The College Metropolis Podcast: College Admissions Talk for High School Students and Parents

#059 – On this episode, we wrap up our discussion about medicine as a field of study and as a profession. Today, we expand on areas related to medical school that were introduced during our previous episode. The path to becoming a physician is very challenging and requires a high level of commitment for a long period of time. Students who successfully get admitted and succeed in medical school often begin their preparation many years before graduating high school. Jankel and I have a profound appreciation and respect for the path that leads to becoming a doctor. That is a path that lends itself to plenty of misinformation, and because of that, we decided to talk about the most important steps and requirements that lead a student to become a medical doctor. We begin our discussion by uncovering quick facts related to the medical profession and the different medical specialties that await a medical student upon graduation from medical school. We also dive into the education required to apply to medical school, including the successful completion of the pre-med program courses. Jankel and I go into the details of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and what is considered a good score. Additionally, we give you an idea of what medical school is like. Towards the end of the episode, we uncover the requirements for admission to one of the most coveted medical schools in the country, the David Geffen Medical School at UCLA. This episode will help you gain a deeper understanding of the college admission process from the perspective of a medical student. If becoming a medical doctor is your goal, you will be further equipped to make the right decisions and take the right steps to get to your ultimate education goal. You can find the show notes and links to everything we mentioned on this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/59. Please help our show be found more easily by giving us a 5-star rating and leaving us a great review. In doing so, you will ensure that more high school students and parents find us and benefit from the information we provide. Thank you!

#058 – Today, we begin a couple of episodes focused on the path to becoming a medical doctor. This is a topic often filled with misinformation. To dispel myths and do away with bad information, Dr. Shrag Shemmassian joins us today to talk about medical school admissions. Dr. Shemmassian is one of the world’s foremost experts, not just on medical school admissions, but also on college admissions and graduate school admissions. During our conversation, we discussed various elements related to getting into medical school, including, the steps to take after high school to become a doctor, whether there are college majors that facilitate admission into medical school, information about the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and how to prepare for it, and the biggest mistakes applicants make as they apply to medical school, among others. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Shemmassian, who was very down-to-earth, honest, and committed to helping students achieve their educational dreams. For nearly 20 years, he has helped thousands of students get into medical school and to top colleges and universities. With a B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University, a Ph.D, in Clinical Phychology from UCLA, and 2 decades of experience guiding students into top colleges at unprecedented rates, Dr. Shemmassian provided us with a wealth of practical and very valuable information. Dr. Shemmassian has been featured on The Washington Post, NBC, The New York Post, Business Insider, U.S. News & World Report, and The Harvard Crimson. This is an episode you cannot miss, even if you are not interested in attending medical school. You can find the show notes for this episode, including several links to great resources provided by Dr. Shemmassian, at https://collegemetropolis.com/58. If you would like to help us reach a wider audience, you can do so by sharing the show with someone you know and by leaving us a 5-star rating with a positive review. We would be very grateful for that kind gesture. Thank you!

#057 – Campus safety is one of the most important factors to consider when making the list of colleges to which you will apply.  On this episode, Jankel and I share the importance of practicing situational awareness, the ways in which the local population may affect a college campus, the strong efforts made by college campuses to keep you safe, and tips for you to remain safe in the college campus that will be your home for some years. We also go over statistics from the Institute of Education Sciences about college crime from 2017. We also share a magnificent tool created by the U.S. Department of Education, that will very easily allow you to check and compare the crime statistics of all the colleges to which you will apply. In essence, the odds are very high that you will be safe during your college years, but to do so it is very important that you practice situational awareness and practice some of the tips we provide you on this episode. You can find the show notes for this episode, including important links, at https://collegemetropolis.com/57. Please help our show by telling others about us and by leaving us a 5-star rating and a positive review. That will go a long way in helping us reach other high school students and parents. Thank you!

#056 – On this episode we uncover the path that leads to becoming an airline pilot. Dr. Kenneth Byrnes outlines the steps students must take to succeed in the aviation program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a highly respected university in the country. The airline industry has begun to rebound and is expected to reach the pre-COVID levels of 2019 in short order. Additionally, from reports presented by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Boeing Company, and airlines, such as American and United, we can forecast a high demand for airline pilots by diverse airlines in the near future and for the next couple of decades. Dr. Byrnes presented the attributes necessary for aviation students to succeed. These have to do with the level of commitment, leadership, and maturity of each student. He also presented a quick synopsis of Embry-Riddle’s quick approaching 100-year history. Dr. Byrnes shared the close relationship the school has with major airlines and the fact that some of them often hire students while still in their sophomore year. That fact highlights the need airlines have for good pilots, and how important it is for students to do their very best since the beginning of their aviation training and coursework. Dr. Byrnes also informed us of the advantages students enjoy when they graduate from the aviation program earlier. In short, airline pilots must retire by age 65, so it to students’ advantage to graduate as early as they can, so they can work as many years as they can before they reach that age. This gains more importance as they realize that airline pilots with that level of seniority usually earn salaries within the $300K and $400K range. This was a very fun interview for me to do. As a passionate aviation enthusiast, I enjoyed every minute of it. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/56. You can help our show in a big way by sharing it with someone you know and by leaving us a 5-star rating and a positive review. We would be very grateful for your help. Thank you!

#055 – Today, we share our love for Study Abroad Programs. These are programs that offer students a great opportunity for personal, academic, and even, professional growth. We begin the episode by uncovering the details of Jankel’s experience as a participant in a study abroad program that took her to Italy. The experiences she had there were extremely positive, and continue to play a role in her life today. We continue our deep dive into Study Abroad Programs by sharing details of the program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That program that makes a great number of opportunities throughout the world available to its students. In our conversation, we shed light on what Study Abroad Programs are, provide examples of available opportunities for students, and talk about how students usually finance Study Abroad activities. For the vast majority of students who have studies abroad, the outcomes they experienced went beyond academics. We are truly thankful for these programs, and we feel that after listening to this episode, you will gain a great appreciation for them as well. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/55. Would you please help our show by sharing with someone you know and needs it, by leaving us a 5-star rating and a positive review? That token of appreciation will go a long way in helping us reach other high school students and parents. We would be very grateful for your help. Thank you!

#054 – Today, we finish our series on strategies to use to help your college application stand out. Jankel and I begin the episode by putting into context the episodes that were part of this series. We continue our conversation by highlighting the importance of being mindful as you complete each section of your college applications, keeping in mind that the information you provide gives college admission officers a picture of who you are. In college admission parlance we say that everything you provide your college admission officer as part of your application is the narrative you provide about who you are, who you want to be, and how the university fits into that vision. They will make decisions to grant or deny you admission based on the images they will generate about you based on the information you provide them on the application. We present three ways to set yourself apart. The first will be useful to you if you are one of the many kids who are employed during high school. We will show you ways to frame your employment, so that you can set yourself apart, especially if you are applying to the more competitive colleges and universities. Our discussion continues with the value placed on internships, and why they can help your college admission efforts. Lastly, we talk about personal interest projects in which you can display the passion, knowledge, and appreciation you have for the areas of study in which you may be deeply interested. Knowing how to put all the knowledge you may have already acquired may be very valuable and helpful to others in your community, while at the same time becoming one of the distinguishing characteristics of your college application. You can find the show notes and links to everything we mentioned on this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/54.  Please help our show be found more easily by giving us a 5-star rating and leaving us a great review. In doing so, you will ensure that more high school students and parents find us and benefit from the information we provide. Thank you!

#053 - On this episode, Jankel and I continue to present steps you can take to help your college applications stand out. We begin the show by highlighting the fact that College admission officers favor students who, in addition to being smart, are also interesting. That means that they welcome students who grab their attention with their academic and non-academic accomplishments. They like to see applications that tell a congruent story, in which students not only mention their passions for subjects and fields of study, but also provide evidence by listing the steps they took to broaden their knowledge and understanding about those subjects and fields of study. We present two ways in which you can provide that evidence. They involve the use of organizations that are respected, free, and even prestigious. One involves top colleges and universities, such as Harvard University, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Cornell, NYU, and about 150 great institutions. The activities we present on this episode can make an important difference in the college applications you will send in to the schools to which you will apply. We will show you a way to truly stand out. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/53. Please help us reach more high school students and parents by giving our show a 5-star rating, and by leaving us a positive review on the platform you used to download this episode. That would be very helpful to our show. Thank you!

#052 – With this episode, we begin a series of episodes that will give you non-academic ideas you can put into practice, so that your college application can stand out to the colleges and universities to which you will apply. This is especially important if you are planning to apply to the more selective colleges and universities. Today we talk about ways display leadership skills in projects that can be very helpful to those around you, while at the same time catching the attention of college admission officers and college admission boards. As Jankel and I present easy ways to use what is around you to generate project ideas, we  re-introduce a very useful website that will help you launch your project, or participate in existing projects, all while being entered for a chance to receive scholarships. The types of projects we introduce in this episode are very important because they are an integral part of the college application process, as they help present you are a thinker, a doer, a leader, and an agent for positive change. Those are the qualities that colleges and universities want to see in the students that seek to gain admission and become part of their student body. During our conversation, I talk about the time the great majority of students in my high school began a riot, a school-wide fight on campus along racial lines. As I reminisce on the unfortunate events that took place that day, I highlight an opportunity that I could have used to launch a great project, based on all that transpired. It would have been very helpful to all, it would have made a difference in the lives of the students and faculty on our high school, it could have been used by other students in the country, and it could have generated plenty of media attention. If only I had a time machine. You can find our show notes at https://collegemetropolis.com/52. Please help our show be found more easily by giving us a 5-star rating and leaving us a great review. That meaningful gesture will go a long way in helping other high school students and parents find us and have access to the information we provide. We will greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

#051 – The percentage of high school students that receive scholarships to Division I and Division II NCAA teams is surprisingly low. That leaves millions of high school kids without the opportunity to benefit from them each year. But does that mean that students who do not receive scholarships wasted valuable time participating in sports throughout high school? On this episode, we answer this and other questions related to high school sports. We will give you a hint, high school sports provide a big window through which college admission officers and college admission boards can learn about the character of a student, their ability to commit to an end result, and their level of resilience, among other qualities. Jankel and I talk about the different ways in which students can help their chances for admission to college through successful participation in high school sports, playing in varsity teams, and holding positions of leadership in a team. We also explain how high school sports may tell an altogether different story to college admission officers when compared to other extracurricular activities. Towards the end of the episode, I share a little of what was my experience with high school sports. You can find our show notes at https://collegemetropolis.com/51. You may help us efforts greatly by sharing our podcast with other people you know, who may benefit from the content we create each week.  You can also help us greatly by giving us a 5-star rating, and a leaving us a positive review. We will greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

#050 – Today, Jankel and I present the Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. This is a degree that leads to a number of careers that are and will continue to be in high demand, are very well-paid, and are extremely important to organizations of all types. The episode begins with a discussion on the important role computer science plays in the modern world, and the continue importance it will yield in the future. We present some of the hot topics related to computer science, including, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Bioinformatics, Computer-Assisted Education, and Cybersecurity. Jankel presents the skills necessary for a person to succeed in a career in computer science. We dive deep into the Bachelor of Science degree of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, a university with one of the best computer science programs in the country. Our exploration of Virginia Tech also goes over admission data for the 2021-2021 academic year. As the episode crosses the midpoint, we introduce 7 occupation titles available to computer science graduates. For each, we provide the amount of professionals that are believed will be needed by the year 2029, median salary, and an explanation of the responsibilities a professional in one of those careers is expected to carry out. We also present one popular career for which the job outlook is negative by almost 10%, in other words, by the year 2029 there will be a need for 10% less professionals that were needed in 2019. The reason for such a decrease is the easiness with which that job may be outsourced to professionals in other countries. After listening to this episode, you will understand the importance of computer science to society and organizations around the world, and the number of great high-responsibility, well-paid, and high-demand positions that a computer science graduate may occupy, even when lacking job experience. You can find our show notes at https://collegemetropolis.com/50. Please help us reach other high school students and parents by giving us a 5-star rating, and a leaving us a positive review. We will also be very grateful to you if you could tell others in your social circles about us. We will greatly appreciate it. Thank you!