The Truth about College Admission

Brennan and Rick wrap up season three of The Truth About College Admission Podcast with their favorite moments from the season, what they are looking forward to this summer, what they want to see change in the next year in the college admission landscape, and their words of the year. LINKS: The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Private College 529 Plan The Truth About College Admission w/Ju...

Rick is joined by Moira McKinnon (Director of College Counseling and Postecondary Planning at Burwick Academy), Pamela Tan (Director of Admissions at Cornell University), and Gary Clark (Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management at UCLA) to talk about the unique benefits that summer college visits can provide and how as parents being in the college admissions world has affected their out...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Emily Pacheco, a Community Organizer for Imperial College London, to talk about AI through the whole application and admission process from how students can use it, how parents should approach guiding their students through using, how admissions offices have found useful ways in the admission process, and how college level leadership has reacted to AI's adaption...

Rick is joined by Dr. Steven Antonoff and Jay McCann, the authors of the The College Finder, 5th Edition , to talk about the purpose of their book, how prestige impacts the college search process, recogizing what fit can mean for students, and why counselors are so valuable to the college search process. LINKS The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Private College 529 Plan College Finder The...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Anna Follenbee, the Associate Director (and soon to be Director) of College Counseling at Gilman, to talk about the current period in admissions of students choosing a college, advice for what to do now in that selection process, what parents can do to be supportive, the dynamics of the waitlist, and the importance of college responsiveness in this period. LINKS Trut...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Kelley Lips, Associate Vice Provost of Enrollment at Emory University, to talk about how Emory's pathways provide more opportunities for students to start and finish college compared to the normal four-year track, why colleges offer different tracks, and advice for high school juniors and seniors considering different start term options. LINKS Truth About Colleg...

In a cross-post special, Rick heads to the College Admissions Process Podcast hosted by John Durante to talk about building a class, AI, how to best use the Common Application, and other tools families can use in the admissions process. LINKS CAP Episode Link Truth About College Admissions Newsletter Host: John Durante Guest: Rick Clark TACA Production: Jack Purdy

Rick and Brennan are joined by Gerry McCrory and Ashley Smith from Scoir to talk about the platform, their recent data reports, advice for juniors beginning the admission process, and tools on Scoir that everyone from families to counselors can use. LINKS: Truth About College Admission Newsletter "Getting into college is getting easier" - The Hechinger Report Scoir Hosts: Brennan Barnard...

Brennan and the new Vice Provost of Enrollment Management at Georgia Tech, Rick Clark, are joined by friend of the podcast Jeff Selingo to talk about his new book,  Dream School. Their conversation details why Jeff was inspired to write the book, how to get a sense of the resources on campus when visiting schools, misconceptions about college value, and how life has been going through the college...

Returning from their winter breaks, Brennan and Rick go through their items to watch for in 2026, books they're reading, tips for the current application cycle, their words for the year, and preview a couple guests who will be on the show this semester. LINKS: Brennan Barnard on Forbes The Application Trail 12-Hour Walk "AI is scoring college essays" – LA Times Truth About College A...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Denise Pope, Ph. D., the co-founder and Strategic Advisor at Challenge Success (and Senior Lecturer at Stanford University) to talk about her work in researching student mental health, what families may be getting wrong about what they think colleges want to see in the admissions process, and advice for students to improve well-being in high school and beyond. LINKS:...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Lisa Keegan, Vice Provost for Enrollment Strategy at William & Mary, to talk about her role at William & Mary and how they approach admissions in their context, understanding the culture of a school, and what juniors can think about this upcoming spring. LINKS: Making a (College) List - The Application Trail Building a College List Part II: Outside the Echo C...

Today we highlight Brennan Barnard's visit to the Office Hours podcast where him and host Will Geiger talk about the myth of the "dream school" and how to frame the college search process before diving into the AI transformation happening in the college admissions world. LINKS: Truth About College Admissions Newsletter Office Hours Podcast Office Hours Host: Will Geiger Office Hours...

Today, we divert off the beaten path for The Truth About Admission Podcast as we highlight Rick Clark's appearance on the Something Personal podcast , where he goes into his lessons learned from multiple decades of working in college admissions, how to pay for college, and his advise on keeping perspective during the college search process. LINKS: Truth About College Admission Newsletter Some...

Rick and Brennan are joined by Emily Roper Doten, Dean of Admissions at Brandeis University, to talk about her experiences in helping develop liberal arts programs for the current job economy and how her career leading up to Brandeis has influenced her ability to be a leader in her space. LINKS: Truth About College Admissions Newsletter "Brandeis Pours $25M Into Careers-Focused Liberal Arts&q...

Rick and Brennan are joined by Jed Applerouth, founder of Applerouth Education, to talk about the origins of Applerouth, the differences and simlarities between the SAT and ACT, how to decide when is enough test prep, why the science section is leaving the ACT, and how to best approach standardized testing. LINKS The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Jed Applerouth Bio Applerouth Hosts: Bre...

Rick and Brennan are joined by Ken Anselment, Vice President for Enrollment Management at RHB, to talk about his journey in higher ed, learnings at RHB, how schools approach early decision, and how high schoolers now can approach the pace they attack the admissions process. LINKS Truth About College Admission Newsletter Ken Anselment Bio The Admissions Leadership Podcast Rick Clark on The Admissio...

To kick off the season, Brennan and Rick are joined by returning champion, Juan Espinoza (Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech), to dive into how Virginia Tech has adopted artificial intelligence to help with the essay reading process, how that has affected their timeline, and his advice to students approaching the essay writing process this fall. LINKS The Truth About College A...

Rick and Brennan are back from summer vacation and ready for the FOURTH(!) season of The Truth About College Admission Podcast. Today, the pair recap their summers, preview a format update to the episodes this season, and reflect on a word they're thinking about for the upcoming admissions cycle. LINKS Brennan's Substack: The Application Trail The Truth About College Admission Newsletter...

In our Season 3 bonus episode, Rick and Brennan visit the College Parent Central podcast with Elizabeth Hamblet and Vicki Nelson to talk about communication during the college search, realistic expectations, how schools evaluate prospective students, how college is an opportunity, and focusing on long term relationships with family. See the video version here Hosts: Elizabeth Hamblet, Vicki Nelson...

In the Season 3 finale of The Truth About College Admission, Rick and Brennan go over their favorite episodes from the season, what news items in higher education have caught their eyes lately, and what this summer they will be keeping tabs on as we head into the 2025-2026 college admission cycle. Links: Loper Scoir The Truth About College Admission Newsletter June Essay webinar with Shereem Hernd...

Brennan and Rick are joined by returning guests Diane Campbell and Allison Slater Tate to run through their impressions of the last academic year and what the summer should look like for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. LINKS The Truth About Artificial Intelligence and Applying to College Diane Campbell Bio The Truth About Admission at the Holidays Allison Slater Tate The Truth...

Brennan and Rick are joined by a fantastic duo, Karen Bartlett (Associate Director of International Admissions at Middlebury College) and Sara Riggs (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Georgia Tech) to highlight what international students bring to American college campuses, what the enrollment trends have shown in the last decade, and how international students can find community a...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Eva Blanco Masias, the VP for Enrollment Management at Santa Clara University, for a deep dive into why schools use waitlists and their purpose on the admissions front, how schools pick from a waitlist, and what to do as a student currently on a waitlist. The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark Guest: Eva Blanco Maisas Producti...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Sam Bernstein and Eric Menna, the cofounders of Loper, to talk through how their college admission journeys influenced the creation of Loper, how the app provides assistance during the college search process, and what data from users has shown in giving a more complete picture of needs and wants for students figuring out their next steps in higher education. LINKS: L...