College Admissions Insider

So far on College Admissions Insider, we've taken you through each step of the application process — from exploring what schools are out there, to making a decision on where you will be applying, and getting ready to submit your very best applications.

Now, we've made it to spring and its decision season.

It's an exciting time, but it can also be a bit stressful. Is there a magic formula to figuring out which offer you'll accept? Brooke and Becca walk you through how to decide.

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

While search engines provide millions of answers in less than a second, there is one life-changing question for which the answer doesn't arrive as quickly: Did I get in?

When you want to know whether you’ve been accepted into your college of choice, things don't happen quickly. In fact, it may be months between the moment you press “submit” on your application and the day that acceptance notification appears in your virtual or physical mailbox.

So what do you do in the meantime? In this episode of College Admissions Insider, we’ll provide a few answers to that crucial question right here, right now. We’ll share tips for making the most of the time leading up to decision release day and advice for how to mitigate anxiety while you wait.

Our guest is Jill Medina, Bucknell’s senior associate dean of admissions. Jill has more than 25 years of work in higher education under her belt, and she plays a role in the acceptance process 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:

• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• Undergraduate admission requirements
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• 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.

In the past few episodes of College Admissions Insider, we've covered academic disciplines one by one.

So far, we've covered sciences, mathematics, the arts, humanities, engineering and management. We encourage you to jump back and listen to those episodes if you haven't yet. Today, we're rounding out this series with the social sciences. 

On this episode, we'll get to know the kinds of majors available in these disciplines, what management looks like in college, and the careers you can break into post-graduation. 

Our guest is Michelle Johnson, associate Dean of faculty in the social sciences 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:

• Explore the College of Arts & Sciences
• 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

For the next little while on College Admissions Insider, we're doing a deep dive into academic disciplines one episode at a time. 

So far, we've covered sciences, mathematics, the arts, humanities and engineering. We encourage you to jump back and listen to those episodes if you haven't yet. Today, we're exploring management.

On this episode, we'll get to know the kinds of majors available in these disciplines, what management looks like in college, and the careers you can break into post-graduation. 

Our guest is Matt Bailey, a chair in business administration and professor of analytics and operations management 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:

• Explore the Freeman College of Management
• 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.

In this College Admissions Insider minisode, Brooke and Becca are diving in on their top recommendations for how college-bound students can best spend their last winter break of high school.

You might be super excited for this break from learning — and from your college applications. But there are plenty of little ways that you can keep progress going on the college process.

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

For the next little while on College Admissions Insider, we're doing a deep dive into academic disciplines one episode at a time.

So far, we've covered sciences, mathematics, the arts, and humanities. We encourage you to jump back and listen to those episodes if you haven't yet. Today, we're exploring engineering.

On this episode, we'll get to know the kinds of majors available in these disciplines, what engineering look like in college, and the careers you can break into post-graduation. 

Our guest is Erin Jablonski, associate dean of Bucknell's College of Engineering. Welcome to the podcast.

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:

• Explore the College of Engineering
• 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

For the next little while on College Admissions Insider, we're doing a deep dive into academic disciplines one episode at a time.

So far, we've covered sciences and mathematics. We encourage you to jump back and listen to that episode if you haven't yet. Today, we're chatting about the humanities.

On this episode, we'll get to know the kinds of majors available in these disciplines, what the humanities look like in college, and the careers you can break into post-graduation.

Our guest is Anthony Stewart, associate dean of faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences 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:

• Explore the College of Arts & Sciences
• 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

There are so many important choices you'll make in college: which hall to live in, what to eat, how many extracurriculars to join. But most crucial is the decision of what you'll study.

For the next little while on College Admissions Insider, we'll be doing a deep dive into academic disciplines one episode at a time. This episode is dedicated to the sciences and mathematics.

We'll get to know the kinds of majors available in these disciplines, what math and science studies look like in college, and the careers you can break into post-graduation.

Our guest is Le Paliulis, associate dean of faculty for Bucknell's College of Arts & Sciences and professor of biology.

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:

• Explore the College of Arts & Sciences
• 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

Waiting is the most agonizing part of the college admissions process. You send off your materials and then keep clicking that refresh button until the decision arrives (or your phone dies).

But for a select group of applicants, that waiting period is significantly reduced. These are the students who applied Early Decision or Early Action to their top-choice school or schools.

These students could get a decision as early as December instead of the following March or April — a huge relief, to be sure. Plus, many schools admit Early Decision applicants at a higher rate than Regular Decision applicants.

But before you click submit on an early application, you'll want to make sure you've gone over all the pros and cons for doing so.

In this episode of College Admissions Insider, Dean of Admissions Kevin Mathes ’07 covers everything you need to know about Early Decision and Early Action.

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:

• Bucknell admissions dates and deadlines
• General info about applying to Bucknell
• For prospective students
• For parents of prospective students
• Blog post: When to apply for college
• Bucknell Virtual Welcome Center

Think about the latest TV series you binge-watched. Did it start by saying, "In this TV show, you'll meet a messed-up family with lots of problems." Probably not. It likely threw you right into the story, sharing something interesting just a few moments after you pressed "play."

In other words, it hooked you quickly, and it did so by showing, not telling.

What if you applied this same strategy to application essays? In this episode of College Admissions Insider, we'll share how to create an application essay that an admissions office won't be able to stop reading.

We invited two Bucknell students who wrote killer application essays to share a little about their process. They'll also read an excerpt from the essays, to give you an idea of how they turned their unique story into unforgettable prose.

Our guests are Meghan Tran, a management student from New Jersey, and Kelley Francis, an arts & sciences student from Colorado.

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:

• Essay tips from Bucknell Admissions
• Application dates and deadlines
• Plan a visit to Bucknell
• Undergraduate admission requirements
• @iamraybucknell, our student-run Instagram
• Info about applying to Bucknell
• Build a Bucknell Custom Viewbook
• Latest news for prospective students