Mark Moody

It’s not just fewer eighteen-year-olds. It’s a culture that has slowly, decisively decided that education is a product with a return, not a process with a becoming. It’s a generation of parents who have been taught — by rankings, by social media, by the sheer economic terror of the middle class — that the only safe education is the legible one. The one with a major, a GPA, a clear line from enrollment to employment. It seems that the news about Hampshire College, a relatively young, somewhat...

Read on Substack I wrote a message to my class of 2026 clients about managing the decisions that are mostly in, with more coming this week. Here’s a version of that message for anyone who can use it. Dear Class of 2026 and parents: The letters are almost all in. After months of self-reflection, research, essays, and waiting, you have your results — and each one hits differently. Some made you want to call everyone you know. Some hurt. Some left you with more uncertainty. All of that is...

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the college admissions experience, and a lot of factors you can’t control. Resist the temptations of clickbait posts and anecdotal advice in parent forums. Someone’s story of “how I got in” is not a blueprint for anyone else. Help your student stay focused on their own purpose for going to college, your priorities and limitations, and their evolving, evidence-based understanding of fit.