This episode is part one of three on access and equity in the college counseling community. Today we meet Joan Liu, a counselor at a high school in Southeast Asia, who has been working on the front lines of access and equity issues during her career. When over 60 Nepali students suddenly lost their full-tuition scholarships in April of last year, Joan decided to do something about it.

That story--and what happened next--is what we discuss on this podcast. This story was picked up by the Washington Post and the Chronicle of Higher Ed. They are seeking help for these students--we'll let you know at the end how you can get involved. Enjoy.

In this episode you'll hear Adam's take on:

• What's a "good" score?
• How much do SAT scores matter?
• Do students even need standardized tests?
• When should students take the test?
• What's the difference between the SAT and the ACT?
• Do students need the optional essay?
• The most important things to know about subject tests
• A few words about the PSAT
• Important notes for students with learning differences
• How students should define success in college admissions testing

On this podcast we discuss:

• Why parents should stop telling their students that there are tons of school and to not worry about where they will go

• Why (and how) to limit the amount of time you spend talking about college

• When the best time to start talking about college is

• The three most stressful parts of college admissions for students--and how to mitigate that stress

• What Lisa is most and least proud of as a parent when it came to helping her own kids through the college application process

On this episode we discuss, among other things:

• How common testing anxiety is (you may be surprised)
• How anxiety functions in the body
• Strategies for changing how you think about anxiety #reframing
• Some ways you can understand and adjust self-talk
• What cognitive rehearsal is and how it can help
• A brief intro to the emotional freedom technique
• How regulating your breathing can help

On this episode we discuss:

• Are standardized tests evil?
• What are some other standardized test myths that people tend to believe?
• To what extent does the SAT or ACT measure what students need to know in college?
• Important statistics from "Crossing the Finish Line," a book that outlines the research around how well standardized test scores predict actual student performance in life and in college.
• What is the difference between "test optional" and "test flexible"?
• If students don't submit standardized test scores, does this have an impact on scholarships and financial aid?
• Does applying to a college without a test score hurt a student's chances?
• Advice for students with test scores that are "just okay"

This episode is an interview… on interviews! Monica James--whom you may've heard previously on the podcast in the episode on Demonstrated Interest--absolutely crushes it in this interview, offering more practical advice than you'll find in most weekend workshops on this topic. And it's no wonder: for years she's been teaching people (and in particular high school students) how to give great interviews. We cover, among other things:

• Why do colleges give interviews?
• Can a bad interview actually hurt your application chances?
• How do you prepare for the interview?
• What's the one thing that colleges are looking for above all else?
• How do you answer the "Why this college" interview question?
• How do you answer the Strengths and Weaknesses interview Question?
• How do you answer the Tell Me About Your Reading Life or "What books have you read recently" question?
• What is the hardest interview question and how do you handle it?
• What if you get a "bad" interviewer?
• What if you're asked a question in an interview that you truly don't know the answer to?
• How much does body language matter in an interview?
• What should you wear to an interview?
• How do I handle a Skype or Phone Interview?
• How do I set up an interview?
• How should I practice?
• What about Scholarship Interviews—are they different?

Should you apply Early Decision or not? Is there a statistical advantage to applying early or not? When making this decision, it might help to know what the regular decision acceptance rate is for a school and what the Early Decision acceptance rate for a school is and then compare those numbers. That's the first thing we cover on this episode. After that we discuss:

• Why did they choose the metrics they chose (i.e. why do these numbers matter)?
• What are some of the dangers of interpreting this data
• Who is early decision right for and who is it not right for?

And, of course:

• How can you use this chart practically in when applying to college?

On this episode I talk with Jennie about:

• Why she created the chart in the first place
• She explains why your student doesn't have to be incredible in order to get merit aid
• How much students' ability to pay matters in admissions
• How to use the chart, including how Jennie walks students through a consultation
• Why students might decline to ask for merit-based aid

Links:

• The excel sheet of universities sorted by financial aid generosity (international students)
• How to sort an excel sheet by column
• FAFSA Forecaster
• Jennie Kent's website
• A PDF version of the chart with financial aid generosity for international students
• Duolingo
• Moment: an app for tracking your screen time

On this episode Jeff and I discuss this rad resource on which schools are most generous with financial aid and after he shares with us his story, we discuss:

• Three huge myths that students and parents have about financially planning for college
• Why parents should ignore the school's sticker price
• Which schools meet 100% of demonstrated need (and what that means)
• A tool for figuring out how much money schools offer
• What Jeff believes is the biggest problem with the financial aid process
• Why Jeff created this resource in the first place and, most importantly…
• How to use this tool (along with a few other resources) to decide where to attend

Links:

• Jeffy Levy's website

• The excel sheet of universities sorted by financial aid generosity (domestic students)

• How to sort an excel sheet by column

• Common Data Set

• Podcast Episode 108: Demonstrated Interest: How to Build Authentic Relationships with Colleges (and Why It's a Good Idea)

• FAFSA Forecaster

• College Board Net Price Calculator

• CollegeData.org

• We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

On this episode I interview Anne Wager, who used to work for many years in data and technology but made the transition to counseling and, as she puts it, "out of desperation", developed a set of cards that she uses with students to help them identify, not just their preferences for what they're looking for in a college, but what she called "deeper preferences".

We'll explore what she means by deeper preferences, explain why they're important, talk about common mistakes that students make when picking colleges, and how parents can best support their students. All this and more. Enjoy!