--- title: TaborTalk | Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling --- [Tabor Login](https://www.taboracademy.org/app) [![Tabor Academy](https://info.taboracademy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Tabor_Academy_August2017%20Theme/Images/master-logo.png?width=680&name=master-logo.png "Tabor Academy")](https://www.taboracademy.org) - [Inquire](https://www.taboracademy.org/admissions/inquire) - [Give](https://www.taboracademy.org/community/support) - [![myTA](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/Tabor_Academy_August2017%20Theme/Images/large_link930751_80723.png)](https://taboracademy.myschoolapp.com/app/) [myTA](https://taboracademy.myschoolapp.com/app/) Search - Menu Item 1 - Sub-menu Item 1 - Another Item - Sub-menu Item 2 - Menu Item 2 - Yet Another Item - Menu Item 3 - Menu Item 4 # TaborTalk Blog ## Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling ### Recent Posts #### [Need to Decide About Where to Attend College? Trust yourself](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/need-to-decide-about-where-to-attend-college-trust-yourself) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on Feb 23, 2022 2:33:01 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![Variety of college and university pennants hung on a wall ](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/College%20Counseling%20-%205124737%20%281%29.jpg)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/need-to-decide-about-where-to-attend-college-trust-yourself) “Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you…….”. It’s the phrase every senior wants to read when they hear back from the schools to which they applied. Many of our students have already received good news based on early decision and early action results. But many Tabor students, and certainly the majority of high school students throughout the US, are not under binding decisions. For them, they wait. And once they get their acceptances, they decide. Ask them in June what was harder, waiting or deciding, and you might be surprised by the answer. But now it is real. Students are in the driver’s seat, about to make a decision that has been hyped as the most important of their lives to date. Many have bought into a myth of the idealized college experience only to be attained at the perfectly matched school. With the stakes ratcheted up so high, it’s no wonder they fear a misstep.    [Read More](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/need-to-decide-about-where-to-attend-college-trust-yourself) Topics: [College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/topic/college-counseling) #### [Teacher Recommendations:  A Chapter in Each Student’s Story](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/teacher-recommendations-a-chapter-in-each-students-story) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on Mar 18, 2020 1:37:44 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/A06I8221.jpg)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/teacher-recommendations-a-chapter-in-each-students-story) [Read More](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/teacher-recommendations-a-chapter-in-each-students-story) Topics: [College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/topic/college-counseling) #### [Insights into 9 Universities in Ireland, Scotland and England](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/insights-into-9-universities-in-ireland-scotland-and-england) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on Oct 10, 2019 2:04:14 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![IMG_6080](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/IMG_6080.jpg)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/insights-into-9-universities-in-ireland-scotland-and-england) **“One must travel to learn.”** [Read More](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/insights-into-9-universities-in-ireland-scotland-and-england) Topics: [College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/topic/college-counseling) #### [What’s the Role of a Parent in the College Journey?  Let It Be an Opportunity, not a Chore](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/whats-the-role-of-a-parent-in-the-college-journey-let-it-be-an-opportunity-not-a-chore) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on Apr 26, 2019 9:17:15 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![3](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/3.jpg)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/whats-the-role-of-a-parent-in-the-college-journey-let-it-be-an-opportunity-not-a-chore) I received a call recently from a junior parent, asking, “What should I be doing right now?” It was a simple question, but I knew what was behind it. How do I help? What is my role?   [Read More](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/whats-the-role-of-a-parent-in-the-college-journey-let-it-be-an-opportunity-not-a-chore) Topics: [College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/topic/college-counseling) #### [California Dreaming](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/california-dreaming) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on Oct 17, 2018 3:34:12 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![intro_about-800x532](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/intro_about-800x532.jpg)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/california-dreaming) The line from the Mamas and the Papas isn’t a perfect fit, but I couldn’t get it out of my head – *California dreamin’, on such a winter’s day*. That was the soundtrack playing as I made my way west last March. California has an undeniable appeal. [Read More](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/california-dreaming) Topics: [College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/topic/college-counseling) #### [Mind The Gap](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/mind-the-gap) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on May 10, 2018 9:23:39 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![Screen Shot 2018-05-10 at 4.44.35 PM](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-05-10%20at%204.44.35%20PM.png)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/mind-the-gap) When Malia Obama decided to take a gap year before enrolling at Harvard University, the world took notice. “The Malia Effect” means that scores of high school seniors now consider deferment at their university of choice, taking a break from the “education treadmill” to do something different before getting back on and running for another four years. [Read More](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/mind-the-gap) Topics: [College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/topic/college-counseling) #### [Always Learning: How Tabor's College Counselors Stay Current](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/always-learning-how-tabors-college-counselors-stay-current) Posted by [Mary Kate McCain, Co-Director of College Counseling](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/author/mary-kate-mccain-associate-director-of-college-counseling) on Dec 20, 2017 4:50:37 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![College Counseling - 5124709.jpg](https://info.taboracademy.org/hubfs/College%20Counseling%20-%205124709.jpg)](https://info.taboracademy.org/blog/always-learning-how-tabors-college-counselors-stay-current) College counseling is equal parts staying current about colleges and the industry, and actively listening to the students we advise; these are two areas where anyone can improve, and improvement lies in active professional development. If we are to do our jobs well, our work has to take us beyond our school by the sea to college campuses around the country, and to numerous conferences. 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