Not Your Mom's Admissions

Capitalize! Spell-check! Punctuation! In this episode of Not Your Mom’s Admissions, we go section by section through the Common App to highlight the small but important details students and parents should double-check before submitting. From profile and family information to coursework, test scores, essays, and the Additional Information section, we share practical tips for catching common mistake...

Back by popular demand: we’re critiquing more of our least favorite supplemental essay prompts. In this episode of Not Your Mom’s Admissions, we’re discussing prompts from the University of Michigan, Brown, Penn, and Macalester, plus the ever-stressful “short take” essays, breaking down why we don’t like them and sharing suggestions for how students can respond to these less-than-favorable prompts...

You asked, we listened! 🎓 In this episode, we’re doing a live essay critique, sharing constructive feedback on a student’s Common App essay. Today’s essay explores a student’s experience as a summer camp counselor, with themes of straddling childhood and adulthood, a love for the natural world, and an awareness of current events. We’ll share what we liked, what stood out, and where there’s room f...

In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla talk about how to maximize the updated "Activities & Experiences" section to highlight your true impact. ✅ Key Common App updates ✅ Strategic ordering techniques to elevate your most meaningful, sustained commitments. ✅ Why concrete deliverables and quantifiable metrics build a believable, high-impact activities li...

Early Decision can significantly alter an applicant's admissions trajectory, but it requires a clear strategy and careful timing. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget Allen and Kyla talk about how families should approach Early Decision during this application season. ✅ Why applying Early Decision can increase your admission odds if you are a competitive applicant. ✅ How...

🎙️ Welcome back to Season 2 of Not Your Mom’s Admissions! Fall is here, and we’re kicking things off with a big change in college admissions: “Why are colleges asking for fewer (or no) supplemental essays?” For the Class of 2027, many schools have reduced or eliminated their required essays. We break down why that’s happening and what students should do about it. ✏️ Why colleges are asking fewer q...

🎙️ Not Your Mom’s Admissions is back for Season 2! This season, we’re diving even deeper into the college admissions process, breaking down the topics such as: 🎯 Standardized testing policies 🤖 AI in the admissions process 📋 Application strategy 🎓 And so much more Don’t forget to subscribe and follow along with our blog for even more admissions insight. Have a question you’d like us to cover o...

The biggest shifts in admissions aren't always the ones making headlines. In the Season One finale of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla unload a round of unfiltered hot takes on where the admissions landscape is heading. ✅ Why the liberal arts may be queued for a comeback and how programs are split between pre-professional tracks and big-picture thinking, with less in the middle...

Start too early and it fizzles. Start too late and it's a scramble. Test prep timing matters more than most families realize. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with James Eno, founder of James Eno Tutorials and a 20-year veteran of SAT and ACT prep, to discuss what test prep looks like at each stage. ✅ How to approach prep at each grade level and whic...

For most applicants, picking a major isn't really picking a major. It's choosing a neighborhood. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla break down how to think about major selection without overcommitting a 17-year-old to a career: ✅ What an academic narrative actually is, and how it differs from a declared major ✅ When going undecided is safe, and when starti...

Successfully navigating learning differences doesn’t end at the diagnosis. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with Elena McGahey, a special education teacher and founder of Stronger Foundations Coaching, to break down how students with learning differences (and their families) can advocate effectively. ✅ How to coach a student to write emails to teachers...

Getting in is one milestone. Being ready is another. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with Mark Talaga, owner of the Center for Identity Potential and host of the Hopelessly Gifted podcast, to unpack what college readiness looks like. ✅ How to spot readiness gaps before move-in day, including academic, emotional, and life skills ✅ The "predict and...

Decisions are in. The patterns are becoming apparent, with a few worth noting. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla break down the trends they’re seeing across this admissions cycle and how they might inform planning for the next one. ✅ Why early decision continued to be a strong strategy, and what happens when applicants overreach or opt out ✅ How highly selective...

Two conversations many families of juniors are having right now: how to stick with foreign language and how to stay sane through the college process. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with educator Lucy Van Horne to talk about why so many students resist foreign language, how to make it stick, and what junior-year parents gain by stepping back. ✅ Learning...

Five listener questions. Five real decisions families are facing right now. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla tackle the tradeoffs that don't come with easy answers. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla field five real questions from listeners navigating decisions right now. ✅ Why spring admit programs hinge on two factors most fa...

Not every activity on your list carries the same weight and the difference isn't always the activity itself. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla rate common activities list entries and break down what moves the needle on each. ✅ Why duration and leadership matter more than the activity title ✅ How to describe an activity so admission readers understand its scop...

Your application gets about 5-8 minutes. A former admissions director explains exactly how she spent them. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with Scholar Co team member Robyn Bowers to walk through how an application reader moves through a college app and what makes them stop or keep going. ✅ The exact reading order most admissions officers follow, from schoo...

AI is everywhere right now, and colleges are already using it to screen your application. So what does that mean for how you prepare yours? In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla break down how AI is showing up on both sides of the admissions process: what colleges are doing with it, where applicants might cross the line, and the ethical ways students can use AI to shar...

The SAT and ACT are more different right now than they've ever been — and that makes choosing between them more important than ever. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with test prep expert Bill Huston of Mindfish to talk through the full process of picking a test and building a plan. ✅ Why the digital (SAT) vs. paper (ACT) divide is the one of the big...

Regular Decision results are rolling in, and the next two months are packed with important choices. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla walk through what to do as offers, waitlists, and financial aid packages land in your inbox. ✅ Why committing early can give you an edge on housing at larger schools ✅ How to handle waitlists without putting the rest of your plan o...

A college list with ten reaches and one likely isn't a strategy. It's a wish list. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla break down how to build a balanced college list using a simple ratio and why the structure of your list matters just as much as the schools on it. ✅ The 5-4-3 framework for reach, target, and likely and why you protect the bottom, not the to...

Your student may be cramming the night before, but they always get straight As. So, what's the problem? In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla sit down with Wes Carroll, a tutoring and executive functioning specialist, to talk about what happens when high-performing students can no longer just "brain it harder." ✅ Why the students who look most prepared o...

Most parents want to help with the college admissions process. Fewer know where support ends and overstepping begins. In this episode of Not Your Mom's Admissions, Bridget and Kyla break down the specific dos and don'ts for parents guiding a student through applications, including: ✅ How to build a working spreadsheet and internal deadlines that prevent last-minute scrambling ✅ Why the f...

Anyone can show up for a college tour, but few know how to turn it into an advantage. In this episode of Not Your Mom’s Admissions , Bridget and Kyla break down how to make the most of campus visits — whether you’re seeing one school or squeezing in five. They cover: ✅ The best times to visit and how to maximize your time ✅ How to prioritize schools based on strategy (think early decision and de...

Finding your way through college admissions often requires a team of supporters. This episode differentiates the role of high school counselors from that of an independent advisor to help you build your best support system. Bridget and Kyla cover: → The key responsibilities of school counselors, from writing recommendation letters to hosting college reps and creating school profiles → How students...