Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

Seniors, are you working on your Common Application? Host Ian Fisher will be interviewing colleague Kristine Sawicki, formerly of Stanford University, about how to make your Common Application shine. We have something for your sophomores and juniors too! You may be wondering how to make the most of high school. We’ll be addressing purposeful goal setting instead of just wish making. And parents, are you looking for an out in repaying Parent PLUS or cosigned private loans? It’s not easy…but we’ll talk about the few ways it might be possible.

Host Beth Heaton is so pleased to be welcome Harry Feder, the Executive Director of Fair Test, the organization that has been advocating for test optional admissions for students for many years. Feder will be talking about the organization itself as well as the state of testing in undergraduate admissions today. In addition, seniors will soon be receiving decisions from many colleges if they applied early decision or early action. College Coach admissions consultant Christine Kenyon will discuss how to be intentional when you open your admission decision. It’s important to consider how to be kind to others when doing so! Last, did you know that November 18 through the 24th is National Apprenticeship week? College Coach finance expert Jan Combs will be joining Beth to discuss how to earn while you learn through an apprenticeship.

Have you thought about attending a college with a co-op program? Host Beth Heaton will be interviewing College Coach admissions consultant Kennon Dick about Drexel University where he formerly worked as an admission officer. In addition, College Coach admissions consultant Kristine Sawicki, formerly of Reed College and Stanford University, will share college interview strategies. College finance expert Michelle Smoley joins us to provide personal finance tips for young adults regarding shopping on holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Applying to Carnegie Mellon? Or Georgetown? You’re in luck, as our host Ian Fisher will be interviewing former admission officers from both those institutions. We’re very lucky to have Lauren Savage, previously an admission officer at Carnegie Mellon, on our show. College Coach Lauren Randle, previously an admission officer at Georgetown, joins us as well. In addition, College Coach finance expert Michelle Clifton will be addressing federal student loans by providing updates on the SAVE plan and the federal court injunction regarding it.

Continuing our series on college application supplements, we are addressing a doozy today! Beth Heaton will be joined by College Coach colleague Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn to discuss the University of Chicago’s supplemental essays. These are challenging, so if you’re thinking about applying, listen in. Colleague Nial Rele, resident of Vermont, will be there for another segment to discuss the thankfully more straightforward University of Vermont supplemental essays, and College Coach Finance expert Chrissy Foran will be joining Beth to discuss the reality of paying in-state tuition as an out-of-state student.

Applying to Boston College? Cornell University? Host Shannon Vasconcelos will be joined by College Coach colleagues Blair Dixon, to discuss Boston College’s supplements, and then Mary Sue Youn to cover Cornells’. In addition, college finance expert Beth Feinberg-Keenan will be there to talk about the financial benefits of a well-considered list of colleges.

Working on your Yale University supplemental essay? Host Beth Heaton will be joined by Amy Alexander, College Coach colleague and former Yale admission officer, to discuss their supplement. In another segment, Karen Spencer, another colleague, will be there to go over the University of Michigan supplement. Then Stacey MacPhetres, College Coach Finance Expert, will go over the Who, What, and Why of merit scholarships.

Are you applying to the University of California system? If so, you probably already know that they have their own application and require four essays. And those essays are a very important piece of the application evaluation! Host Sally Ganga will be joined by College Coach colleagues Steve Fernandez-Brennan and Alexandra Rendon to discuss how to approach them. Both have extensive experience advising students on this application, and Alex even worked for UC San Diego! So tune in.

In addition, College Coach Finance Expert Zach Gries will be helping us celebrate Financial Aid Day, coming on October 16th, by explaining what financial aid actually is.

Curious how Artificial Intelligence is impacting college admissions? Host Ian Fisher will be chatting with College Coach colleagues Zaragoza Guerra and Nial Rele about what the short term and long term impacts might be. Continuing with the tech theme, he’ll be joined by Michelle Smoley, College Coach Finance Expert, who, in honor of Cyber Security Awareness Month, will provide tips for young adults on protecting their personal and financial information online.

Wondering whether you should apply Early Decision or Early Action and trying to understand the financial implications of both? Host Beth Heaton will be interviewing College Coach finance expert Chrissy Foran to help you answer those questions. In addition, College Coach admissions counselor and Texas resident Zaragoza Guerra will be discussing the University of Texas at Austin application. And last but not least, Megan Stubbendeck of the test prep organization Arborbridge will be joining Beth to go over all things standardized testing!