Episodes

Are you a 9th, 10th, or 11th grader in high school, or the parent of one? We’ve got you covered in this episode! College Coach colleague, and parent of high school students, Kara Courtois, will be talking with host Ian Fisher about what 9th and 10th graders should be preparing for in the upcoming months, and Nicole Doyle, another colleague and parent will be covering the same topic with Ian but about high school juniors. Alex Bickford, college finance expert, will be covering the financial side ...

Have you ever thought about gap year, or even another year of high school? Host Beth Heaton will be discussing who and why should consider those options with colleague Zaragoza Guerra. Then, Jen Simons, formerly of the admission offices of Tufts, Northeastern, and more, will address whether applicants should create a resume. Hint: in most cases, no! Also, Beth will be joined by college finance expert Zachery Gries to talk about financial aid notification timelines for early admission applicants.

Today’s battle: public universities versus liberal arts colleges! We kid; each institution type has its pluses and minuses, and on today’s podcast, host Sally Ganga interview guests representing both. Our colleague Brittany Preston, formerly of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Oregon State University-Cascades, shares her experience at public universities, and our colleague Nial Rele, formerly of Middlebury College, relates his experience at a small liberal arts college. In addition, if ...

Are you struggling to write those essays? Dismissing every idea as bad, or just staring at a blank screen? College Coach admissions expert Steve Brennan shares advice on how to overcome writer’s block. So, tune in, and know that you aren’t alone. In addition, host Shannon Vasconcelos and our very own admissions vet Jen Simons answer listener questions.

Students: Have your older friends, or even your parents, told you that your senior grades don’t matter? Well, they’re wrong! Tune in to today’s episode to hear host Ian Fisher and colleague Brian Swann discuss how senior year grades can impact admission to colleges. In addition, finance expert Alexander Gonzalez weighs in on the financial implications of applying Early Decision. Finally, as we enter peak stress time in the college application process, College Coach Karen Spencer helps us remembe...

What in the world are supplemental essays? Unfortunately, many colleges require these additional short essays alongside the Common and Coalition Application personal statement. Tune in to this episode as host Beth Heaton talks with College Coach admissions counselor Lisa Albro about how to approach these supplements. In addition, admissions counselor Brittany Preston explains the activity list that’s part of many college applications, and Chrissy Foran, college finance expert, provides an overvi...

We first addressed the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action in undergraduate admissions in our July 13 podcast episode. This week, College Coach admissions expert Kyra Tyler returns with the additional perspective of three months having passed since that episode. Host Ian Fisher then welcomes colleague Aysha Wong to fill us in on the University of Florida, where she previously worked as an admissions officer, and later gets an update on the Federal Student Loan Repayment policy from fi...

Host Beth Heaton talks with college admissions counselor Becky Leichtling about the assortment of application deadlines. For everyone confused about the difference between early decision, early action, and regular decision, this is for you! College consultant Lisa Albro also joins Beth to discuss what role parents should play in the application process. (Hint: It’s not your job to write the essays, but there are other ways you can help!) In addition, college finance expert Beth Feinberg-Keenan t...

During this episode of the Getting In podcast, host Shannon Vasconcelos fields listener questions alongside admissions expert Sally Ganga. (Don’t forget to submit your questions to be included in a future episode!) Julia Jones then joins Shannon to discuss honors colleges, which are a great option if you’re looking for the relative affordability of a public university alongside smaller classes, more faculty interaction, and rigorous coursework.

In the college admission process, most students know about the importance of essays and the application, but what they might forget are all the supporting documents that make up an application. For example, the vast majority colleges can’t make a decision without your transcript! Host Ian Fisher is joined by colleague Abigail Anderson to discuss what these documents are, why they are important, and most crucially, who is responsible for making sure they are submitted. Ian is also joined by colle...

On this episode, we continue our “niche colleges” series as host Sally Ganga interviews Stephanie Golder, an admission counselor from the Pennsylvania College of Technology. PCT offers many traditional majors as well as a variety of trades, from construction to culinary arts. Sally also chats with admissions expert Nial Rele about how students can set goals for the school year, and hears from finance expert Jenn Wilcox with an update on federal student loan repayment.

Host Sally Ganga interviews her fellow College Coach admissions consultant, Mary Sue Youn, about how to use Naviance in your college search and application process. Not all high schools offer this online platform, but if yours does, be sure to listen in! Parents will also be glad to hear from College Coach Jay Bonham, parent of a recent high school graduate, on the dos and don’ts for move-in day and beyond. We close this episode with our finance expert Beth Feinberg Keenan, who explains how coll...

We’re delighted to welcome back Dr. Robert Alexander, Director of Admission and Financial Aid at the University of Rochester! Host Shannon Vasconcelos talks with our guest about the benefits of attending a large research university. She then welcomes College Coach admissions expert Nial Rele to answer listener questions. Remember that you can submit questions to us using our social media accounts!

In this week’s episode of Getting In, we talk with college admissions consultant Elyse Krantz about how to research college majors, answer your listener questions, and college finance expert Michelle Smoley joins to discuss how to navigate competing financial priorities for high school and college students.

On this week's episode, host Beth Heaton welcomes president of Colby-Sawyer College, Sue Stuebner, to discuss the future of the small liberal arts college. College finance expert Alex Bickford joins us to talk about the perks of on-campus jobs for college students. Plus, we answer your admissions and college finance questions!

We regularly talk to students who want to help others. One amazing pathway towards that is to become an early childhood educator. Host Sally Ganga interviews Rachel Robertson, Vice-President of Bright Horizons, about how to work with preschool age students. Sally also talks with Mollie O’Connor of College Coach about why you might want to hire an independent counselor to help your student in the college process. And last, Jennifer Wilcox answers Sally’s questions about whether the FAFSA (Free Ap...

We’re continuing our Niche College series on the podcast this week. Our host, Shannon Vasconcelos, interviews Karen Kristof, Dean of Admission at Colorado College. She’s here to describe their Block plan; students take one class at a time and each class lasts three and a half weeks, enabling full immersion into that class’s work. In addition, Shannon will be joined by Kyra Tyler, College Coach admissions consultant, to answer questions from our listeners. Remember to submit your own questions! S...

As most people know, the Supreme Court of the United States recently released some controversial and important decisions regarding higher education. In this episode, we explain those decisions and give our perspective on them. First, host Sally Ganga hears from finance expert Michelle Clifton with an update on the status of student loans. Then admissions expert Kyra Tyler joins Sally to discuss the Court’s decision on race-conscious admission in higher education.

Do you know that many large public universities have Honors Colleges for their strongest students? Host Ian Fisher interviews Tim Matthews, Senior Assistant Director of the Honors College at the University of Buffalo. Ian will be continuing the State University of New York (SUNY), theme in his discussion with Ryan Creps, a former Bright Horizons College Coach colleague and doctoral student at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development. Finally, Zachery Gries, Bright Horizon...

Host Sally Ganga interviews Sara Boferding, Director of Admissions at Embry-Riddle University, to learn more about aeronautics, aviation, engineering, and business. In addition, we’ll learn about life at a Christian college from, Joy Brown, Senior Director of Admission at George Fox University. Lastly, College Coach finance expert Jan Combs fills parents in on all the paperwork they need to complete when sending their student to college.

Interested in a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering? Host Shannon Vasconcelos interviews Lauren Carballo, Direct of Admissions and Students Affairs at The Webb Institute, where students attend tuition-free! College Coach veteran Kyra Tyler is also present to answer listener questions.

While visiting colleges during the academic year is the ideal, it isn’t always possible. And summer visits are still well worth it! Bright Horizons College Coach admissions consultant Nial Rele and finance expert Alex Gonzalez join host Beth Heaton to discuss what to ask during those visits. We also have the great fortune of chatting with Audrey Wisch, founder and CEO of Curious Cardinals, about how students can use the summer to explore their interests and invest in their own learning.

Parents of students with ADHD or executive function issues will be particularly interested in this episode, when our host, Beth Heaton, talks with Hannah Choi, Executive Function Coach for Beyond Book Smart and host of the podcast, Focus Forward: An Executive Function Podcast. As a coach, she supports college and adult clients in challenges like time management, planning, prioritizing, organization, and metacognition. Beth also hears from Michelle Smoley, College Coach Finance Expert, about what...

Interested in finding out more about Ivy League colleges? While they are part of the same football league, they are not all the same. Matt Alander, Director of Princeton Undergraduate Admissions, and Isabel Bober, Senior Associate Director of Dartmouth Undergraduate Admissions join us for a spirited debate about which college is better! We also talk with Bright Horizons College Coach finance expert Alex Bickford about how to use money saved in a 529 plan.