Today’s episode is a special one: I get to talk to a mom and her daughter about their experience with the college process. Navigating college admissions is hard for anyone, and for people with minority backgrounds, there are additional factors to consider. Tune in to learn how one family listened to their values and found the right fit for their student.

Bio:

Mai Moore is an Award-Winning Social Impact Leader, Co-Founder of EYEJ: Empowering Youth, Exploring Justice, Founder of Setting Off Social Impact, and Boss Me In. Mai helped two tech start-ups go public; Travelzoo Inc. and United Online.  Mai believes in diverse women, BIPOC persons, and our young people to help create a more equitable and inclusive world. Mai is from Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  Follow Mai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maimoore/

Yumi Ndhlovu is a second-year student at New York University studying International Relations (pre-law) with minors in Economics and Foreign Languages. Yumi is passionate about international law, politics, and economics and plans to work for an international organization in international law reform or on an international court. Currently, Yumi is working with New York City Council Majority Leader, Keith Powers as an intern writing policy, helping with constituent cases, and aiding in community events. Yumi is originally from Cleveland, Ohio but is now based in New York City.

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

Today, I sit down with Dr. Arundhati Ghosh, a great friend of Signet's, to talk about her journey in medicine, and how she advises students interested in pursuing the medical path. This episode is a must listen for any parents and students thinking about this path!

Dr. Arundhati Ghosh currently works at the Cambridge Health Alliance, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, and is the surgery curriculum director for the Harvard Medical School Cambridge Integrated Clerkship. She does innovative work in curriculum development and teaching methods. Her most recent publication is 'Structuring Medical Education for Workforce Transformation: Continuity, Symbiosis, and Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships'. Follow Dr. Arundhati Gosh on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arundhati-ghosh-7454126/

To get in touch with Dr. Ghosh, email her at [email protected]

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

In today’s episode, I recap the SCOTUS decision on affirmative action and break down what it means for students and families, particularly when it comes to writing essays on “diversity” and related topics. Tune in to learn how colleges are reacting to the decision, what we expect they will do as we move forward, and how to address these tricky essay questions that many colleges are adding this year.

How to Get Into College (Circle Community): https://how-to-get-into-college.circle.so/home

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

Welcome back everyone! Today, I kick off back to school season with an interview with my dear friend and colleague, Holly Schrieber. Holly is one of the few people at Signet who does “all the things” - and this makes her an incredible insightful advisor and supporter for parents and students alike. Tune in to hear about the life experiences she draws on to connect and build trusting relationships with even the most independent and help-averse students.

Bio

Holly has tutored for over a decade and specializes in undergraduate and graduate admissions and is also an expert coach and test prep tutor. She received her BA in Russian from Bowdoin College and her PhD in Comparative Literature and American Studies from Indiana University. She has worked as a tenure track professor at the University of Maine, serving as a MA/PhD advisor and on the graduate admissions committee. Before and during her time with Signet, she has helped over 100 students navigate application essays, program selection, and testing. She loves acting and comedy. Her familiarity with executive function support, standardized testing, writing, and admissions makes her a great holistic advisor to both parents and students alike. She is funny, patient, and meticulously organized.

How to Get Into College (Circle Community): https://how-to-get-into-college.circle.so/home

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

We’re on a break for all of July, but I just had to pop in to share some brief thoughts on the affirmative action ban’s impact on college admissions.

We’ll be back in August - enjoy your summer! 

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

This week, I sit down with scholar, author, leader, and mom Urvashi Bhatnagar to talk about her educational journey and the importance of learning skills and knowledge from outside your career silo.

Bio

As a mission driven strategist, Urvashi advises clients in the private and government healthcare sector on how to stay ahead of key industry trends, identify opportunities to become more efficient, and strategically innovate how healthcare is accessed and delivered to communities that require it the most.  Prior to her work in the United States, she led healthcare advocacy and education initiatives related to Poliomyelitis and Tuberculosis in some of the poorest states of India and improved patient access to care, particularly in the field of orthopedics. By way of her international public health and domestic impact on population health, she recognizes that global total wellness can only occur by way of sustained, systematic and intentional investment in social and environmental determinants of health. In addition to her consulting work, Urvashi regularly serves as a strategic advisor to payors, providers, startups, and serves as a board member for several firms in the healthcare realm. She leverages market and non-market strategies to facilitate population health strategies and utilizes healthcare analytics to refine quantitative analysis for optimized reporting. Urvashi’s prior roles as a program director in both clinical operations and regulatory affairs has led to her being a sought-after expert across industries, firm-types, and geographic locations. Follow Urvashi at https://www.linkedin.com/in/urvashibhatnagarmba/

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

More and more, our kids are anxious, afraid to make mistakes, and deeply shame-filled when they do. Our kids are refusing to try, and shutting down when things feel hard.

What's a parent to do?

I'm pleased to host fellow Chief and resiliency specialist Talia Kovacs to the podcast to discuss her work and her Resilience Building Framework.

Bio

Talia Kovacs is a former teacher, CEO of LitLife, and literacy expert, and member of Chief since 2019. She runs Calm Connected, a childhood resilience coaching program where she works with families to raise resilient kids. Talia has been featured in Forbes, Today, Newsweek, Scholastic, Pearson, VeryWell Family, The EveryMom, NY Metro Parents among other publications talking about the importance of developing a resilient mindset and how to overcome your child's timidness, unwillingness to try, and discomfort with new things. https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliakovacs/

For a free gift, please visit: Taliakovacs.com/gift

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

Today, I talk with Signet's Director of Operations and senior academic coach, Andrea West about the benefits of combining traditional college admissions consulting with coaching. Coaching can not only improve a student's academic performance, but it can also shift them into more of a growth mindset and self-knowledge, two things which are vitally important in having a positive experience in the college process. Andrea shares how even high achieving students can benefit from this approach. Tune in to hear about some of the transformations she's witnessed and had a hand in, and the joy that comes from sending a young adult off to college with full confidence that they can handle whatever they may face.

Bio:

Andrea is Signet’s Director of Operations and one of our top academic coaches. In her administrative role, Andrea makes sure Signet always runs smoothly and is a fun and productive place for all of our employees. When she works as a coach, she takes a student driven approach to encourage introspection and reflection. Her students flourish both inside and outside of the classroom, developing a deeper sense of who they are through coaching.

Before joining Signet, Andrea earned a degree in Psychology from Endicott College and minored in Dance. She still dances and performs in the community and is an acting board member for a local movement company. Andrea currently volunteers for Minds Matter Boston, a local nonprofit offering support to students applying to college, and she previously spent two years volunteering on Boston’s Samaritans crisis line. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys the Food Network, podcasts, Nintendo games, and finding cats to pet. Follow Andrea at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-west-594676171/

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

Today, we’re focusing on the dreaded college essay (that doesn’t have to be so dreaded). We’ve brought together some of our most experienced and educated writing coaches to walk us through some of their greatest tips and tricks for tapping into your passion zone as you write your college essay. Join us as we discuss the personal essay, the supplemental essays, brainstorming, editing, and even the role of a parent in this complicated and stress-laden process.

Panelists:
1.) Sheila Akbar, PhD - Signet President & COO
2.) Satia Marotta, PhD - Signet Writing Specialist
3.) Andy Friedman, PhD - Signet Academic Coach & Writing Specialist
4.) Holly Schreiber, PhD - Signet Academic Coach, Writing Specialist, & Admissions Counselor

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.

Does standardized testing help or hurt your college admission chances?

When it comes to standardized tests for college applications, your high school Freshman or Sophomore has choices looming in front of them you never had to face, and you’re not sure how to help them make the right decision.

Should they take the SAT or the ACT? Or both? Or neither?
What about the digital SAT? Do colleges prefer one type of test over the other?
If a college has a “test optional” policy, do they mean it? Or does opting out give them a bad impression?   

These questions can be overwhelming! And the last thing you want to do is overload your child unnecessarily.  If they’re going to have to go through the pressure and stress of standardized testing, you want to be sure it’s going to be worth it. So tune into this episode, where I take the guesswork out of this confusing process and provide practical guidelines for making data-based decisions you can feel good about.

Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/

Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.