Read Swami’s Take on College Admissions on Substack
Our widely read Substack offers clear, evidence-based insights on college admissions, majors, and student development—written for parents, students, and counselors navigating a complex and often opaque process. You’ll find thoughtful analysis, practical guidance, and reflections grounded in real advising work and national data. Explore it at this link.
LifeLaunchr Chosen for Advisor Track at YCombinator’s Startup School
LifeLaunchr was chosen as one among a select group of companies for the Advisor Track at Y Combinator’s Startup School.
Happy College Signing Day
LifeLaunchr is proud to join in the College Signing Day initiative. Our students have been accepted into top public universities including the Universities of California, Oregon, Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, Sonoma State University, and San Francisco State University. And they have been accepted into private universities including Bard College, Hampshire College, the University of San Francisco, Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Oxford University. Some are headed to great two-year colleges and some to gap years. We’re proud of all of them!!
The New Sat: How It’s Changed, and How You Can Prepare for It
In March of 2016, the CollegeBoard (which administers the SAT and PSAT), kicked off the new SAT, which is a major change from the old one which had been in use for a decade. The new SAT has now been used for almost two years, and there’s still not much understanding about how parents and students should best adapt. So here is a summary.
The LifeLaunchr Webinar: U.K. College Admissions
The deadline for applying to U.K. universities for Fall 2018 admission is coming up fast, on January 15, 2018. That’s also the deadline to apply for deferred admissions for Fall 2019. LifeLaunchr’s recent webinar “Applying to College in the U.K.? Meet the January 15 deadline!” helped parents and students by providing expert advice on U.K. college admissions from LifeLaunchr coach Amy Garrou.
College Doesn’t Feel Like the Right Choice for Me. What Would Be a Better Option?
College Planning Question: What is the True Cost of College For Me?
Start the Year Right! Fall Tips for College Planning
Welcome to a new year of high school! As you get started on the new year, here are some tips to help you start it right. Whichever year of high school you’re in, make sure you’re paying attention to the things that will help you with college planning. Here, by year, is a list of fall tips for college planning.
Here’s How You Can Ace the SAT and ACT
LifeLaunchr now has a way to help parents and students to ace the SAT and ACT, through it’s partnership with Aspire Education Project. For over a decade, Aspire Education Project’s expert tutors have led the highly competitive San Francisco Bay Area tutoring market, helping students reach their college goals at schools including Stanford, Cornell, Duke, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Five Things Teens and Parents Should Know about College Admissions: Part 5
At many high schools, counselors don’t start engaging with students about planning for college until spring of junior year.
But if you’re a parent or student, waiting till spring of junior year makes college planning harder for many reasons. In fact the best advice for parents is to start early: as early as possible, in freshman year if you can. College planning really starts the first day of high school, since its when all the work your teen will do starts making a difference.
Five Things Teens and Parents Should Know about College Admissions: Part 4
Parents I speak to often ask “What’s the best university to study engineering?” or “Where is the best place for my daughter to study biomedicine?” There are many ways to answer this question. The answer I always give is: “It depends on your child.” I tell them to focus on fit, not rank.




