The opacity and complexity of elements of the college application process inspire endless speculation about what really matters. In many cases, though, the best place to find answers is with the colleges themselves. Amy and Mike invited educator John Durante to review admissions lessons learned from admissions representatives.

 What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What can admissions reps share about the college admissions process that you won't find elsewhere?

2. What are some of the things you do control in the college admissions process?  

3. What aspects of the college admissions process are out of an applicant's control?

4. What common mistakes do students or families make when focusing on the things they can control?

5. Why does today's admission process require so much knowledge and experience? 

MEET OUR GUEST

Dr. John Durante, a Stony Brook University alum, has been the principal of Syosset High School for 13 years. In 2016 he was named Best Principal on Long Island from the Bethpage Federal Credit Union and is also a recipient of the PTA Founders Day Award and Jenkins Award. John started his career at Syosset High School in 1994 as a teacher of world languages and he prides himself on helping others. After helping his daughters through the college admissions process, he came up with the idea of interviewing college admissions representatives to provide students and parents with insight and advice, straight from the people who ultimately make the admissions decisions. So, he launched “The College Admissions Process Podcast” in February 2022 and has released nearly 300 episodes, while currently averaging over 10,000 downloads each month.

John is the author of Straight From The Admissions Office: Insider Strategies for College Applications.

John previously appeared on this podcast in episode 493 to discuss How To Speak To A College Admissions Rep.

Find John at [email protected].

LINKS

Straight From The Admissions Office: Insider Strategies for College Applications

The College Admissions Process Podcast

The College Admissions Process Alphabetical List with links

John Durante on LinkedIn 

RELATED EPISODES

MAKING THE MOST OF COLLEGE VISITS

HOW TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEGES

DEMONSTRATING INTEREST DURING VIRTUAL COLLEGE TOURS

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.

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.