Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

You might think a scholarship offer is firm and final—either you get it, or you don't, and the amount is fixed. In reality, colleges often have leeway in not only who they offer money to, but how much money they offer. In this segment, we'll explore how to negotiate a better deal. We're also excited to welcome a parent to the show to discuss how finances played a significant role in her child's co...

The initial financial aid award you receive from a college doesn't necessarily have to be the best and final offer—it's actually okay to ask for more if you think you need it. Our college finance experts, who also happen to be former financial aid officers, will help listeners understand what kinds of information they can present to make the case for more money. We'll also present a current Brown...

We're excited to welcome another student to the show to tell her college selection story. In this case, she had to make a difficult decision between USC and Carnegie Mellon, and she's going to tell us how she did this. A recent article outlined some suggestions for how to raise a creative child, and they didn't involve overscheduling or—gasp—over-parenting. We're going to discuss our thoughts on t...

It should be an easy thing to compare financial aid offers from different schools. But between loans, grants, merit scholarships, work study, and other different components, it can often feel like comparing apples to oranges. In this week's show, we'll take listeners through the best way to compare offers and decide which one is actually the best. In another segment in our High School Plan series,...

It seems that every other day we get asked about the possibility of paying in-state tuition at an out-of-state college. There are so many myths surrounding this concept that it can start to feel like the whole thing is made up, but it is a real option. In part one of a multipart series that will explain these options in the US, we'll take a closer look at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact. O...

Ever wonder how the admissions process works at large state universities? We'll give you a hint—it's not exactly the same as at the Ivies. Kelly Bird, senior assistant director of admission at the University of Georgia will join us to explain how their process works. We're also going to fill you in on financial aid verification, including what it is and how it works. Finally, we'll shed some light...

As decisions start to come in next month, many students will be embarking on one of the biggest challenges of the college admissions process: where to actually go! In the first two segments on our new series offering student perspectives, we're excited to welcome two students to the show to discuss the process that led them to their final college choices and what they think about those choices now...

Standing out in the college admissions process is a great thing. Unless you're the parent, and not the student. Listen is as we share horror stories of parents who are more memorable than their students and get a better understanding for just how much this can hurt applicants in the process. In our second segment, we'll discuss financial aid for transfer students, and then wrap up the show with ad...

Once you file the FAFSA, it may feel like all you can do is sit and wait to find out how much money the colleges on your list will offer in their packages. But there are actually things that students and parents can be doing during the next few months, and we're going to tell you all about that. For those of you with students in middle school, we'll be discussing the things that you and your stude...

Over the past few months, we've been asking you to send us your thoughts on the things you'd like to hear more about, along with your specific questions. In today's show, we're going to answer as many of those admissions and college finance questions as we can get to. In addition, while many seniors are wrapping up their admissions process, there's a whole new group of students who are embarking o...

Extracurricular activities are important. After course selection, grades, and test scores, applicants' activities outside of the classroom can be a significant factor in admissions process at many colleges. So what do you do if your child isn't interested in doing much of anything? In another segment in our extracurricular activities series, we have some ideas to help that kid who isn't a joiner g...

In the fall of 2015, a coalition of US colleges and universities, including all of the Ivies and a number of other highly selective public and private institutions announced the creation of a new application. Their stated goals for the new form are to offer an alternative to the Common and Universal applications and increase access. You may be wondering what this all means for you, and we're going...

New Year's Resolution: make a plan for your admissions process and another one for how you're going to pay for college. Today's episode is all about planning ahead, from preparing to complete the FAFSA to making sure you have the right courses and activities to put you in the best position to get into an undergraduate business program to extracurricular activity ideas for students who are really i...

Most of those students who applied via early action or early decision programs have received their answer by now. Unfortunately, some got a definitive no and are on the regular decision. Others got a yes--very exciting!--and we'll be going over what those students need to do now. We have great advice for those who received a deferral, including tips and suggestions to better their chances in regul...

Many of the students we meet with are already set on pursuing a pre-med track when they get to college, with the ultimate goal of attending med school. In this week's show, we'll be doing another high school plan session focusing on the best preparation inside and outside the classroom for those students. We'll also discuss how income is treated in the Expected Family Contribution calculation, and...

So you sent in a few early applications and figured you were done. Now you've gotten the results and they're not good: no acceptances and mostly denials. Don't panic--Kara Courtois is here to help! Join us for advice about finding some safer options and triaging the application process so that you can get some more applications out within the next few weeks and get better news in the spring. Futur...

Much of the college process seems to focus on either getting into college or paying for it, as if these two things are mutually exclusive. In this episode, we'll be addressing how to think about how to craft a list with an eye towards both admissions and finance at the same time. We're also introducing a new series called the High School Plan, in which we'll discuss the ideal high school preparati...

You've run the numbers on the net price calculators and it's pretty clear--you're not going to qualify for any financial aid. Should you apply anyway? We'll tackle that question in this week's show. We're also going to ponder the pros and cons of befriending your admissions officer, including how much contact is too much contact and whether or not you should even try. If you or your student hasn't...

With the November 1 Early Action and Early Decision application deadlines behind them, many students and parents are wondering what they should do now that the applications are in. Sit back and relax? Get really stressed out while waiting for an answer? Pepper the admissions offices with emails and phone calls to determine if your applications have been received and to restate your interest? On th...

You may have thought that the most challenging thing about standardized testing was taking the actual tests. Many families are discovering that submitting the scores can be even tougher. On this week's episode, we'll take listeners through all the details of score submission, including how to do it, when to do it, which scores to send where, when or if to rush scores, what to do if there is a scre...

If you follow admissions in the news, you might be under the assumption that all students earn As and get rejected from every college to which they apply. Hopefully you have realized that this can't possibly be the case--why would we be racking up so much college debt if no one is getting in? On this week's show, we're going to be talking about college admissions and the average student--you know,...

How much does the audition matter? Do grades even count? What role does the portfolio play? If you are wondering exactly how admissions works at performing and visual arts programs, College Coach expert Kyra Tyler is here to share her insight gained from years assisting students going through the process and her own experience as a flute performance major. Jonathan Fink, Vice President for Researc...

Ever wondered what colleges mean when they say they are need blind or need aware? Or, more importantly, how those terms affect admissions chances? We'll discuss what the true definition of these terms and investigate the links between financial aid policies and admissions. We'll also look into the practice of gapping in financial aid packages and continue our series on Common App supplemental essa...

It's peak admissions season here at Getting In! If financial aid is in your future, you need to know the difference between the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. This week's show will take us through why there are two forms, how they're different, and what that means for you. We'll also continue our series on different schools' Common Application supplemental essay prompts with segments on Tufts, Lehigh,...

You may have heard about how important it is to have a balanced list of colleges that includes some reaches, some matches, and some safeties. We're welcoming a student to the show today who ended up with different choices than she envisioned--and ended up at a college that was perfect for her. In another segment in our series on popular applications, we'll be going through the Apply Texas app. Fin...