In this episode you will hear:   (02:13) In The News Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how does athletic recruiting work for students who are applying to selective colleges. 2 of 9 (20:35) Question from a listener:  Julia joins Mark to discuss how is it possible for colleges that get inundated with applications to read all of those files     (33:00) Interview  Mark interviews Carlynn Greene, AKA, “the Scholarship Guru” on the topic...

In this episode you will hear:   Mark shares how colleges handle it if one parent refuses to complete the financial aid forms? Do you have any options? Vince interview Sarah Lovely, an expert in admissions and the arts. 1 of 5 Part 1 ² Vince gives an in-depth preview of Sara’s background ² Sarah talks about her experience at Bowdoin, Brandeis, Walnut Hill, Tisch School of the Arts and at Julliard ² Sarah talks about applying to Conservatory style programs ² Sarah talks about the...

In this episode you will hear:   (13:50) In The News Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how pre-reads work for athletic recruits applying to selective colleges. (31:20) Question from a listener:  Susan joins Mark to answer a question from Jana from Oklahoma, How do we know if a college has quality teaching?     (55:45) Interview  Mark interviews Carlynn Greene, AKA, “the Scholarship Guru” on the topic of, How to Win Outside...

In this episode you will hear:   Mark shares how students can relieve stress by getting some early acceptances with scholarships in August of their senior years by taking advantage of Direct Admissions   Interview with Jay Rosner-Part 4 of 4   ·         Jay, goes on the hotseat ·         Jay explains what it was like testifying before the Supreme Court ·         Julia shares how Jay has inspired her ·         Jay shares a great story about our own Susan Tree       ...

In this episode you will hear:   (06:00) Question from a listener Mark and Lisa answer a question from a student: If my sister turned down a highly selective school, will that be held against me? (11:35) Question from a listener:  Susan joins Mark to answer a question, How does Landscape help admission officers when they are reading an application? (43:45) Question from a listener Lisa and Mark answer a question about how can you know if a college has good career outcomes and...

    In the News-Julia and Mark discuss topics to avoid when selecting a topic for your Personal Statement (1 of 2)   Interview with Jay Rosner-Part 3 of 4   §  We return to challenging Jay’s perspective and §  Jay explains why “test-free” is better than a school being test-optional §  Jay explains the history of the SAT and Eugenics §  Jay shares his advice for someone who is wrestling with whether to take the test §  Jay shares how many times a student should take the test § ...

In this episode you will hear:   (02:36) In the News Mark and Julia answer several question from Assaf from Rochester. He has several questions about Honors College’s (23:45) Question from a listener:  Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a few questions from an anonymous mom about the Honors section of the Common App.   (39:50) Interview  Mark interviews Stephen Burd, Editor of the book, Lifting the Veil on Enrollment Management, and...

In this episode you will hear:   In the News-Julia and I discuss U Chicago’s new Early Decision Program   Interview with Jay Rosner-Part 2 of 4   §  Jay explains what he believes the motivations are for the elite colleges §  Jay answers the question, why should a highly selective school not use testing, after all, they need some factor to differentiate where most students have all A’s, and embellished recs and professionally polished writing, §  Jay rebuts the diamond in the rough...

In this episode you will hear:   (03:35) In the News Mark and Julia answer a question about how colleges evaluate the rigor of under-resourced high schools that do not have many AP courses (28:44) Question from a listener:  Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a question from Alison from Ohio about Cum Laude and the Honors section   (38:12) Interview  Mark interviews Stephen Burd, Editor of the book, Lifting the Veil on Enrollment...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Mark shares the new changes that were announced this week o         Mark and Julia interview Jay Rosner on the Inherent Flaws with the ACT and the SAT-Part 1 of 4 o            Part 1-Preview   §  Julia does an intro of Jay Rosner and then Jay goes into more depth about his background §  Jay explains the mission of the foundation that he works for §  Jay explains why he went from running a Princeton Review test prep office 35 years ago to someone...

In this episode you will hear:   (02:25) In the News Mark and Lisa answer the question from a listener: How can you know if a college makes holistic admissions decisions or whether they admit students by the number (12:40) Question from a listener:  Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss several questions from a student about whether Eagles Scout belongs in the Honors Section   (19:36) Interview  Mark interviews Stephen Burd, Editor of...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Mark and Julia discuss colleges that offer a binding early program months before their competitors, listen to learn about this unique way to apply to Wake Forest and to the University of Chicago. The two programs are similar in some ways but very different in other ways. o        After 5 years, Colonel Robert Kirkland is back, Lynda interviews Rob on the Service Academies of West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force-Part 4 of 4 o           ...

In this episode you will hear:   (03:45) In the News Mark and Julia discuss waitlists and then they discuss an article by Jeff Selingo entitled, “The New Trick Families are using to Lower Tuition” Part 2 of 2 (26:57) Question from a listener:  Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a question from a listener in Narobi, Kenya about the Common App. The roundtable then discusses the Additional Information Section of the Common App.   (38:20) ...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Mark shares six different groups of parents where he has seen conflict. Mark explains eight or nine areas where conflict arises on the college process. o        After 5 years, Colonel Robert Kirkland is back, Lynda interviews Rob on the Service Academies of West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force-Part 3 of 4 o            Preview Part 3-Preview §  Rob explains how each congress person can ask for different letters of recommendation §  Rob...

In this episode you will hear:   (25:20) In the News Mark and Julia discuss waitlists and then they discuss an article by Jeff Selingo entitled, “The New Trick Families are using to Lower Tuition” Part 1 of 2 (49:28) Question from a listener:  Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a question from a listener in Narobi, Kenya about the Common App. The roundtable then discusses the Additional Information Section of the Common App.   ...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Mark shares one missed opportunity when it comes to the college admission journey o        Lisa and Mark discuss an answer to a question from Kerry from suburban Chicago, she wants to know, in this age of students applying to 20 or so schools, is it okay if my student applies to only five or six schools if the college list is balanced. o        After 5 years, Colonel Robert Kirkland is back, Lynda interviews Rob on the Service Academies of West...

In this episode you will hear:   (02:08) Question from a listener: Number 1 Mark and Julia answer a question, If a student attends a highly resourced schools, what does a student have to do to get top grades for rigor (31:28) Question from a listener: Number 2 Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we are discussing several questions that came in from Amanda from Texas about the Honors section of the application, including, what happens if a high school...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Mark shares one missed opportunity when it comes to the college admission journey o        After 5 years, Colonel Robert Kirkland is back, Lynda interviews Rob on the Service Academies-Part 1 of 4 o            Preview Part 1-Preview §  Rob was first on our podcast in August of 2019, but I interviewed him in June of 2019, so exactly, five years ago, in that interview, Rob taught us how to get a ROTC scholarship and at that time, I said to Rob,...

In this episode you will hear:   (04:28) Question from a listener: Number 1 We have two Questions from listeners today. Susan and Julia answer a question, If something really bad happened at your high school before you got there, should you discuss it? (11:52) Question from a listener: Number 2 Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we are discussing whether a student should include something that they only did for three days?   (18:26) Interview  ...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Two of our listeners share advice from things they learned from going through the college process o        Mark interviews Michael Keaton, the VP of Enrollment at Ursinus College on “The Importance of Fit” o            Preview §  Julia and I interview Michael Keaton for the third of a trilogy of interviews we did with Michael, the first one was on “problems with the new FAFSA” then we did a Spotlight on Ursinus College and now Michael is talking...

In this episode you will hear:   (03:05) Question from a listener: Number 1 We have two Questions from listeners today. Susan and Mark answer a question, How do colleges perceive it when a student does three years of high school instead of four years? (12:43) Question from a listener: Number 2 Julia and Mark answer a question from a student; the student received a book award from Notre Dame and he wants to know what a book award is and he wants to know whether he should list it on...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Julia and I discuss Scholarship Displacement, what is it and is there anything you can do about it; are any states outlawing scholarship displacement o        Julia and Mark discuss Stanford’s return to requiring the SAT or the ACT and Mark has his first grinding my gears in the last 6 months. o        Mark interviews John Hoffman: Reflections on 45 years doing college placement and school placement-Part 3 of 3 o            Preview of Part 3 ...

In this episode you will hear:   (03:05) Question from a listener: Number 1 We have two Questions from listeners today. Lisa and Mark answer a question, How important should a student’s experience at an “Admitted Student Program” be when selecting a college? (16:10) Question from a listener: Number 2 Mark and Susan then answer a question about “Project Lead the Way” courses. How do admissions officers perceive these classes?   (36:20) Interview  Lisa interviews Michelle...

In this episode you will hear:   o        Mark shares three opportunities he sees too many students and parents missing out on over the summer. o        Mark interviews John Hoffman: Reflections on 45 years doing college placement and school placement-Part 2 of 3 o            Preview of Part 2 o     John talks about the college process for his daughter that was just completed last month o     John shared how his daughter communicated the lower grades that she had in her freshman year to...

In this episode you will hear:   (02:28) Susan and Mark discuss an Inside Higher Ed article by Liam Knox, entitled, “Pulling Back the Veil” on Enrollment Management. The article is an interview with Stephen Burd on his new book that blames the multi-million-dollar field of enrollment management for much of higher education’s woes. Part 2 of 2     (36:50) Question from a listener. A dad from Virginia wants to know, how is the IB curriculum perceived by colleges (52:02) Interview  ...