If junior parents understood how much strategy matters in college admissions, the process would feel a lot less stressful. Strong applications are not built by following a generic checklist. They’re built by understanding who the student is, how they think, what motivates them, and how their experiences actually fit together into a clear story. That’s where most families get stuck. A lot of advice out there is scripted. Same timelines. Same formulas. Same recommendations for every student. But a