We were thrilled to sit down with Joel Butterly , CEO of Ingenious Prep , for a wide-ranging conversation on what families consistently get wrong about college admissions and career preparation. One of Joel’s core insights is that standing out in high school does not automatically translate to standing out in the admissions process or the job market. Academic performance functions as a threshold, not a differentiator. Once students meet that bar, colleges and employers alike are looking for...

If you are in college, you probably hope that graduating will be enough to launch your career. For those of you still in high school, you are likely working hard to get into the best college you can with the same hope. That path worked for your parents. It no longer works for you. The Jobs You Want Rigorously Test For Skills Not Taught in School Employers, both “elite” and otherwise, use intensive skills assessments throughout their hiring process. These tests identify whether you actually...

MIT has the highest median mid-career income of any university in the world. Its graduates are among the most economically successful and technically accomplished professionals globally. When you think of MIT alumni, you likely envision innovators, startup founders, and engineers working on breakthrough technologies—the kind of people who help land rockets on barges or develop cutting-edge AI systems. Yet a closer examination reveals a broad spectrum of outcomes. Some achieve the kinds of...