As a father to a kid who just entered middle school, college is on our radar but it’s far into the future. I met up with a friend who just went through the college admissions process a year ago and he told me it’s absolutely insane.
The amount of pressure and the “games” you have to play are astounding. He recommended this book by Jeffrey Selingo titled Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions (I’ve yet to read it but with our kids going into college in 7+ years, it was lower on my list at the time).
To parents with kids thinking about college, I salute you.
The Particular Misery of College-Admissions TikTok [The New Yorker] – “A common theory of teen unhappiness says that kids these days are under an inordinate amount of pressure to compete. The evidence is all over social media.”
Beware the Private Markets pedestal [Real Returns] – “I think private markets probably are inefficient and so can throw up great opportunities. But none of these things are the same as saying that private markets are always inherently great investments. In fact, if the only thing you know for sure about an illiquid asset is that you can’t sell it when you want, then the staring point is kind of the opposite.” What Dan is saying here about “private markets” are things you’d probably consider “alternative investments,” investments outside of the stock market. They’re sexy, hence putting them on a pedestal, but you have to prove they offer better returns on a case by case basis.
How to psychologically recover from a major financial setback [Million Stories] – “Rasure recommends giving yourself a safe space to acknowledge what you’re feeling and pay attention to your physical senses. “Go for a walk, exercise, meditate, breathe,” she suggests. “Get grounded.””