Let's Talk College

Wendy Raynor is the expert I turn to any time I have a question about accommodations for the SAT or ACT. She sat down to talk with me about the way tutoring and testing is different for neurodivergent students.  Find out more about Wendy's programs at http://www.wrhcollegeprep.com/

In the world of test prep tutors, Tony Miglio is something of a unicorn. He was tutoring virtually well before a pandemic forced tutors to figure out how to make it work. He's built a thriving business focused primarily on helping students with just one section of one of the tests. If you're looking for an expert on ACT Math, Tony is your guy. Check out NKY Tutoring at https://nkytutoring.com/

Claudia Murga is on a mission to help 1st generation college students with the complicated college admissions process. It was exciting to find out more about how she created a program that has already helped hundreds of students realize their college goals. Click here to visit her Facebook page and find out more about her program.

With the rising costs and increased competition at universities in the US., some students are thinking about attending schools overseas. Kevin Newton, founder of An Education Abroad, sat down to share his insights into how the process of applying to a school in another country is similar to and different from applying to a school here, as well as what the advantages and disadvantages can be. You c...

No guest this week. Instead, I share 5 questions we ask to help build college lists and some key resources to help you find the answers. 1. What do you want to study? https://www.youscience.com/ 2. What are you looking for in a college? https://www.amazon.com/College-Match-Blueprint-Choosing-School/dp/1733578412/ 3. What colleges offer what you're looking for? https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/...

John Irish is verifiably one of the top 5 educators in the country. That's not just me saying it. College Board selected him as one of 3 teachers to help rewrite the AP US History exam, and he was selected as the co-chair of that committee. He reads for the AP exam every year and spends his summers traveling around the southern US teaching other APUSH teacher how to teach the subject. I was lucky...

I had the chance to sit down with Aaron Golumbfskie, Education Director at Prep Matters based near Washington, D.C. Sometimes referred to as "the godfather of test prep", Aaron shares his unique perspective about helping students navigate the college admissions process.

I got the chance to sit down with Anam Iqbal and Karla Hernandez from the University of Texas at Arlington to talk about how the admissions process is unique to them and their mission. They shared the programs that make UTA special and insights into how they can help students and celebrated the university's recent designation as a Tier 1 research university in Texas. Find out more about UT-Arlingt...

Mike Bergin, founder and President of Chariot Learning, is a recognized leader in the field of test preparation. Among his many  endeavors, Mike is one of the founding members of the National Test Prep Association, an organization dedicated to establishing best practices and credibility for test prep professionals. He is also the co-host of a fantastic podcast called "Tests and the Rest". Chariot...

Gary Stocker is the founder and CEO of College Viability, an app parents can use to evaluate the financial viability of a university they are considering. It's not something most parents think about, and we discuss why it can be such an important consideration when selecting a school to attend. Find out more at their website: https://collegeviability.com/ Contact Gary at gary@collegeviability.com

We often talk to parents of students with good grades but low test scores - the "Good Student/Bad Tester" problem. What causes this? More importantly, what can you do to solve it? Here are some links referenced in the podcast: Khan Academy SAT Subreddit ACT Subreddit SATACTPrep Subreddit (Probably the most helpful)

We're taking a break from interviews for the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to share some tips on things parents can watch for here at the start of the school year to help keep their students on track. I discuss 2 specific things that seem to come up in the Fall semester each year and how you can help your student they make these mistakes.

Justin Doty, Dean of Admissions at Trinity University, sat down with me to talk about what is without a doubt one the top universities in the state of Texas. We discussed Trinity's admission process as well as how it has adapted to expand beyond its reputation as a liberal arts university.

Griffin graduated from THE Ohio State University in May of 2021 and started his first job with 49Financial this Fall. He shares how he chose his major and his university as well as his strategy for finding his first job.

In response to cancellations of the SAT and ACT administrations in the spring of 2020, many colleges and universities announced new "test optional" application processes. Now that the class of 2025 is moving into their dorms, what can we tell about the results of these policies?

Julie Neunreiter (nine-rider) Byrd is an expert on helping students write their college essays. We sat down to talk about the writing process, what makes college essays different, and how to help students get discover their own voice in the writing. If you want to contact Julia for more information, here's her information. Email: julia@essay-coach.com Website: https://essay-coach.com/ Phone: (571)...

This is the first episode in what I hope will be a series where I get to talk with admissions officers from colleges and universities. Of course, I had to start with my alma mater Texas Tech. Rex Oliver, the Director of Recruitment at TTU, and Jennifer Mauppin, Regional Manager for the Dallas-Fort Worth area sat down to talk about their unique approach to recruiting students to the Ivy on the Plai...

Headed into her Senior year at Texas A&M, Katherine has a unique major, Industrial Distribution, that is a combination of engineering and business. It's not the sort of major that most students know about when they think about majoring in engineering.

Having graduated from from Columbia just 6 years ago, Srishti makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life. Currently working at her 3rd start up, she's been involved in 2 others, both of which have had successful exits. Along the way she worked for Dell, but she found the atmosphere of a start up suits her better. She shares what that means for her and how she discovered that interest.

Sameer is a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army currently serving in South Korea. He attended Baylor University and earned his commission through an Army ROTC scholarship. In a era of continually rising college costs, and ROTC scholarship remains one of the best ways to pay for college. Sameer shares what it meant for him and how students can qualify.

Mike McGibbon is the founder and CEO of Mathchops, an online program that helps students improve their math skills. Mathchops approach to the process is to gamify the tasks in a way that is engaging and meets the student where they are. It helps math concepts on the SAT, ACT, ISEE, and others. Click here to visit the Mathchops website. Click here for a video walkthrough of the program.

Michael Cone has done a lot of things. Business owner, classroom teacher, youth minister. For 28 years now, he's been involved with Young Life, currently as an area director for the organization. Now as a parent of 4 girls, the oldest of whom is starting to think about college, he's looking at the entire process from a range of perspectives.

I often talk to students who are preparing on their own for the SAT or ACT. They are often making simple mistakes that, if fixed, could help them get higher scores faster. In this episode, I also reference an earlier College Insights where I talked about using QAS and TIR dates. Click here for that episode.

It's not every week you get to sit down with a Hall of Famer. Kendall Pryor was inducted into the University of North Texas Hall of Fame in 2017. She now coaches at Denton Ryan High School. She shares her experiences as a player at the Division 1 NCAA level, how she got to that level, and what it means in her approach to coaching today. We talked about overcoming adversity at all of those levels a...

Kylie graduated from UT-Austin with a degree in Communications in May of 2020. The last year convinced her she wanted to do something different with that degree. When we got to talk for this podcast, she'd just finished her first week in her Educator Preparation Program (EPP) at SMU. In this wide ranging conversation, we also talked her unique college application, how she got into UT but was not i...