Parents of 11th Graders, quick question: where are you in the college process?

Do you have a college list?

Have you discussed college costs and financial aid with your child?

Do you know what to do and when to do it?

With so many questions understandably circling through your minds, we’ve put together a series of webinars featuring a variety of experts in the college application, testing and financial aid fields. And in preparation for the first webinar happening on Sunday, January 29th at 5:30pm EST, we’re happy to have Jennifer Jessie (aka Jenn the Tutor) on our podcast this week.

Jenn is a college consultant extraordinaire with a passion for leveling the playing field in college admissions. Her own Black Girl Magic makes her a unicorn in this space and she is committed to using her character, confidence, two VA Tech degrees and JD from UVA to being a force for good. As an informed advocate for surveying the landscape to find the best college choices, Jenn is a resource that we admire, respect and hold in the highest regard.

So buckle up, get your notepad and listen up to Jenn the Tutor!!!

Welcome to year 2 and season 3 of the Application to Admission podcast!! As a team, we’ve learned so much these past 12 months and have enjoyed sharing what we know about the college application and admissions process with you. If this is your first time listening, thank you for being here and get ready for a treat!!

The college application process is cyclical and, right now, class of 2024 parents of juniors in high school need to pay special attention to academic planning (your child’s classes), standardized testing and gearing up for college visits. This week’s podcast is from this exact same time in 2022 and it’s our pilot. So many gems in here! Please listen, learn and let’s talk about everything on your mind at @understandingthechoices

Information overload y’all!!! As we close out the calendar year, we leave you with our interview of two exceptional people in the college admissions profession. Brennan Barnard is the Director of College Counseling at Khan Lab School, CA. and the Director of College Counseling for the College Guidance Network. and his partner in writing and podcasting is Rick Clark, the Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of Undergraduate Admission at Georgia Tech. Between them, they have 50 years of college admissions experience AND they’re the authors of The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together, it’s complementing workbook and podcast all with the same name. You should definitely check out all of their content AND listen to this insightful interview.

Between all of us, there’s a century of knowledge. If you want to successfully navigate the college admissions process with your teenager, and want them to have college choices, you’re going to need to listen to this!

Everyone is asking us about the affirmative action case that was being argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court last week. Due to the conservative makeup of the Court, race-conscious admissions may be deemed illegal, which would eliminate colleges' ability to use race as a factor in the admissions process.

If affirmative action is ruled unlawful, the Class of 2024, the current high school juniors will be the first group of students in decades to go through the admissions process without it.

What does all this mean?

With so much to unpack, we called in an admissions and Affirmative Action superhero to break it all down. As one of the leading advocates for diversity, equity and justice in college admissions, Marie Bigham has few peers who can mirror her extensive college admissions knowledge and experience. As the Founder and Executive Director of ACCEPT (Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today), she leads an advocacy group and community that centers on racial justice in the college admissions process and profession. Recently named a “Global Game Changer” by Facebook, Marie is a national leader in college admission redesign and reform. In 2018, ACCEPT received the Excellence in Education Award from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, awarded to “those who use their prominence to advance equity and access in education”.

If anyone knows about this case and its implications, it’s Marie. Listen up and learn. A lot.

30 years in the college admissions profession can make you an “old head” or a revered, uber-respected scholar-mentor-master. Rodney Morrison is the latter (or maybe both!)

As the Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Delaware, Rodney sits in a powerful seat of a state flagship school. He’s also worked in admissions or recruitment at UPenn, Rutgers, Lehman Brothers, Wharton and SUNY Stony Brook. If anyone knows what it takes to get admitted to college, Rodney does.

We sat down and asked him all kinds of questions about testing, essays and the cost of college. Listening to this conversation is worth your time.

Want more truth-telling from acclaimed film director Malcolm D. Lee and his celebrity psychologist wife, Camille? Here it is!! Part 2 is just as much fun as Part 1! Enjoy!!

Join the authors of The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions: A Conversation about Education, Parenting, and Race, Timothy Fields and Shereem Herndon Brown, as well as financial aid expert, Jason Hamilton as they offer an overview of the college admissions process, financial aid and how to get scholarships.

Well, Tim went to Morehouse and Shereem worked at Georgetown, but this is not an episode about bragging rights. This is about parenting two boys who attend two great schools and the decisions and sacrifices that got them there.

Seen Girls Trip? The new Space Jam movie? Or are you eagerly awaiting the final installment of the Best Man franchise? Wait no more as you hear from highly acclaimed film director, Malcolm D. Lee and his celebrity psychologist wife, Camille. They sit down with us for 75 minutes and give us a dissertation on the importance of education and how they help their kids to soar. This episode is just part one of what was an insightful look into name brand colleges, cultural development and yes, is college even necessary. Camille and Malcolm keep it real with us, and you’re going to appreciate their truth because it might be yours too.

We’re back! After a few summer weeks off, we’re bigger, blacker and better than ever!

It’s August, and our book drops in less than a month. Are you ready? Have you pre-ordered it? One of the most controversial topics we write about in our book is how the decisions you make about your child’s education now matter later.

RIISE is the preeminent leader of all things independent schools for Black and Brown people. Founded almost 20 years ago by an independent school parent, Gina Parker Collins, RIISE is an instrumental resource that helps US navigate the challenges and triumphs of sending our children to private schools. Gina has made it her mission to gather information, share and support independent school students and parents. Coincidently, she’s an HBCU graduate, and her children now attend Tufts and Brown, respectively.

As a product of an NYC private school, UPenn and recent Wharton MBA graduate Samantha Osborne has her own opinions about private school education and if it leads to top colleges. She’s been Gina’s partner in podcasting - check out @articulating – and get their periodic perspectives about what Black and Brown parents need to be doing now to have independent school success.

Hear their stories and confirm that you have similar struggles, questions and reasons to keep pushing forward. This is a fun one!!

*** Correction in the podcast we mention the amount of school counselors that identify as White women which was incorrect. Please see the correct data below. 

https://www.zippia.com/school-guidance-counselor-jobs/demographics/  

And we’re out!!

For now…

Thank you for ALL for joining us on this Application to Admission ride, Season 1! So far, so good as we’ve (hopefully) been informational and inspirational about the college admissions process. Our guests have shared their unique stories of challenge and triumph as they work with or parent Black children, and now you should have what you need to help your own child.

And we’re not done!!

Join us beginning Tuesday, August 9th as our new season begins with more exciting guests and valuable insights into the college admissions process.

And to make sure you’re laughing at us as well as with us, we’ve included some goofy outtakes from our first season. Enjoy!!!