College Admissions Insider

At schools like Bucknell that receive thousands of applications every year, there’s a good chance some applicants will have similar grades, academic rigor, and extracurricular involvement.

But there's a place where applicants can stand out — something guaranteed to be found in their application and no other. We're talking about the college essay — an applicant's best opportunity to show colleges who they are.

Writing a great college application essay doesn't have to be an intimidating process.

In this episode of College Admissions Insider, brought to you by Bucknell University, Brooke Thames and Bryan Wendell share proven tips to help students craft a killer college application essay.

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• More tips for writing a college application essay 
• Information about applying to Bucknell
• Bucknell admissions dates & deadlines
• Information for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

When you visit campus for a preview session and guided tour, chat with our student ambassadors, or experience an interactive virtual tour of campus, you'll have a front-row seat as you explore this place we call home.

This combination of in-person and virtual visit offerings means you can learn more about Bucknell in the way that fits you and your family best.

While it may be the student who gets admitted to college in the end, they aren't the only ones with a hand in the process.

From those initial Google searches to campus visits and beyond, parents and families are discovering and learning right alongside their student. On this episode of College Admissions Insider, we're taking a closer look at the parent and family experience.

We'll talk about the role that parents and families play in the college search process. 

Our guests are two parents who also happen to be admissions professionals at Bucknell. Lara Schmitt ’20, P’26 is assistant director of admissions for access & outreach, and Brett Basom P’22 is associate director for international recruitment. 

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• Resources for parents and families
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

No two college journeys are the same. For some, it might mean attending college right in their hometown, while others might travel halfway or even to the other side of the country for school.

Then, there are those who take their education beyond borders. At the request of one of our listeners, in this episode of College Admissions Insider, we are exploring options for attending college outside of the US.

We'll learn where students can begin researching schools, how admissions can differ from country to country, what the day-to-day learning experience might look like, and more.

Our guest is Chris Pluta is Director of College Counseling at the United Nations International School.

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• Information for international applicants to Bucknell
• Learn about the international student experience at Bucknell
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

After choosing where to enroll, the next major decision in the college process is, “What is going to live with you in your home away from home?”

In this College Admissions Insider minisode, we're sharing some tips and considerations to keep in mind when packing for your first year of college.

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• What to bring for Bucknell move-in
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

If you've been listening to College Admissions Insider for a while, the title of this episode might ring a bell. In some of our early episodes, we invited real admissions counselors here to talk about how reading applications really works.

Today, we're doing it all again. We'll be chatting about the process front to back — and then some.

Our guest is Kevin Mathes '07, associate vice president and dean of admissions at Bucknell.

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

When you visit campus for a preview session and guided tour, chat with our student ambassadors, or experience an interactive virtual tour of campus, you'll have a front-row seat as you explore this place we call home.

This combination of in-person and virtual visit offerings means you can learn more about Bucknell in the way that fits you and your family best.

Your grades, extracurriculars and essay responses paint a picture of who you are. But there's another part of your application that colleges and universities pay special attention to:  your intended major.

On this episode of College Admissions Insider, we're providing tips on identifying the primary discipline you'll study throughout your four years. We'll discuss when students should start thinking about their major, what your intended major tells a university and how it factors into the admissions process.

Our guest is Jill Medina, senior associate dean of admissions at Bucknell.

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Find a transcript for this episode.

There's only so much you can learn about a school from Google. One of the best ways to get to know a college is to experience it for yourself.

An in-person visit can push a college into dream school territory, or send it falling off your list entirely. In this episode of College Admissions Insider, we're exploring how you make the most of a college visit from the options available to setting it up and beyond.

Our guest is Chris Rowe, admissions specialist for daily campus visitation programs at Bucknell.

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Read a transcript of the epsiode.

Plan your visit to Bucknell.

When exploring colleges, there's only so much you can do online. At some point, you have to see these places for yourself — all five, 10 or 30 schools on your list.

Unless a family member has unlimited vacation days (or a teleportation machine), the only way to realistically visit multiple schools in a reasonable amount of time is by planning a college visit road trip.

But how do you organize one of these info-gathering trips? How can you keep all these visits straight in your head? And what's the best way to maximize that family time as you travel together from destination to destination? 

In this episode of College Admissions Insider, we provide a road map for success. Our guest is Alison Almasian, director of college counseling at the Taft School, a private boarding school in Watertown, Conn., Before that, she spent 22 years in college admissions.

Read a transcript for this episode.

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• Blog post: planning a college visit road trip
• Blog post: 80 questions to ask on a campus tour
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students

When you visit campus for a preview session and guided tour, chat with our student ambassadors, or experience an interactive virtual tour of campus, you'll have a front-row seat as you explore this place we call home.

This combination of in-person and virtual visit offerings means you can learn more about Bucknell in the way that fits you and your family best.

Maybe you sketch in your free time, have a leading role in community theater production or dance in a semi-professional company. Whatever your arts interest, there are abundant opportunities to pursue it in college.

On this episode of College Admissions Insider, we're chatting with two current Bucknell students about their involvement in the arts. We'll talk about how they found opportunities on campus to get involved, what their activities look like and more.

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• Learn about Bucknell's Arts Merit Scholarships
• Resources for students who've been admitted to Bucknell
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

In our last College Admissions Insider minisode, we shared some advice for weighing your admission offers and making a decision. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

There's no one better to walk high school seniors through the process than students who were in their shoes not too long ago.

In this episode, we've invited our very own first-year college students to share how they chose the school that was best for them. We'll talk about their journey from applying to deciding, as well as some advice they have for current college-bound students.

Read a transcript for this episode

If you have a question, comment or idea for a future episode, email [email protected].

Please note: Information presented in this episode was accurate at the time of recording, but may have since changed. Participants may have changed roles or no longer hold positions at Bucknell University.

Links:

• Resources for students who've been admitted to Bucknell
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center