Today, on Episode 8 of Season 2 we talk to Andrew Carter from Holy Cross. Holt Cross is a mid-sized private Jesuit university located in Worcester, Massachusetts. With nearly 70 majors on campus Andrew speaks to some of the more unique aspects of Holy Cross. Andrew also talks about Holy Cross and its history of being test optional as well as his concerns about testing in the future. We also discuss his perspective and thoughts around letters of recommendation and the college essay in our conversation.

If you have comments, would like to hear us interview a particular school, or just want to send along your positive feedback, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

Show Notes: This week, Russ, Susie and Ry sit down and discuss the PSAT test result profiles that have recently been released to students and families. In the near furture we will be talking with Heather Woodcock-Ayres who is currently an educational consultant for families but has served as Director of Admissions for Wellesley and been on the board of admissions for Brown University. Heather brings her well informed and thoughtful perspective to our ongoing conversation about testing and its relevance for students in the application process. Stay tuned for this show in the coming weeks.

Lots of Show Links this week:

CVU School Counselors Podcast - To test or not to test : https://open.spotify.com/episode/0NogmGqnu1m2kDc3R27o7d?si=NIaAlRpWTs6dxGbvfVgv5Q

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-11-to-test-or-not-to-test/id1649520831?i=1000590882854

Understanding your score report

https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt/scores/understanding-scores/your-score-report-explained#

Kahn Academy PSAT test prep

https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

SAT Prep

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice

Fairtest website

https://fairtest.org/school/

College Panel Night

https://youtu.be/cI2tyzRrN-4

This week on the podcast we speak with Maeve Caldwell from Endicott. She talks to us about their unique internship programming, The new Science and nursing building, campus housing and the millage traveled during recruiting season. If you are interested in learning more about Endicott, feel free to contact Maeve here: [email protected]

During this presentation, Carrie Harlow from VSAC will provide an overview of how families pay for college costs and the different types of financial aid, as well as the application process and timelines specifically for the 2024-2025 financial aid award year.

We will share some resources that can help you research the true cost of colleges and get ready to file financial aid forms. If you would like to view the presentation in its original video format, you can find the You Tube link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSODVKeGaYI

This week on the podcast we talk with Matt Cohen from Skidmore about all things Skidmore. WE learn about their new Science building, the comradery between students on campus, the importance of Q1 grades as well as Skidmore's take on Standardized testing. We also have some fun talking hockey and about Matt's own application process to NYU.

This week on the Podcast we had the good fortune to speak with Joshua Tyler, Dean of transfer admissions to Bard College in NY. Bard is a Liberal Arts College with a smaller student body and a large footprint in personalizing education at the post secondary level. Hopefully, his personal story and the detailed information about Bard lead students to explore this school in more depth.

This week we talk with Allison Dubek about CVU's peer mentoring program, Flight Crew and its purpose around connecting all new incoming studetns to our community.

This week on the podcast we release the audio from our College Kick Off meeting for parents and their seniors. It is a lengthy podcast with a YouTube link available here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz9S6_r1pIE

This week on the CVU School Counselor POdcast we talk with Ed Seero from UMass Lowell. We talk about all the exciting things at UMAss Lowell, his history at the University, his favorite Essays of all time and the schools philosophy on standardized testing.

We spend some time talking about the summer before senior year and some work student can work on prior to the start of the year. Working on some or all of these tasks will help make the start of senior year and the application process less stressful.

College Essay Writing- https://open.spotify.com/episode/6FnRg0IrhZxpv1joUBkITE?si=b4KdTqmRRsCcFIDP-FDiQg

College Athlete Recruiting - https://open.spotify.com/episode/026BFfACKE0kuos1nIDyZ4?si=iZR4AwmXSCG_R-XiLAR5qw

College Tours - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4UYv6RWY3STM9FkNCEEXPR?si=UPBnz8wURnGml-dy0tf0ug

Common Application Link - https://www.commonapp.org/