Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

The Why This College Essay is one of the most important elements of any application that requires it. Tune in for tips on how to craft the best version possible. Paying for college is almost always as important as getting in, and it's important to do your research on whether or not you can afford it before you even apply. We'll offer suggestions on the best tools to use for that. Finally, in part...

In this week's Office Hours segment, we'll be exploring the University of California application. In another installment of Inside the Admissions Office, we'll look at how admissions are done at American University. Finally, we'll be answering your college finance questions.

We often focus on the cost of college, but rarely do we think about the costs associated with applying to college. This week's episode takes listeners through what to expect and budget for as they prepare to submit applications. We'll also take a close look at the Apply Texas application, a common application accepted by many Texas-based colleges, and offer tips for getting started on applications...

The new Common Application was released on August 1, and we've got information you need to know about this new version. While we're sure you've spent lots of time focusing on the big spends related to college, like tuition and room and board, you may not have thought to budget for all the incidental expenses likely to come up. We'll give you details on what other charges you should anticipate and...

Students about to start senior year will want to catch this week's Office Hours, in which we discuss getting started on the college essay. We know it's weighing on your mind, so stop thinking about it and start writing it! In other segments, we'll take you behind the scenes of the admissions process at both Swarthmore College and Drexel University in the latest in this series. Finally, we'll talk...

If you're curious about the challenges of applying to and attending college in the US as an international student, don't miss this week's episode. Karen Karidoyanes, director of international admissions at Bentley University will join us to discuss the application process, while Christine Lookner, director of the Center for International Students and Scholars will offer advice for international st...

In this week's Office Hours segment, we'll be offering tips for making the most of your college visits this summer. While you're visiting schools, you might consider a stop at the Career Services office. Michael Sherman of Graduate to Employment will offer tips to best evaluate how much support a college will offer in terms of finding a job. Finally, we'll be answering your college finance questio...

Whether you're getting ready to attend your first college fair or already have walked through a few, we have tips for making the most of that time. We'll also be reviewing some of the trends we saw this past admissions cycle and thinking about how that might impact the 2017-2018 admissions cycle. Finally, we'll look into where people with bad credit can go to find college loans.

Calling all rising seniors: join us this summer for Office Hours segments covering the college process. We'll be helping you get a jump start on application work, from essay writing to presenting your extracurricular activities to visiting colleges. In this week's segment, we'll be helping you get started on your college list. In other segments, we'll discuss college payment plans and take you ins...

In this week's episode, we welcome Point Foundation program manager Jonathan Rosales and student scholar Bryce Celotto to the show to discuss applying to college as a LGBTQ student. In Office Hours, we'll be answering listener questions regarding college finance.

Faced with the first tuition bill and wondering how you're going to pay it? Don't miss our segment on scholarships with deadlines in July, August, and September—it may not be too late to get some more money. Office Hours will take a look at summer reading and its long-term value in the admissions process. Finally, our latest installment looking at the admissions practices at the institutions where...

A lot of our listeners have graduate school on their minds, concerned about how their undergraduate choices will affect their chances of acceptance to MBA programs and medical school. This week we welcome experts in both fields to discuss how important where you go your undergraduate work is to medical school acceptance, including how that decision is factored into the med school admissions proces...

Can your social media presence affect your offers of acceptance? On the heels of Harvard's decision to rescind 10 offers of admission over the students' unsavory social media activities, we're talking about how what you do online can negatively impact your college plans. In another of our series looking at admissions practices at a variety of institutions, we'll be walking through the admissions p...

Ever wonder how a college like Reed goes about making admission decisions? This week we have two former Reed admissions officers taking us through Reed's process as part of our ongoing series Inside the Admissions Office. We're also answer listener questions on college finance and admissions.

Every college in the US is happy to answer your questions, and we frequently encourage students to approach colleges to get more information and address their concerns. But have you ever wondered if there are questions that you shouldn't ask? We'll give you our thoughts. Last week we tackled the question of whether or not you should save for college. This week we'll discuss how much you should sav...

You may have heard people talking about college savings interfering with financial aid eligibility. Maybe you're wondering if it even makes sense to save for college, or if it would be better to simply rely on financial aid and loans. We're going to try to clear up any confusion around the question of saving for college in this week's show. In another in our series taking listeners inside the admi...

Ever wonder what happens after you submit your application to college? The answer (as it often is in college admissions!) is: it depends. That's why we're taking you the process at some of the colleges where we worked in admissions. This week, we're looking at Holy Cross and Babson. Those of you who have been saving for college may be surprised to learn that there are some important things to thin...

Lots of high school students aspire to careers in medicine, and they hope to get on the fast track to being a doctor by applying to BS/MD programs. But many aren't aware there is another option that is slightly less selective, and therefore often a bit easier to attain: BS/DO. We'll tell you all about it on this week's show. We're also answering your college finance and admissions questions in Off...

There has been a lot of conversation in the traditional media and social media around the type of education students pursue in college. Should students pursue more pre-professional degrees such as business or physical therapy? Are STEM majors truly the best path to success after graduation? Can you even get a job with a liberal arts education? And what the heck is a liberal arts education anyway?...

In our ongoing series taking you inside the admissions processes at a variety of schools, College Coach educator and former MIT and Caltech admissions officer Zaragoza Guerra will take us through the differences in those two schools' application evaluations. We'll also tackle some key tips and considerations for students on the Autism spectrum who are applying to college. We'll also look at utiliz...

Every year we read a handful of stories about students who are accepted to all eight Ivies and a few other highly selective schools AND hear about students who apply to all of the Ivies and get into none. Regardless of the fact that the latter is much more prevalent than the former, families seem to come away with the idea that applying to more of these selective schools will somehow increase the...

Curious about what holistic admissions means and how it's practiced at different colleges and universities? In the second in our series on this topic, two former Penn admissions officers will offer some insight into how it worked at their institution. We're also answering your college finance and admissions questions in Office Hours.

Many students come to us looking for a "rah rah" environment in their college—or convinced that a sports culture will negatively impact their college experience. We'll be discussing the impact of sports on campus culture, including how to determine if a school has it. In other segments, it's time for this year's group of seniors to make some final decisions about the college they will attend next...

Waitlisted? Curious about what this means and why this happened? Tune in to the show as we use our Office Hours segment to discuss this and offer a little advice around whether or not you can appeal a denial. We're also talking to campus safety advocate Jordan Draper about how to review statistics and ask questions to determine the safety of a given campus. Finally, if you've waited until now or j...

Acceptances are in, and perhaps you are one of many students (or the parent of one) who has a few options to consider. If so, don't miss our segment on how to make your final college choice by May 1. We'll do another in our state spotlight series, this time taking a closer look at the different schools that make up Texas' state system. Finally, we'll be talking about education tax breaks that fami...