Getting In expert Amy Young guest hosts the podcast this week while Julie Lythcott Haims tours colleges with her son over spring break. Amy is the director of college counseling at Avenues, an independent school in New York City. Amy and her Avenues colleague, Tim Hudson, formerly an admissions officer at Davidson College, listen and react to updates from three Getting In seniors: August Graves, Alessandra LePera, and Jordana Meyer.

All three young women have received college notifications these past few weeks and they share where they've been accepted, rejected, and wait-listed. Amy and Tim also hear an update from Julie from the road, where she confesses to an over-parenting moment she plans not to repeat.

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Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Getting In expert Steve LeMenager hear an update from Getting In senior Jordana Meyer and they answer listener questions. 

Steve is the president of Edvice, a college counseling firm. He was previously a director of admissions at Princeton University.

Listener questions in this episode include one from a mother in Seattle whose son received several acceptance letters, and wonders if the financial aid packages can be negotiated because her husband was recently laid off. A mother in Connecticut asks for advice after her daughter has been rejected everywhere and accepted to a school she would never consider attending. And a California eleventh grader studying abroad in the Czech Republic wonders if her lack of traditional junior year coursework will affect her admissions chances.

Find us on Twitter: @GettingInPod

Send us an email or voice memo--to  [email protected]

Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353.

Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.

Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.

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Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and special guest Gretchen Rubin explore how parents figure out their roles on the path to college and we hear updates from the families of two Getting In seniors. Amy and Martin Graves, August's parents and Jonathan Meyer, Jordana's father reflect on how they have navigated this roller coaster year. Special guest Gretchen Rubin is a writer and co-host of the podcast Happier. Her bestselling books include The Happiness Project and Better Than Before. She's also the mother of a high school junior, Eliza (who has her own podcast!). Gretchen admits its a tricky balance being helpful, but mostly hands-off as Eliza prepares for college. She offers several tips and examples from her own life about the habits and strategies she's

trying to put into place right now. Some advice from this episode:1.    Trust your kid to make good decisions.2.    Do not make the college path a 24-7 conversation, schedule specific times to talk about it.3.    Give your kid the time and space for creative outlets that have *nothing* to do with college.4.    Avoid stoking the fires of worry when talking to other parents. Think of them as a resources for answering concrete questions (e.g. when should we schedule college tours?).  Find us on Twitter: @GettingInPod

Send us an email or voice memo--to [email protected], call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353. Getting In is supported by Squarespace, helping students create online portfolios and personal websites that show colleges who they are and what they can do. Learn more at Squarespace.com/gettingin Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice at

www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.

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Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Getting In expert Parke Muth answer more listener questions. Parke is a private college counselor and a former admission officer at the University of Virginia.

This week's questions include one from a dad who wonders how attending a vocational high school might affect college admission. A mom whose daughter is interested in the New College of Florida-- a school that does not give grades-- wonders how the post-college working world views graduates who don't have traditional GPAs. And a community college professor in Idaho asks for strategies to help her non-traditional students transfer to four-year schools.

There are lots of ways to send us questions and comments:

Follow us on Twitter: @GettingInPod

Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]

Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353

Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.

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Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Getting In expert Parke Muth answer more listener questions. Parke is a private college counselor and a former admission officer at the University of Virginia.

Julie and Parke talk about some interesting admission trends he's seen this spring --including the prevalence of "likely letters" and tuition discounts being offered his students.

And they answer listener questions: Two different mothers contacted the podcast describing the intense pressures high schoolers face that come with living in Fairfax County, Virginia. A father wants to know which small liberal arts schools have rigorous STEM programs. And a high school junior wonders what's the right number of schools one should apply to-- given that she's seen peers apply anywhere in the range of 2 to 26.

There are lots of ways to send us questions and comments:

Follow us on Twitter: @GettingInPod

Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]

Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353

Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.

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 Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Getting In expert Josh Steckel answer listener questions. 

Josh is the college counselor at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative studies. He's also the author of Hold Fast to Dreams: A College Guidance Counselor, His Students, and the Vision of a Life Beyond Poverty.

Listener questions in this episode include one from a mother in Connecticut who wonders if special spots are held for students who want to enter ROTC. And Josh and Julie answer two different but related questions about putting together senior year course loads. They talk about the push and pull between taking courses "colleges want to see" and following a path that is more authentic to the student's interests.

Find us on Twitter: @GettingInPodSend us an email or voice memo--to  [email protected]Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353.

Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.

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Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Getting In expert

Josh Steckel talk financial aid, scholarship strategies, plus they hear

an update from Getting In senior August Graves. Josh is the college counselor at the

Brooklyn School for Collaborative studies. He's also the author of Hold

Fast to Dreams: A College Guidance Counselor, His Students, and the Vision of a

Life Beyond Poverty. Josh lists the most important things seniors and

their families need to be doing right now if they're applying for financial

aid. And they still have time if they haven't yet. He explains how to compare

different schools' aid packages and how to figure out the net price. When it

comes to finding scholarship money, Josh says to think locally. Religious

groups, unions, non-profits, even law firms are a great source of scholarship

funds.  Julie and Josh answer a multi-part listener

question about financial aid. The father who wrote in wonders how to find out a

college's true cost and asks how he should honestly talk about affordability with

his daughter. Online resources mentioned in the show: Gates MillenniumJackie Robinson FoundationPosse FoundationFastwebScholarsnappCollege GreenlightRaise.MeCollege Score Card Find us on Twitter: @GettingInPodSend us an email or voice memo--to  [email protected]Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929)

999-4353. Getting In is supported by Squarespace,

helping students create online portfolios and personal websites

that show colleges who they are and what they can do. Learn more

at Squarespace.com/gettingin Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and

use the promo code COLLEGE.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and expert Amy Young talk about the five things every college-bound high school junior should be thinking about right now: preparing for and taking the SAT or ACT (no more than twice); senior year course selection; forming relationships with teachers who could serve as references; thinking about how you'll spend your summer; and ramping up academic performance.

They also get an update from Getting In senior Ellis Wells, one of Amy's students at Avenues, who got some news from a college this past week. And Julie and Amy answer more listener questions.

Amy is the director of college counseling at Avenues, an independent school in New York City.

Listener questions this week include a letter writer who asks just how much a low ACT writing score could influence admission. A mom, whose son is an an outdoor adventurer and blogger, wonders if colleges actually look at internet links of student work. And another parent is curious what path her son should take given his passion for marine biology and (what she considers) a less-than-ideal GPA.

Send questions, comments, and follow us on Twitter @GettingInPod

Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]

Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353

Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.

Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and expert Amy Young

react to the criticism that's bubbled up around the Harvard report proposing

sweeping changes to college admissions. Plus, they get an update from Getting

In senior August Graves who this week received a notification from a college.

And Julie and Amy answer listener questions. Amy is the director of college counseling at

Avenues, an independent school in New York City.   Listener questions this week include one from a

mom who's daughter is a serious athlete. She wonders if devoting all summer

between junior and senior year to soccer practice could affect her daughter's

admissions chances. A high school student in Germany, who has already skipped

two grades, says he'll be 16 by the time he starts college. How will colleges

view his young age? And, a parent planning a spring break tour of colleges with

her son has discovered many of the colleges have the same spring break-- and so

no classes will be in session. Is it still a good time to tour schools? Send questions, comments, and follow us on

Twitter @GettingInPod Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected] Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929)

999-4353 Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and

use the promo code COLLEGE.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims welcomes

back Getting In experts Steve LeMenager and Parke Muth to answer more listener

questions. A college counselor in Boston asks

what online resources he should include in a presentation to 11th-graders. A

mom in Switzerland wonders how US Colleges will convert her son's International

Baccalaureate scores to an American-style GPA. A college counselor in

Pittsburgh is wary of parents who insist their social and political connections

could help their children gain admission. And a mom in California is curious

how students can self-advocate when their high school college counselors cannot

pick up the phone and call an admissions office. Steve LeMenager mentioned several

helpful online resources for students starting their search: Khan AcademyNavianceBig

FutureCappexCollege

NavigatorCollege Insight There are lots of ways to send us

questions and comments: Follow us on Twitter: @GettingInPod Send us an email or voice memo

to [email protected] Or, call our hotline and leave a

message at (929) 999-4353 Getting In is sponsored by

Audible.com.Get a free audiobook of your choice

at www.audible.com/college and

use the promo code COLLEGE.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices