny our students, Campus Bound wants our students to be confident in the efforts they put forth to gain admission, to be excited about their choices, and to head off to college with pride and enthusiasm.
If you’d like a fresh perspective, we recommend the Frank Bruni book, “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be”. Let’s all work together to promote a healthy, positive, ethical college admissions process.
Written by Gregg Cohen, President