Episodes
April 19, 2018
Payment Plans; Myths: re UK Universities; Standardized Tests
As the world becomes more global and a greater number of students look for college options farther from home, we’re seeing lots of interest in the UK university system. We’re going to explore some common myths related to appl...
April 12, 2018
Creating a College List; Waitlists from the College Perspective
There are two important parts of every college lists: finding the best fit colleges where the student can get in and pay for. We’ll devote two segments to those ideas this week, focusing on how to get started on the list and ...
April 5, 2018
High School Resources; Babson Financial Aid: Goucher Admissions
We’re tapping our colleagues’ experience this week to offer insight into Goucher College and how they approach admissions and Babson’s financial aid process. In Office Hours, we’re offering advice about how to make the most o...
March 29, 2018
NACAC State of Admissions Report; How Much to Borrow; Waitlisted?
Every year the National Association of College Admissions Counselors studies the state of college admissions and issues a report. We have the results of this year’s report, and we’re going to share some highlights. If you’re ...
March 22, 2018
Small Fish in Big Pond or Big Fish in Small Pond?; Listener Q and A
Is it better to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? And what does aquatic life have to do with college anyway? Tune in for our take. We’ll also answer your college finance and admissions questions in ...
March 15, 2018
College Visit Pitfalls; Preparing for Results; More Finance Myths
We’re big fans of college visits, because there’s no substitute for getting a firsthand view of the institution. But not all visits are created equal, so in this week’s episode we’ll be helping you avoid some common campus vi...
March 8, 2018
Overnight Visits; Urban Vs. Rural Vs. Suburban; Finance Myths
For students in the final stages of deciding which school to apply to or attend, overnight visits can really make a difference. Tune in to learn more about the value of the overnight visit. We’ll also talk about the pros and ...
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...