Jesse McTigue Academic and College Counseling. Let's create your academic path.
15/06/2026
What an interesting read about the future of college admission essays.
Your voice is an authentic introduction of yourself - your experiences, values, influences, passions - are the most important elements of your college essay. Using AI will make your essay polished but more generic in the sea of essays.
Check out this article in the NY Times for more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/opinion/writing-creativity-ai.html
15/05/2026
There is big news coming for NCAA athletes…
There are still lots of questions, plenty of discussion, and few answers. Stay Tuned as the NCAA is scheduled to discuss and potentially vote on May 22.
Juniors: Jesse has a hot May tip for you!
Take a listen to learn more about making the biggest impact as the year comes to a close.
11/05/2026
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who is also on this journey ✨
02/05/2026
Congratulations to the 2026 JMAC Cohort for engaging in a thoughtful, intentional, college selection and application process.
As I say, you have full control of the process but not of every outcome, yet when you focus on the process the outcomes are usually pretty awesome.
Congrats on your acceptances to all of these amazing colleges!
Don’t make this big mistake when applying for colleges - get another tip from Jesse on the road - from a windy day at St. Lawrence!
While you may have your dream school you want to attend, it’s also important to apply (AND VISIT!) schools that you’d be happy to attend with high admit rates.
Take a listen for more details!
Okay, this might seem like a no-brainer… but you need to go visit schools! Start close to home if it feels overwhelming. It’s the easiest way to find out if the school is a good fit.
Stay tuned for one more tip from the road coming soon…
I’m out on an East Coast college tour… and I’m sharing some tips for juniors as they head out on college tours of their own.
Here are three quick tips for juniors before they ever step on campus.
14/04/2026
I spent last week at the North American Championships at Kicking Horse, BC.
North America’s top U15 & U19 Free Ride skiers and boarders went head-to-head with the culture of love for skiing, competition, and community.
Free Ride continually delivers and this year was no different.
Proud to have three student/athletes working with JMAC in the comp!
Currently there are 18 US College Free Ridge Clubs registered with IFSA and more are joining every year - Which is great news for students who want to keep Big Mountain in their lives. More are joining every year, too!
The single greatest factor for student success in college is a sense of belonging - and for many of my students, that starts in the mountain 🎿
03/03/2026
Junior winter and spring are when many students begin building their “college list.” Too often, though, that process starts in the wrong place—prioritizing name recognition and prestige instead of self-reflection. A more effective approach begins with deeper questions: In what social, academic, cultural, and geographic environments do I actually thrive? What do I need in place to feel supported, successful, and well? On which campuses would I feel grounded not only on my best days, but also on my hardest ones?
At its core, the college search is about belonging. Finding the right schools requires intention, honesty, and time—time to reflect, research, and imagine where a student can truly grow across all areas of college life and beyond.
The research included in this post is from Jeffrey Selingo's Dream School.