Episodes

Have you or your student ever had a disciplinary issue that led to a suspension, an expulsion, or even a visit to court? Former Swarthmore senior admissions officer Kennon Dick will join us to share his thoughts about how to ...

The Common App for the 2015-2016 application season made it's official debut this past weekend on August 1. Before you rush to start filling it out, tune in to Getting In as Elyse Krantz and I walk through it and offer inform...

The Common Application is the application of choice for more than 500 colleges and universities in the US and abroad, which makes it fairly common for many students applying to college to use it. Each year the application goe...

It's hard to read any account of the college admissions process these days without hearing about how important extracurricular activities are. What is less widely discussed is that the ways in which you present those activiti...

Early decision is a way for students to show commitment to their top choice college and get an early answer at the same time. But you may not be aware that there can be significant financial implications to this binding optio...

Ever heard that junior year is the most important of all when it comes to college admissions? In part three of our four-part series on what to be thinking about each year of high school, we'll tackle this question and offer i...

Many colleges require a personal essay in which applicants share something important about themselves. But did you know that some also ask for an essay that, in essence, asks Why this college? It's incredibly important to get...

This week's show is all about getting an early start. For starters, we’re introducing the first segment in a four-week series covering everything you need to be thinking about relating to college admissions for each year of h...

Do you have college admissions and finance questions? We have answers! Join us on June 18, when we invite our listeners to call in and talk to us live on air. Have a question about whether or not to drop French after sophomor...

For all those rising seniors out there, summer is a great time to start work on your college applications! If you're currently stuck staring at the Common App prompts and wondering where to go from there, don't miss this epis...

While 529 savings plans and pre-paid tuition options get a great deal of coverage in the media, there are actually quite a few different ways to save for college. In this week's episode, we'll explore using a Roth IRA for jus...

Ever wonder if it makes sense to select different majors at each school to improve the odds of acceptance? Maybe you heard that admissions officers really like essays that focus on an example of doing good in the community? O...

While applying to college can be long and arduous and figuring out the financial piece is often just as challenging, it's really just a precursor to the biggest hurdle of all: going to college. In this week's show, we're talk...

Securing a nomination. Passing the physical fitness test. Taking the appropriate coursework. If the idea of attending West Point, Annapolis, or another service academy in preparation for serving your country appeals to you, t...

Ask any high school junior how they're feeling, and the almost inevitable reply will be, Stressed. The root of much of that stress these days is college. Whether students are overloading themselves with coursework, overbookin...

There are a lot of numbers involved in the admissions process: GPAs, standardized test scores, admit rates, class rankings, etc. Although in general numbers are a fairly black and white matter, the fact is that there is a lot...

Ever wonder how you or your child can stand out in the ultra-competitive Ivy League admissions process? The answer is developing a distinguishing excellence. In a continuation of a discussion begun in our last episode of Gett...

Do you or your child aspire to the Ivy League or similarly highly selective colleges? Don't miss this episode of Getting In, when former Yale admissions officer Amy Alexander will join us to discuss the basics of admission to...

Worried about the college admissions essay? Unclear about how to use the prompts provided on the Common App? Wondering what changed about the Common App prompts this year? We've got answers! Elyse Krantz, former senior admiss...

College decisions are in, and with them, financial aid packages have arrived as well. Wondering how to fully understand the financial implications of those awards for your family? Former senior financial aid officer Laurie Pe...

Wondering what it means to be waitlisted and, more importantly, what the likelihood is that your application will actually get switched from waitlist to admit? We'll get some answers from former Swarthmore senior admissions o...

What happens when the modern family--divorced, remarried, stepparents, stepchildren and all--applies for financial aid? What do you do if your ex doesn't want to be involved? Will your new spouse be expected to pay tuition fo...

Visiting colleges can be time consuming and expensive. On this episode, we'll welcome college visit expert Bill Ruben to talk about getting the most out of those visits, from when to go to what to see and do while you're ther...

Can you really reposition family assets to create more financial aid eligibility? Are there ways to hide assets and lower your expected family contribution? Is it possible to get colleges to consider your child financially in...