Episodes
March 1, 2018
Conversion Charts and the New SAT; Tax Refunds for Loans; Visits
Whenever major changes are made to a standardized test, there’s a transition period during which colleges are receiving scores from both the old and new tests. If you’re wondering how colleges handle that, tune in this week f...
Feb. 22, 2018
How Important Is Your Major to Your Career?; Listener Questions
If you assume that all future doctors should major in biology, future PR practioners should major in communications, and future business leaders should major in business, you don’t want to miss this week’s segment exploring t...
Feb. 15, 2018
Summer Series: Arts; Tax Breaks; Senior Year Transitions
Ever think that being the parent of a student in college should come with a tax break? You’re in luck—it does, and we’re going to tell you all about them in this week’s show. In our Summer Program series we’re looking at oppo...
Feb. 8, 2018
Summer Series: Volunteer; Early Trends; Scholarship Negotiation
This week’s Summer Program series segment is all about the wide variety of options available in volunteering. Doing good for free is easier than you think! We’ll also walk through negotiating scholarships and explore trends a...
Feb. 1, 2018
Summer Series: Sports; Aid Appeals; Understanding EA Decisions
The latest segment in our Getting In series on summer programs focuses in on all the options available to students interested in sports, whether playing, refereeing, managing, etc. We’ll also help families understand how to b...
Jan. 25, 2018
Summer Series: Internships; Your Finance and Admissions Questions
This week in the Summer Program series: internships. These can be a great way to investigate a variety of careers, and we’ll talk through how to find them! We’ll also answer your college finance and admissions questions.
Jan. 18, 2018
Summer Series: Writing; Fordham Admissions; 529 vs Prepaid Plans
If you’re trying to decide between saving for college in a 529 plan or a prepaid tuition plan, this is the show for you. We’ll look at the differences between them and offer suggestions for deciding which is the right one for...
Jan. 11, 2018
Summer Series: STEM; Helping Students Manage Money; Office Hours
Introducing a new Getting In series: Summer Programs! We’re kicking off the inaugural episode with a focus on summer programs for students interested in STEM. Tune in to learn more about what to look for and how to find math,...
Jan. 4, 2018
Early Action Results; What's An Award Letter; 2018 Resolutions
Early action results are coming in, and we have some insight into the trends we seeing at places like Stanford, Harvard, and other highly selective schools, as well as some of the publics like Michigan. Wondering what is in a...
Dec. 28, 2017
Improving Chances via Gap Years; Office Hours: Listener Questions
Students who are turned down by their first choice college sometimes hatch a plan to take a gap year and reapply in the hopes of a different decision. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of this approach. In Office Hours, we’ll b...
Dec. 21, 2017
Deferral Next Steps; Summer Programs; Controlling College Costs
You were deferred. Wondering what to do next? We’ve got you covered in this week’s Office Hours, when we discuss next steps for deferred students. We’ll also be talking about summer programs to consider, and how you can actua...
Dec. 14, 2017
MBA Expectations; Saving Tips for Late Starters; Columbia Essays
If you have aspirations of earning an MBA, you know that leadership is important. But do you know what constitutes good leadership experience from a business school admissions perspective? A former Wharton graduation admissio...
Dec. 7, 2017
Colleges That Change Lives; St. Olaf Financial Aid; Early Results
If there was a group of colleges focused on a personalized, student-focused college experience, would you be interested? Well Colleges That Change Lives is that group, and executive director Maria Furtado joins us to share mo...
Nov. 30, 2017
Regular Decision College Lists; Finance and Admissions Questions
Regular decision deadlines are approaching. This next set of deadlines is important for both students getting a later start—it’s certainly not too late!—and for students who submitted one or more applications in the early rou...
Nov. 16, 2017
Senior Year Grades; Net Price Calculators; USC Essays
Net price calculators are an important part of figuring out if a college is a good fit—it doesn’t make sense to consider a school if you can’t afford it without going into debt. We’ll help you understand how net price calcula...
Nov. 9, 2017
FAFSA and CSS Profile: After You Submit; Honors Colleges; UVA Essay
Curious about what happens to your FAFSA and/or CSS Profile once you press submit? We’ll take you behind the scenes in this week’s show and offer some insight into what goes on once your application has been received. We’ll a...
Nov. 2, 2017
Standing Out: Major; Lehigh and Lafayette Essays; the CSS Profile
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been going through the different ways in which students can stand out in competitive college applicant pools. In our latest installment of the Standing Out series, we cover the impact of college...
Oct. 26, 2017
Standing Out: Where to Apply; Office Hours: Listener Questions
Our latest in the Standing Out series looks at how the choice of where to apply to college can be a big factor in helping students stand out in the applicant pool. We’re relying on you for this week’s Office Hours—it’s all ab...
Oct. 19, 2017
Standing Out: Extracurriculars; FAFSA; Submitting Applications
You’re working on the FAFSA and you have questions. You’re in luck, because we have answers! Tune in to this week’s show for information on completing the FAFSA. In the second in our Standing Out series, we’ll tackle extracur...
Oct. 12, 2017
How to Stand Out; Should I File the FAFSA?; Standardized Tests
One of the most common listener questions we receive is, “How can my son/daughter stand out in the application process?” This week, we’re introducing the Standing Out series to try to get at some answers to this elusive quest...
Oct. 5, 2017
Office Hours: UC Essays; Scholarships with Fall Deadlines
The University of California system has its own application that takes a slightly different approach than the Common Application. Instead of one primary essay, the UC app offers eight prompts for students to choose from when ...
Sept. 28, 2017
Bad Essay Ideas; Princeton Supplemental Essays; Finance Questions
Working on an essay and wondering if your idea is a good one? Take a listen to an all-new segment on terrible college essay ideas that we’ve encountered in our years of reading tens of thousands of these. We’ll answer your co...
Sept. 21, 2017
Harvard Admissions; Health Professions Degrees; ApplyTexas Essays
Struggling with your Apply Texas application essays? Look no further—we’ve got tips and suggestions for approaching these in this week’s Office Hours segment. We’ll also go inside the Harvard admissions office with a College ...
Sept. 14, 2017
Admissions Myths; Office Hours; Inside BU's Financial Aid Office
There are few phrases more common in college admissions than, “I heard that…”Most of what follows will be half-truths, innuendo, or information that is flat out wrong. In this week’s show, we’ll talk through the myths and rea...