As a parent of 3 college students, Liane Crane has experience reading tuition bills and understanding the hidden costs of college. She started her business, The College Dollar, to help other parents and students understand the true costs of college as they start or refine their college list. Whether you have a high school student or a current college student, Liane offers tips to make sure you and your student are financially aware each step of the way. 

The College Herald, an incredible resource for high school and college students, was founded by Justin Yin as a way to help other students who may not have the support system in place when applying to or attending college. Justin is a first-gen student who documented all of his successes and challenges when applying to university as a way to help his younger brother so he might have the information and tools readily available when he applied to college. As someone who received $55k in scholarships, Justin shares his insights and tips with College Scoops to help students and families when applying for scholarships to college.

As we get ready for the summer, juniors will start to tackle the activity section of the common application. What are some of the activities to include? How do students know which activities to highlight? If you are a sophomore, what are some ideas to think about to start to build your brag sheet for college applications? Aly shares a personal story about her son, Nicky, and how he took a simple idea at a family dinner and turned it into a real business that he loves and enjoys! There are plenty of opportunities that are right in your backyard so you do not have to go far to have fun, get some experience, make some money, and start to build your activity list for your college application.

Calling all college students! Jenna Zipf, aka The Intern Hustle, is with us today to share her story and advice for college students. Whether you are prepping your resume, LinkedIn profile, or getting ready to interview or start an internship, Jenna provides helpful tips on how to stand out in an interview, internship (in-person and virtual), or on paper. Get ready to take some notes and crush your next interview. 

The crazy 2021 admissions cycle has come to an end as all colleges have released their decisions. With many colleges experiencing significant increases in applications, the waitlist pool is larger than in years past and many are predicting the wait could extend to August. Accepted student days have rolled into another round of zoom events with admissions officers. Some schools are offering limited college visits for accepted students but overall, students are left in a situation where they may have to make a final decision on a college they have yet to step foot on. 

Lee Bierer joins us today to share her thoughts on the lessons learned from this admissions cycle, advice for students on a waitlist, and tips for juniors to get a jumpstart on their essays. We also discussed the latest Netflix release of Operation Varsity Blues. A frequent guest on Charlotte’s NPR Affiliate - WFAE’s Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins, Lee has written over 650 Countdown to College columns over the last 14 years. Her Countdown column is syndicated nationally through Tribune News Service, McClatchy Newspapers and picked up each week by High School Counselor Weekly and bi-monthly by The Link for Counselors.

For college students looking to get into the media or entertainment industry, we asked Stephen Friedman to share his insights about the industry after a 35+ year career at Twentieth Century Fox, Discovery Network, and Warner Bros. What does it take to get into the industry? How should students prepare for the interviews? Based on the changes in the industry, what recommendations would Stephen give to an aspiring media professional? Stephen shares helpful tips to guide you through the process.

This year is not a normal admissions year. Many colleges experienced a significant increase in applications unlike ever before. Waitlists are expected to be annoyingly long. Many students are trying to make decisions on schools they have never actually stepped foot on. As someone who has worked in college admissions for many years, we invited Christina Wright to our podcast today to share some tips and advice for students as they hear back from colleges.

Now more than ever we as a society need to provide resources and support for first-generation students to help them navigate not only the college application process but every stage of the college journey - applying, attending, and graduating from college. We invited Kristina Dooley, a first-generation student herself and President of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and Founder of Estrela Consulting to share her story, insights, and resources that are available to high school and college students. 

As colleges start to notify students of their admissions decisions, we invited Rebekka Whitehead, a coach, mentor, and educational consultant, to share her guidance on how best to support students during this challenging time. Rebekka works with students to help them identify their strengths and learnings styles to better prepare them for their next academic adventure. 

College Scoops loves connecting with student entrepreneurs to hear their stories and how they are managing their schoolwork and businesses. Today we talked with Jay Towns, a junior at Northwestern. Jay shared his story about applying to Northwestern, why Northwestern is the perfect fit for him, his experience as an Amazon influencer, and as a creative running his photography business.