Every year, the conventional wisdom about getting into college gives way to painful, new truths and exciting, new opportunities. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Rebecca Stuart-Orlowski to return to the show with admissions notes for the HS graduating class of 2025.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. How are colleges and students using AI and AI detectors in college admissions and college essays?

2. Are more colleges requiring test scores this application cycle? If so, why?

3. Why is there a dearth of SAT centers despite more colleges requiring tests, and what can students do about it? 

4. How will AP’s recalibration of scores influence admissions decisions?

5. Will the FAFSA be a disaster like it was for the Class of 2024?

MEET OUR GUEST

Rebecca Stuart-Orlowski, founder of Orlowski College Consulting, has worked in education for 35 years and has worked as an Independent Educational Consultant for 10+ years. She has a specialized Certificate in College Counseling from UCSD, a BA in Communicative Disorders from San Diego State, and two active teaching credentials. She taught deaf, LD, and 2E students for four years and was a college counselor at a small private school for 3 years. Rebecca specializes in gifted/2E, STEM, creative, homeschooled, and transfer students.

Rebecca first appeared on the podcast in episode 369 to discuss ADMISSIONS NOTES FOR THE CLASS OF 2023 and in episode 526 to discuss ADMISSIONS NOTES FOR THE HS GRADUATING CLASS OF 2024.

Rebecca can be reached at [email protected].

LINKS

U.S. Department of Education Announces Schedule and New Process to Launch 2025-26 FAFSA Form

Is next year’s FAFSA already off the rails?

Incorporating AI into the Admissions Process

Testing Policies in the Spotlight

I live in Northern California. Why do I have to travel hundreds of miles to take the SAT?

Colleges are using AI in admissions. How can they do it right?

RELATED EPISODES

HOW STUDENTS USE GENERATIVE AI

WHAT DO TRULY TEST OPTIONAL COLLEGES FOCUS ON?

BIG CHANGES TO AP TESTS IN 2025

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE BETTER FAFSA

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.