College Matters. Alma Matters.

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter The Supreme Court handed its momentous verdict about Race in College Admissions on June 29, 2023. To help us understand and to guide students and parents about what it means for them, we are joined by Sean Kennedy, President of SACAC and Co-Director of College Counseling at Ravenscroft School in North Carolina Topics discussed in this episode: Overvi...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Raymond is a 2023 Coke Scholar.  In this Podcast, Raymond talks about his passion for Math, Winning the Coca Cola Scholarship, his college search process, and his advice to high schoolers. #CokeScholars In particular, we discuss the foll...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Gianna is a 2023 Coke Scholar.  In this Podcast, Gianna talks about her passion for Public Health, STEM Curriculum, Winning the Coca Cola Scholarship, her college search process, and his advice for high schoolers. #CokeScholars In partic...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Gabriel is a 2023 Coke Scholar.  In this Podcast, Gabriel talks about his passion for Climate Policy, Winning the Coca Cola Scholarship, his college search process, and his advice to high schoolers. #CokeScholars In particular, we discus...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Anna is a 2023 Coke Scholar.  In this Podcast, Anna talks about her passion for Poetry, Beekeeping, Winning the Coca Cola Scholarship, her college search process, and his advice to high schoolers. #CokeScholars In particular, we discuss...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Sky was a very active student in high school - inside and outside the classroom. He was into sciences, writing and Science research projects. Research took him to the International Science Fairs starting in the sophomore year. Sky was also very involved in the Student Government. He was the President of the Student Body in his senior year. Sky joins...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Asanshay is a 2023 Coke Scholar.  In this Podcast, Asanshay talks about his passion for building products, Winning the Coca Cola Scholarship, his college search process, and his advice to high schoolers. #CokeScholars In particular, we d...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter The 2022-23 College Application Season in the books. It is a good time to look back and learn from the experience for the benefit of the next set of high school seniors and parents. And who better to help us than the College Counselors who guided the current graduating seniors through the college process. I talked to 6 High School College Counselors...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter After her freshman year in high school, Ella did not play a lot of sports to focus on getting good grades and pursuing her college dreams. She did join the Youth and Government club and held various officer positions during the 4 years of High School. Ella will be a Freshman at North Carolina State University in Fall 2023. In this Podcast, Ella talks...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter It all started over 10 years ago, with College Faculty using Wikipedia for college coursework, and their students editing its content. Wiki Education was created to support these Faculty members. LiAnna Davis is the  Chief Programs Officer and the Dy. Director at Wiki Education. LiAnna joins us on our podcast to tell us all about Wiki Education, Type...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters . Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news. Topics discussed in this episode : College Cost Confusion [] Acceptance Rates in Elite Colleges Have Bottomed Out [] 90% of College Grads Say College is “Worth It”! [] Our Guest : Shveta Bagade , College Counselor ba...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Kyrstal thought her first three years of High School weren’t that memorable. She was just doing things she thought she was supposed to do. Classes like AP Biology, Soccer, and the rest. In her senior year she really got involved in leadership. Organized student rallies for football games & was the Class treasurer. She found that these experiences...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Prof. Abmayr discovered UG Research during the Summer after her Junior year in college. She subsequently did research in her senior year in genetics. These research experiences were instrumental in her decision to go to graduate school. Dr. Beth Beason-Abmayr joins us on our podcast to talk about UG Research in Biosciences at Rice University, CUR’s r...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter As a high schooler in Germany, Daniel cared only about Sports. Specifically American Football. He wanted to go to college to play football. Daniel came to a US College on a Sports Scholarship.  Things, however, didn’t go as planned. Daniel  joins us on our podcast to share his UG Experience as an International Student, At UC Blue Ash, and then the 4-...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters . Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news. Topics discussed in this episode : USNews to Update Rankings Methodology [] Paying for Higher Education [] Community College Enrollment Drops [] Our Guest : Shveta Bagade , College Counselor based in Silicon Valley C...

Sign Up to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In her 24 years in College Counseling, Jodi has seen a lot of things change, but the joy of working with students 1-on-1 remains unchanged. Today, with her counselor colleagues, Jodi is helping students find the college that is right for them. On our podcast, Jodi talks about her background, about Charlotte Christian School, her Counseling approach, ma...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter After taking Spanish in middle school, Vismaya had dreamed of spending a semester in Spain. However, when she got to high school, she found out that it wasn’t going to be easy to get away to Spain for a semester. It hadn’t been done before. But Vismaya and the school found a way. Vismaya Gopalan will be a Freshman at Dartmouth College in Fall 2023. I...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Chiara is a “chronic achiever” with a Passion for Fashion. In High School she was in the Orchestra, Band, Student Council, Scholastic Bowl to name a few. In class she loved History, French. But the class that changed everything for her was a Sports Marketing course. After that she was hooked on Business and Marketing. Chiara joins our podcast to shar...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter UG Research, they say, changes career trajectories. However, the challenge for most undergraduates is knowing where to start.  This is precisely where Studio Lab comes in.  Prof. Sarah Sokhey started the Studio Lab in the Political Science department to train students to do their first research project. Prof. Sarah Sokhey joins us on our podcast to t...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In High School, Hana was into Science. Especially Biology. She also felt an affinity for engineering, because her dad is an engineer. Interestingly, an English Teacher introduced her to Bioengineering, as part of a writing assignment. And so when time came for college, she was looking to major in Bioengineering. Hana joins our podcast to share her un...

Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters . Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news. Topics discussed in this episode : Int’l Student Enrollment Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels [] 9 College App Tasks for Rising Seniors During the Summer [] Our Guest : Shveta Bagade , College Counselor based in Silicon Valley California. Resources referred to in this e...

Sign Up to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In college, Elisa was a student ambassador who gave campus tours and was an orientation guide. After college, she joined college admissions at her alma mater, the University of Kansas, and worked there for more than a decade! For the last 4 years, Elisa has been the Director of Counseling at Regis Jesuit High School. On our podcast, Elisa talks about h...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In High School, Isaac loved Chemistry and the Environment. He was heavily into performing arts and music. He did Opera with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He was the President of his senior year class in the Student Government. Isaac joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at the University of Cincinnati, his UG Research &amp...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Colleges are expensive. So students going to college should have a clear idea of What College Success is and How to achieve it. We are fortunate to have Dean Graeme Harper of Oakland University Honors College to guide us through this conversation. In this Podcast, Dean Harper tells us How Students Should Think of Success, Your College Ingredients, Ta...

Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Adam was really interested in STEM while in high school. He loved tutoring and mentoring other students. At that time, he was really into dentistry. He entered college as Pre-Dental. But soon, the breadth and diversity of medicine captivated him. Adam joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at the University of Cincinnati, about...