A medical leave of absence is a structured, institutionally recognized way for students to step away when health interferes with academic engagement. This guide explains how medical leaves work, what colleges consider when students return, and why readiness—not speed—shapes successful reentry.

We often hear concerns about the cost of college counseling when we speak with prospective families. Families’ questions usually boil down to: what will we gain from college counseling, and is it worth the expense? Learn the benefits of hiring a college counselor and how college counseling arms families to be most thoughtful about the significant financial investment of college.

When college doesn’t go as planned and a student has had to step away, getting back can feel like the goal. In reality, what matters most is readiness. This guide explores what meaningful college reentry requires after academic disruption and when transfer becomes part of a thoughtful, sustainable path forward.

Choosing a college isn’t about prestige, rankings, or checking boxes—it’s about finding the environment where your child will truly thrive. In this article, Dr. Jennifer Stephan introduces the Deep-Fit™ framework, explains the Four Pillars of fit, and shares real student stories that show how Deep-Fit transforms the college search, the application process, and ultimately a student’s college experience.

When my daughter began her college search, I thought I understood how her college search should go. I was wrong—and what followed shaped the Deep-Fit approach we use at Lantern College Counseling today.

We speak geek — and it makes a real difference. With deep roots in engineering and computer science, we help STEM students find their voice, tell their story, and discover colleges where they’ll thrive.

It isn’t just the acceptances that make a college search successful — it’s the partnership behind them. At Lantern, we work closely with students and families through our team-based Deep-Fit™ methodology, to help students identify the environments where they’ll thrive — academically, socially, and personally. Read how one student’s journey from setbacks to a joyful “We did it!” moment shows the power of partnership in the college search.

“What should my child be doing for activities?”

It’s one of the most common—and most misunderstood—questions we hear from families eager to give their child the best chance for strong college admissions outcomes. Our answer? It starts with understanding why activities matter in the first place—they’re about helping students develop a deeper understanding of themselves.

At Lantern College Counseling, students are guided by a unified team—two experienced college counselors working in close partnership. Every student receives the full benefit of our shared insight and ongoing collaboration. Lantern’s College Admissions Counselors Jennifer Stephan and Eliza Yuen support every student, combining their expertise to deliver personalized and consistent guidance. Students benefit from a dual-counselor model rarely found in independent college counseling—offering a mix of insight, experience, and regular collaboration.

College is a time of growth, challenge, and self-discovery—a period full of promise and potential. Even the most capable students benefit from guidance as they navigate academic demands, new freedoms, and evolving questions about who they want to become and the future they hope to create. At Lantern, we offer College Success Coaching to help students build confidence, clarity, and direction through a personalized, trusting relationship with someone who deeply understands the college experience, shaped by decades of guiding and mentoring students as deans and advisors.

Our 75 years of collective experience supporting Harvard University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College students to reach their college goals has led to our framework for college success, which includes action items in the areas of wellness, academic success, know and use your resources, build your community, and create your future. Here, we share how to put this framework into action through a roadmap starting from the moment a student makes their college choice.

Students and their parents often think that a student should apply to as many highly selective schools as possible to achieve their best admissions outcomes. In practice, we see the opposite to be true. Why is this the case? Why does a probabilistic approach fall short in college admissions?

At Lantern College Counseling, we have over 25 years of experience helping high school students apply to and transition to college and over 45 years of experience supporting and educating students on college campuses. We’ve leveraged our deep and extensive expertise to develop this comprehensive guide and task timeline for the college application process. 

Students thrive at both colleges and universities. Fit is important. Suppose a student is the type of person who could struggle to seek out resources and develop relationships with faculty. In that case, a smaller college may be a better match than a university. On the other hand, independent and assertive students may soar at a university amidst its rich offerings.

It is common for high school and new college students to be undecided about what they want to major in during college. And, those who start college with certainty about their major often change their minds. Not being sure about what one wants to study is entirely developmentally appropriate! At the age of 18 or 19, students are still young, forming their identities, and have significant learning and growth ahead of them. Students will and should change during college. After all, that is one of the goals of education.

Why do so many professors and deans specifically choose Lantern’s Deep-Fit college counseling process for their children? The answer lies not only in the emphasis on academic success but in the shared value of an entire educational journey. Professors and deans know the deeper, nuanced reality of higher education: it is more than getting accepted to an institution; what matters is what happens once the student arrives and how they thrive on campus.

Parents with children with unique needs for their learning and living environment worry that there may not be a college where their child will be happy and successful. Their child may have learning differences, documented disabilities, long-term health issues, or be part of a marginalized identity and require a welcoming and supportive campus environment to thrive. Lantern’s Deep-Fit™ counseling services help students find a college home where they will succeed and be happy.

The college search process should not be about chasing rankings or superficial factors. It isn't all about getting in - it is about what happens during college.

At a Deep-Fit college, students can achieve their personal and academic goals, have impactful experiences, thrive, develop confidence and agency, and lay the foundation for a successful life.

As anyone paying attention to college admissions knows, the chances of getting accepted to many of the most highly sought-after colleges and universities drop year after year. Indeed, a recent Inside Higher Ed article details that the number of applications increased this past application cycle, and acceptance rates decreased, with acceptance rates at some highly selective institutions below 5%.

Answering these types of questions will position students to make Deep-Fit applications so they stand out in the overcrowded CS and engineering application pool, shining above other talented students with similar grades, courses, test scores, and activities who have not shown that they are a Deep-Fit.