Admissions Beat

As high school juniors and seniors navigate the college admissions process, they might consider that journey to be proceeding on parallel paths. The first encompasses elements like an institution's programming and sense of place. The second: how to pay for that experience. This week on Admissions Beat, in an encore episode drawn from its predecessor podcast series, The Search, host Lee Coffin of D...

Whether you’re a student in the midst of the college search, or a supportive parent or guardian, feelings of stress and anxiety can be ever-present. At each stage in the application process, and even after arriving on campus, students are faced with tough decisions and lofty expectations. This week on Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin, dean of admissions and financial aid at Dartmouth, discusses wi...

If you’ve not done so already, many Admissions Beat listeners will soon embark on a campus visit, whether by road, rail, or air, or perhaps via a keyboard and screen. To ensure you’re prepared to get the most from that journey, host Lee Coffin, dean of admissions and financial aid at Dartmouth, has recruited two expert tour guides. They are Elena Hicks, assistant vice president and dean of admissi...

As we continue our focus on supporting high school juniors in the early activities of a college search, Admissions Beat encourages listeners to grab a pen and pad (or open a Google Doc or spreadsheet) to begin drafting a list of colleges to explore. Host Lee Coffin, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Dartmouth,  describes that list as a document that will evolve over the coming months and con...

Mainstream media organizations have long covered the admissions process closely. And when those efforts are combined with observations and commentary across the digital spectrum, the results can feel dizzying and overwhelming to prospective applicants as well as parents. In this episode of Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin and his guest dean provide context and perspective on the big headlines and...

How might a high school junior embark on the journey of self-discovery that serves as the bedrock of the college search process? Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Lee Coffin, host of the Admissions Beat, recommends that prospective applicants begin by pointing a virtual camera at themselves and snapping an “existential selfie.” It’s an exercise that can reveal values and priorities, as well as...

In the opening episode of the third season of “Admissions Beat,” host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth College turns his attention to high school juniors and those who support them in a college search. And just as the opening bars of an overture herald the beginning of a Broadway musical, Dean Coffin encourages students to start the college search on a note of self discovery. To look within, at what they v...

In the second part of our two-part season finale, Admissions Beat lays out the decisions that applicants will soon receive in response to early applications they submitted this fall — admit, decline, or defer — as well as various strategies they might consider employing in response. Whether you are a high school senior who applied under a binding program (such as early decision) or non-binding (ea...

With most applicants entering the final weeks of the college application season, Dean Lee Coffin of Dartmouth has assembled a “home stretch" toolkit of advice for high school seniors and their parents. In Part 1 of the two-part Admissions Beat season finale, the action items include: putting the last touches on a balanced college list; assembling the remaining pieces of an application; monitoring...

How do admissions officers read and interpret high school transcripts, the official academic record of the courses an applicant has taken in high school and the grades received? And what role do “school profiles” play? They are the narrative descriptions that high school counselors prepare for admissions offices, chock full of context on a school's student body as a whole, and the wider community...

This week on Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin goes deep in conversation with three Dartmouth students to elicit their  perspective on the college admissions process, as well as their advice for current high school seniors in particular. In a frank and wide-ranging conversation, the three undergrads touch on the emotional stress of their admissions process, as well as steps to mitigate it. (Each sa...

On Oct. 31, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases challenging the long-standing use of race as “one factor among many" in the undergraduate admissions processes of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. While the Justices’ eventual decision is not expected to affect the selection of the Class of 2027, it could have a seismic effect on the processes that admis...

For many families, the cost of a college education — as well as considering the various options for paying for it, and understanding how to apply for financial aid — is among the most stressful aspects of the college search. This week on  Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin, dean of admissions and financial aid at Dartmouth, is joined by Gordon “Dino” Koff, Dartmouth’s director of financial aid. Toge...

For would-be college applicants, questions about “place” are crucial to the discovery and search process. Place may mean the geographic setting and physical attributes of a campus, and whether students can envision themselves there. But it can also encompass dorms and classrooms, and whether classes are primarily taught by faculty or assistants; the quality of support services, whether academic or...

As high school seniors seek to narrow the lists of colleges to which they are considering applying, they might size up the potential finalists against a rubric that Dean Lee Coffin of Dartmouth calls “The Four P’s.” They are: program, people, place, and price. But to what extent should a fifth “P" — an institution’s relative prestige, or reputation — factor into the decision-making process? And wh...

Dean Lee Coffin of Dartmouth says that “any application to any college is the union of two things: data and voice.” In this encore episode of Admissions Beat, first aired in July 2020 on its predecessor podcast, The Search, Dean Coffin turns to the storytelling and narrative elements (and opportunities) of an application. Along with guest Meredith Reynolds, a former Tufts admissions officer who is...

For high school seniors, the standardized testing landscape is more of a maze than usual these days. In this episode of "Admissions Beat," host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth provides tips on navigating the complex topography of testing. He is joined by two guests: Stu Schmill, Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services at MIT, and Leigh Weisenburger, Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admi...

BONUS EPISODE : This week on “The Admissions Beat,” the tables are turned on our host, Dartmouth Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin, as he’s interviewed by high school senior Aidan ElDifrawi and his father, Ash, on the most recent episode of their podcast, “Hold Me Back,” nominated for a People’s Choice Award.  Their conversation, which we’re pleased to cross-post on the “Admissions Beat” channel, rang...

In the Season 2 premiere of the Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin, Dartmouth College’s dean of admissions and financial aid, provides a detailed overview of this fall’s college search and application process – with a goal of ensuring high school seniors across the U.S. and around the world, and the parents and other adults who are supporting them, are ready for the tasks, decisions and deadlines in...

It's finally here, the end of this year's admissions cycle (and soon, the beginning of a new one). Applicants are on edge as they wait for the long-awaited email or letter to arrive, letting them know which colleges or universities are inviting them to join the class of 2026. Lee Coffin and producer Charlotte Albright talk candidly and practically about how to process that news, and how to sift th...

For high school juniors, March opens the starting gate to a yearlong marathon. It's time to begin the journey toward colleges or universities that offer what they need, what they want, and what they can afford. After a fact-filled news roundup, host Lee Coffin and producer Charlotte Albright devote an entire episode to answering questions that often arise when college admissions officers visit sec...

"What are you going to do with that?" It's a question many an English or history major hears from parents who are concerned that they may not find meaningful, gainful employment after graduation. But data show that humanities students are employed at rates comparable to other majors, earn good salaries, and do increasingly well over the course of their careers. Scott Muir, project director for Stu...

In this Junior Kickoff sequel, Lee Coffin asks his guests, Matt Hyde, assistant vice president and dean of admissions at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pa., and Kate Ramsdell, director of college counseling at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass., to help high school juniors and their parents get a sure-footed start on applying to college. Step one: know thyself. Step two: understand that th...

This is the time of year when college admissions officers are invited to high schools for "junior kickoff" events, helping 11th graders get a sure-footed start on discovering, choosing, and applying to college. Consider this two-part episode a virtual kickoff, beginning with a roundup of news stories on the admissions beat, and followed, next week, by practical suggestions about how to begin your...

As eight Dartmouth athletes compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics, Lee Coffin asks Interim Athletic Director Peter Roby for game plans that could help high school sports stars gain admission to the colleges of their choice. And in the Admissions Beat Newsroom, there's fact-filled discussion about what a recent Supreme Court ruling may mean for college athletes.