The Admissions Directors Lunchcast

The Admissions Directors Lunchcast recently launched an exclusive video podcast series - Lunchcast Live. Twice a month, Teege and Nathan will welcome a guest to discuss a hot topic on their mind. The interview will often be shared here, but the full conversation with the audience is available only to members of the Lunchcast community. If you would like to be added to the invitation list, email [email protected].

For this Lunchcast Live, we were joined by Seth Harris, Senior Principal, Financial Aid Optimization at EAB to update us all on FAFSA 2025.

Okay, let's get into it. What's happening on TikTok as it relates to the college search process, and what should colleges do to manage it?

Jenna Shulman, founder and owner of Get Me Into College helps us see how students are leveraging TikTok as a tool in the college search process.

Natasha Caudill, Digital Communications Specialist at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois steps in as the practitioner with tangible examples of how she manages the Knox College TikTok account.

You've heard them - now let's talk about them. In this episode, we want to address what some of the most common student misconceptions are, and focus on what we should do about them.

Butch Hamilton, Director of College Advising at Saint Mary’s Raiken High School in Lennertown, Maryland and a Certified Educational Planner and Educational Consultant at Golden Educational Consulting begins the conversation as our influencer guest.

John Pyle,

Is this a podcast about ocean life, or college admissions? It might take you a few minutes into the episode to be sure. But, to end the suspense, this episode is about learning loss, and the impact to colleges hovering just below the surface of the demographic cliff.

Ed Venit, Managing Director of Strategic Research at EAB shares with us the results of research and futuring work they've done to understand what's to come.

If you follow higher ed news, you'd think small colleges everywhere are falling faster than when a quarter push machine is shaken. Of course, for every story told about a small college that is struggling or worse - there are stories that aren't told.

So how (and why) are some small colleges thriving in this environment?

To answer that, we have two outstanding guests.

Rachael Stock, Dean of Admissions & Recruiting at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois joins us as a practitioner, helping to dissect what it means when a college is intentionally small.

We've talked about all the different directions enrollment leaders go when they move on: the dark side - the high school side - the independent counseling side - this week we explore a whole new angle: K-12 Admissions.

For the second year in a row, The Admissions Directors Lunchcast has sponsored a survey on the state of morale in college admissions.

You can view the full report here. Additionally, this research will be discussed at the first Lunchcast Live event in October and the Lunchcast Lectures event in Milwaukee in June, 2025.

The first order of business, however, is bringing in a rockstar guest with a certain cross-over appeal. Ken Anselment, Vice President of Enrollment at RHB, Host of The Admissions Leadership Podcast, and Author of the forthcoming book: Climbing the Admissions Leadership Peak: Lessons from the ALP.

Perhaps more significant than all that: Ken has always been a leader in staying attuned to the morale of his team and making adjustments when necessary.

For this special episode, Ken shares his reactions to and insights from the 2024 Morale in Admissions Report.

We're as surprised as you are.

The Admissions Directors Lunchcast has officially crossed over 15,000 unique listens since we launched a few years ago.

For that reason, we're thrilled to announce a new initiative: Lunchcast Live. This talk show style series will be available only to members of the Lunchcast community for an intriguing conversation twice-monthly.

If you're interested in an invitation, email [email protected] ... or contact either Nathan or Teege some other way.

It is easily the hottest topic of the year in college admissions - the appropriate and reasonable use of artificial intelligence in the world of college admissions.

How and where can this new technology by used to help, create efficiencies, and improve the process?

Emily Smith, Vice President of Partner Success at CollegeVine kicks the conversation off with a top-of-the-funnel discussion, including a delightful conversation with Sara, the AI Recruiter.

Elizabeth Kirby, Director of Partnerships at PeopleGrove comes in to share her experience applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to the middle of the funnel.

Do virtual tours still work after the pandemic?

It's a resounding yes from us, and our guest, Andrew Klotz, Co-Founder and CEO of Circuit Virtual Tours, based in Toronto, Ontario.