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When I last spoke with Rebecca, she had just graduated from High School and was headed to the University of Texas Austin.

Rebecca is a junior at UT Austin.

In this episode, Rebecca shares her undergraduate experiences at UT Austin, Her Internships, Study Abroad in Ireland, and Majoring in Journalism.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Rebecca Youngers is a junior at the University of Texas Austin.

Memorable Quote: “My study abroad? Oh, my gosh, literally, like the best experience ever. I'm like, I know everyone that goes abroad does not shut up about it, and I am included in that pool of people for sure. ” Becca Youngers.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Similar Episodes: College Experiences

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In this series of episodes, College Counselors share their takeaways from College Alumni and Student stories featured in this Podcast.

Tom Stepkoski picked the 3 episodes from “College Vignettes Tell Tales”, my handbook for sophomores and juniors.

In this episode, Tom shares his takeaways from Podcast episodes with Lorena of Davidson College, Aidan of UCLA, and Avinash of Princeton.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Tom Stepkoski is the Career and College Counselor at Westhill High School in Stamford, Connecticut. In addition, Tom also runs Tom Step Coaching for Personal Development.

Memorable Quote: “And I'm sure that you know, you've heard me say before on your podcast, that kids love to listen to kids. And I say kids, you know, I'm referring to students of 16, 17, 18, years old, or primarily, they're juniors in high school, and they're starting to look at colleges.” Tom Stepkoski.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Tracy got her PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. For years after that, she taught college students in programs called “Semesters at Sea”. During that time she was also an instructor for the Outward Bound with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

She noticed that all her students were wealthy.

That insight led Tracy to found the STEP - an amazing program to provide guidance to high achieving, low income students to get to college.

Tracy joins us on our podcast to talk about her background, the origins of STEP, The Organization and the program, How to apply for STEP, Success Stories, and finally Tips for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Tracy Baynes is the Founder and CEO of STEP - Student Expedition Program in Tucson Arizona.

Memorable Quote: “What we say is, we can't want this more than you do. Like in the end, you have to do the hard work, and you have to do the hard work when nobody's looking, you have to do the hard work when nobody's giving you accolades. And that's what it takes, right?  Anything you want, is on the other side of hard work.” Tracy Baynes.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Similar Episodes: College Experiences, College Application Workbook 

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Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters. Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Shveta Bagade, College Counselor based in Silicon Valley California.

Resources referred to in this episode:

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Digital SAT is here.

Today we feature 2 high school seniors, Eva and Emily from Jenks High School to share their experiences with the Digital SAT.

They talk about the structure of the test, how they prepared for it, The differences between the Paper and Digital Test, and their Advice for Juniors.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Eva Mahajan and Emily Seo, Senior Jenks High School, Tulsa OK.

Memorable Quote: “So first I would tell them to take as many practice tests as possible, because that's how I like to study. And I soon learned the grammar patterns and the formatting pretty well. And then I would also say, Make sure not to cram study the day or even week before, and to create a schedule over a longer period of time.” Emily Seo.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Beto liked Math and Science classes in High School. He loved to play soccer.

In his senior year of high school, he started gravitating towards trade school and a career in welding. So, during the summer after high school, he started working as a welder.

But then things changed for him.

Beto joins our podcast to share his inspiring undergraduate college journey at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Landslide Research, Summer Internships, Choosing Geography with Geology Major, and Advice for High Schoolers.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Beto Patino-Luna is studying Geography with a Geology emphasis at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

Memorable Quote: “I had never heard about the research process before meeting Dr Juk. I didn't know what research was. I didn't know you could get a job out of it. So I learned all about that.” Beto Patino-Luna.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Similar Episodes: College Experiences 

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As a junior In High School, Heidi was intrigued about College. Although her College Counselor wasn’t very motivating. And her parents were not College graduates.

Her parents paid for a College Counseling program at a local community college. Heidi found this exciting and inspiring.

Today, Heidi is the Director of College Counseling at Catholic Central High School in Michigan.

Heidi joins us on our podcast to talk about her background, Catholic Central, Counseling Approach, Challenges, Information Overload and her continued passion for Counseling.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Heidi Clark-Smitley, Director of College Counseling at Catholic Central High School, MI.

Memorable Quote: “I look at the student, and I go, you probably got your driver's license recently, or about to get your driver's license. So here's the deal, you are in the driver's seat of this college exploration and planning, and the rest of us are passengers. And although we might be backseat drivers at times, we are simply passengers.” Heidi Clark-Smitley.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Recommended Episodes: College Experiences, College Application Workbook 

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Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters. Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Shveta Bagade, College Counselor based in Silicon Valley California.

Resources referred to in this episode:

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Teddy grew up loving the Sciences, especially Chemistry. He felt that Chemistry with the help of Math helped explain natural phenomena. 

In addition, he enjoyed History, Orchestra and Quiz Bowl. He started to appreciate taking an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

Teddy joins our podcast to share his undergraduate experience at UT Austin, Interest Chemistry, Being a Dean Scholar, Fabricating 3D nano devices, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, and Advice for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Teddy Hsieh is a Goldwater Scholar who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Chemistry  from the University of Texas Austin. Teddy is currently pursuing his PhD at the MIT.

Memorable Quote: “Yeah, so this is one of the advice I give very often, and one that I myself was sort of guilty of, and that is go to office hours. Especially if you sort of vibe well with the professor, or you feel like you know either you like them or you're interested in the things they bring up in class. And that's what happened with me. ” Teddy Hsieh.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Similar Episodes: College Experiences , UG Research

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Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters. Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Shveta Bagade, College Counselor based in Silicon Valley California.

Resources referred to in this episode:

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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