The Truth about College Admission

Brennan and Rick are joined by Angel Perez, the CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), to talk about the current landscape in Washington, D.C. amidst uncertainty with the Department of Education, who NACAC is working with to improve college admissions, what could be innovated in the future in the profession, and the overflowing hope found on college campuses in i...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Mark Salisbury, founder and CEO of TuitionFit, to detail for families why college sticker prices are so high, what to look for in a financial aid award, what kinds of financial aid tools are out there, and what they mean in simple terms.  LINKS Newsletter:  https://www.truthaboutcollegeadmission.com/contact Tuitionfit.org goppi.org Prior episodes on financial aid and...

Brennan and Rick have an epic pod this week joined by Melodie Baker (Founder & Executive Director of ImpactSTATS Inc.) and Akil Bello (Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at FairTest) for a massive deep dive into Melodie's research into what the current role of calculus in college admissions is, how it's used as a date point at selective colleges, and then talk on College Boa...

Rick and Brennan are joined by Heath Einstein, the Vice Provost of Enrollment Management at Texas Christian University, to go over what a deferral means in the admissions process, what students should do in response to the decision and while they wait for the next decision to come, and the mentality to take on when your top school sends a deferral decision. Links: Deferred Admission - Georgia Tech...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Sacha Thieme, Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of Admissions at Indiana University, to talk about best practices for visiting colleges, the preparation that is useful before going for a campus visit, and what college visits can do as for high schoolers evolving their thinking in the college search process. Links: Ask The Same Questions, again and again…...

Rick is joined by the interim Director of Admissions at UT Austin, Dr. Ramon Blakley, to talk about UT Austin's Percentage Plan and how that impacts how they recruit + admit applicants. Then, a conversation about how juniors can best navigate the various schools that have a range of test optional to test mandatory policies, plus advice for parents of seniors who are receiving application deci...

Rick and Brennan are back from holidays and are here with their hopes for 2025 in college admissions, what they're looking out for in the industry, and their timely tips for the January portion of the admissions calendar. Links: Admission Leaders Share Resolutions For College Applicants - Forbes Immunity to Change - Kegan and Lahey College Uncovered - NPR "Ask The Same Questions" -...

Rick and Brennan close out the 2024 calendar year to discuss their favorite guests and what they drew from those conversations. Then, a review of the big issues in college admission that stuck out to them in 2024 with a look ahead to what they're hopeful to see in 2025. Hopefully no more holiday deadlines for applications! Links: Fewer race-based scholarships and a new culture of fear follow...

In one of our favorite episodes yet, Dan Lugo, current President of Queens University of Charlotte and future President at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, joins Brennan and Rick to talk about his unique admissions journey, how a college president can impact a campus positively, and how parents can best approach helping their child seek the transformative experience college can provide. Links: The...

Rick and Brennan are joined by Dianne Campbell, the Director of College Counseling at Liberty Common High School, where they talk about how to manage the conversations that are bound to come up for kids going through the college admissions process over the next month, how to frame the conversation in a healthy way for kids, and if necessary, ways to deflect the conversation to draw out stories fro...

Rick is joined by Adam Miller from the beautiful Whitman College to give a rundown of the kinds of responses students may get for their early action/decision applications and what do to in each situation, whether it be admitted, deferred, or denied, or even alternative scenarios that may arise. Links: The Truth about College Admission Newsletter Host: Rick Clark Guest: Adam Miller Production: Jack...

Brennan and Rick are joined by Liz Chreron, CEO of the Coalition for College Access and proud Boston College graduate, to go over what application review looks like, why it's done the way it's done, how it's done, and how to best approach this time of the admissions cycle for parents and students. Links: Coalition for College website The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Host...

Dan Porterfield, author and President + CEO of the Aspen Institute, joins Rick and Brennan to dive into the value of college from different perspectives (family, individual, societal, financial), some stories from Dan's time as a college president, and advice as to how to approach being at college and how to support people currently in college. Links: Mindset Matters - Dan Porterfield The Par...

Brennan and Rick are joined by the Associate Provost and Director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC, Jackie Copeland, to talk through a primer of the FAFSA (both what it is and why to fill it out), the cost of college (and why it is so high), and the crucial roles that parents can fill for their kids navigating college for the first time. LINKS: How it feels to be a college stud...

For the first interview of season 3, Rick and Brennan are joined by Juan Espinoza, the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech to discuss his admission journey from applying to schools to becoming Vice Provost, how the mission of Virginia Tech drives his work, and what he is excited about how AI can positively influence the admissions process. Links referenced in the episode : CGN’...

We're back! Season three of The Truth about College Admission is here as we recap our summers and look ahead to what this season of the podcast will bring us. Subscribe to our newsletter! Books and essays mentioned in this episode: Brave New Words: How Ai Will Revolutionize Education (And Why That's A Good Thing) - Salman Khan Mindset Matters: The Power Of College To Activate Lifelong Gr...

To close season 2, we have a role reversal with producer Jack Purdy interviewing Rick and Brennan to talk about learnings from this season's guests, their work outside the podcast, some thoughts on AI afterApple's big WWDC announcements, and what to expect for season 3. THE TRUTH ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSION HOMEPAGE -- to learn more about our books, speaking engagements, podcast, and other r...

For our final guest of season 2, Rick and Brennan are joined by Harlan Cohen, author of multiple books including  WIN or LEARN: The Naked Truth About Turning Every Rejection Into Your Ultimate Success.  The trio goes over lots of Harlan's story of going to and transferring colleges, how to build resilience during these transformative years, and the main takeaways from  WIN or LEARN. Links: Ha...

Rick and Brennan are joined by Michael Horn (author of multiple books, Forbes contributor, host of multiple podcasts, and writer of the Substack newsletter The Future of Education) to discuss making dual enrollment class choices, evaluating intellecutal safety on campuses, and how he likes to approach evaluating a college when deciding where to go. Links: Michael Horn's website Future U Podca...

With finals season approaching at colleges across the country, Rick and Brennan are joined by Dr. Beth Cabrera, an organizational psychologist and author specializing in positive psychology and well-being, to go through her admission journey, her advice on how to maintain healthy relationships during the college application process, and practical ways to make that process smoother for kids and fam...

Rick and Brennan are joined by experienced strategy consultant and master of college sports data graphics on Twitter, Tony Altimore, to discuss the landscape of college athletics in relation to admission, how the transfer portal can help or hurt students in their academic journey, and what the oncoming demographic cliff can mean for schools that rely on athletics. Links: Tony Altimore's Twitt...

With Brennan on vacation, Rick gets his first one on one interview of season 2, talking with David Hawkins from NACAC about his admission experience, the lastest effects from the FAFSA delay, and how to frame to the general public why college is an important piece to a functioning community. Links: David Hawkins' profile Just Equations THE TRUTH ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSION HOMEPAGE -- to learn mo...

With Rick out chauferring a youth soccer team, Brennan gets a one on one with Dr. Lisa Damour, clinical psychologist, 3x New York Times best seller, host of the Ask Lisa podcast to talk about the added stress the college search process brings, how to deal with that stress, and where families can potentially be freed up to be more happy during and after the process. Links: Lisa Damour's websit...

Rick and Brennan this week are joined by Candice Mackey, College Counselor at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and Co-Chair of the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s Public School Counselor Group. They talk about her experience going through college, what keeping an open mind in the search process can do for a student, and going through important conversations with your...

TJ Snowden, the Chief of Staff for the President of Morehouse College in Atlanta, joins Rick and Brennan to go through his admissions experience when he was choosing a college, explaining what institutional prorities are and how to find them, along with advice for juniors and parents of juniors heading into their college application cycle. Links: THE TRUTH ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSION HOMEPAGE -- to le...