Deren Finks is the former Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Harvey Mudd College (one of the five Claremont Colleges) and a college consultant. He breaks down how to write better college essays, mistakes kids make when they apply to college, tips on applying to public vs private colleges, how to help your counselor write a recommendation letter, the secret importance of ACT and SAT scores in a "test-optional" landscape, and describes some of the best college applications he's ever seen during his forty years of experience in college admissions, consulting to elite colleges, and helping students craft their college applications to get into their dream universities.    Category: Learning & Wealth  Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com/   EPISODE LINKS:  Harvey Mudd College: https://www.hmc.edu/   PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml SUPPORT & CONNECT:- Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast. - Support on Patreon: (coming soon) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/testprepgurus - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickstandlea - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-standlea-43732573/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/testprepgurus/ Medium: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/nick-standlea-of-test-prep-gurus-how-to-take-your-company-from-good-to-great-491ef2c53fb9