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

#039 – We continue covering two elements of the senior year checklist that have everything to do with financial aid. It is in the senior year when students apply for financial aid. Different colleges and universities have different financial aid eligibility requirements, and they must be taken into consideration when applying for financial aid. These include, but are not limited to Grade Point Average and number units taken during a quarter or semester. Jankel provides an explanation of the different financial aid elements that may be available to students, including, different grants, scholarships, work-study jobs, and student loans. She also goes over expectations placed on colleges and universities that receive Title IV funds, by the U.S. Department of Education. We cover basic eligibility criteria for financial aid, including the need for male applicants to register with the Selective Service System. Additionally, provide examples of the differences in financial aid eligibility requirements of two popular universities in Southern California. These are UCLA and California State University, Los Angeles. We finish the episode by going over some of the steps to take to apply for financial aid by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/39. 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. We would truly appreciate it. Thank you!

#038 – Coach John Mosley is our guest on this special episode. We discuss several topics related to his successful approach to coaching, which has led several accomplishments inside and outside the basketball court. Coach Mosley was very generous with us as he gave us a behind-the-scenes look at several of the steps he takes each year to make sure his players achieve personal and collective goals, that result in success. Although our conversation took place within the context of basketball, the parallels with the college admission process are palpable. Everything coach Mosley shared with us related to personal leadership is absolutely applicable to each member of our audience. Coach Mosley talked about the need to secure small successes to reach big successes and the importance of helping students find stability as they navigate the highs and lows of their performance. He also explained how important it is for his players to experience winning every day. That is, winning at doing the small things that, in the end, allow them to achieve a positive mindset and a winning attitude. There is a lot that high school students and parents of high school students will get from this episode. My hope is that you get as much out of it as I did. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/38. Please help us reach more high school students and their parents by giving our show a 5-star rating, and by leaving us a positive review on the platform you used to download the show. That kind gesture will help us a ton. Thank you!

#037 – Long term success requires the ability to practice resilience, the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Students can count on experiencing difficulties as they go through high school, carry out the college admission process, and as they become college students. Difficulties are part of life. On this episode, Jankel and I talk about the importance of developing resilience early in high school to go through the many obstacles that will surely present themselves. We also highlight the essential role that having a vision plays in developing resilience. That is, the ability for high school students to visualize what they ultimately want to become, and the major role college plays in that process. Vision creates resilience, and resilience empowers students to triumph over the many challenges they may face through their path to college and beyond. At the end of the episode, Jankel shares her own story in which resilience allowed her to remain strong in her commitment to go to college, even after narrowly surviving the horrific head-on collision that nearly took her life, while she was a high school senior. This episode is full of very important and timely information. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/37. We will be very grateful if you would give our show 5 stars, and leave us a positive review on the platform you used to download the show. That will help us reach out to more high school students and their parents. Thank you!

#036 - This is first of our Midweek Episodes, which feature professional profiles of people in what are considered to be the hottest careers in the next 10 years.  These are not episodes that will take the place of our regular college admission episodes. They will simply add to the content we present to you. These career-focused episodes will appear in the middle of the week. While our regular episodes will continue to be posted on Fridays. Today, we highlight the legal profession. California attorney, Joel Peterson, is in the studio, where he shares information about his upbringing, the role his high school education played in his career, and his experience as an undergrad student in Northern California, at Pacific Union College. Joel also talks about the business career he enjoyed before going becoming accepted into Western State College of Law, and the willingness of his employer to pay for a portion of his legal education. That is something Joel suggests people take advantage of in the real world. In a very candid manner, Joel shares how, after graduating from law school, his titled changed to Legal Counsel. This is a great interview for any student to listen to, because Joel gives plenty of general advice, as well as advice to those students interested in becoming attorneys. Towards the end of this episode, Joel name the skills that any person interested in going to law school should have. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/36. Please help our show grow by telling others about our show and by leaving us a 5-star review. That will help many other high school students and their parents find us much more easily. Thank you!

#035 – We have reached one of the most important parts of the senior year checklist, filling out the college application. Today, we explore every area of the application and provide you with advice that will you avoid some of the pitfalls that, in the past, have affected others at this stage in the process. We will discuss the information you will need to fill out the application, including personal information and information about your parents. We also go over elements about your academic history and achievements that you may have been earned while in high school, which will also be included in your application. Our discussion also uncovers details about the Common App, which will more than likely be used by the colleges and universities to which you will apply. We suggest students pay particular attention to three components of the application that necessitate the input of other people, and therefore, may hold back the application itself. That is something we do not want for any student to experience. And lastly, we make an important announcement about a new episode of our podcast that will be uploaded in the middle of the week, and will concentrate on the hottest careers and professions now and in the near future. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/35. Please help our show grow by letting others know about us and by giving us a 5-star rating. That will ensure that we reach many other high school students and their parents, and that they benefit from the information we share on the podcast. We would really appreciate it. Thank you!

#034 – Today, we begin a series of episodes that focus on the senior year checklist. We will cover all that seniors should do during that very important last year of high school. On this episode, we will go over the things that students must do before they turn in their college applications. These are things high school seniors should do before the month of November, the month in which many college applications are due. Jankel and I talk about the number of schools that should be part of the final list of colleges and universities, the importance of having a balanced list, important deadlines to follow, what to do if a student needs a last-minute letter of recommendation, the meaning of Early Decision and Early Action, and two reasons why it is important of communicate with the high school guidance counselor early in the senior year. During the introduction, I talk about two original and recently released Netflix projects that deal with the college world. One is the documentary Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admission Scandal, which covers more than just the scandal and provides viewers with an understanding of the Ivy League myth that is consuming so many parents and kids today. The other is the Last Chance U: Basketball docuseries, which was filmed on the campus of the college where I have been teaching since 2004, East Los Angeles College. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/34. 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. We would truly appreciate it. Thank you!

#033 – On this final episode of the junior year checklist, we focus on a very important step all high school students must do in the junior year. That is, narrowing down their big list of colleges, so at the end, they arrive to their final list, with only the colleges to which they will apply. We present visiting colleges and universities, as a way to gauge whether a school is a good fit and should make the cut to become part of the final list.  We talk about the schools that should be visited, how to prepare before visiting schools, the best time to schedule a visit, and the questions to ask 3 of the people that will be encountered on every visit. We also uncover what a student can do if visiting schools is outside the realm of possibilities. Although you may not be able to visit schools now because of the pandemic, soon things will go back to how they used to be, and you will be able to put into practice what we share with you on this episode. On the introduction to the episode we mention something we forgot to talk about on the actual episode. It is something that can make school visits easier and more affordable to make. There is a lot we share here today. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/33. Please help us reach out to more high school students and parents by leaving us a positive review and a 5-star rating on the platform you used to download this episode, or on our website, www.collegemetropolis.com. We will really appreciate it. Thank you!

#032 - Today, we talk about the 13 things high school students should to transition smoothly from high school to college. This is advice I am offering after 17 years of teaching freshman and sophomore level students, who just a few months before taking my classes were finishing high school. These pieces of advice have to do with having the right mindset, how to manage college classes, the differences in classroom management between high school teachers and professors, and the different expectations that are placed on students since the first day of class. Additionally, we go over different ways in which students can get the most out of their college years. It is true that the college years are usually the happiest in the life of a person. It is also true that college life is very different from high school life. Those differences are felt the moment a new college student sets foot on a college campus. That is why it is so important to be able to adapt quickly and make a smooth transition. Our goal on this episode is to empower high school students with advice that will make them better prepared to succeed in college. We also aim to provide parents of high school kids with information that will allow them to further prepare their kids for life in college. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/32. Please help us reach more high school students and their parents, by writing a positive review for our show and leaving us a 5-star rating. We will really appreciate it! Thank you!

#031 – The letters of recommendation are an important part of the college application for any student seeking admission into most institutions, especially those that are selective. On this episode, we talk about the differences in requirements regarding letters of recommendation that most colleges and universities have, and specific teachers and other individuals who a student should ask to write those important letters for them. We dive into the importance of asking them to write these letters early enough to beat the rush, that is when most students overwhelm teachers trying to get those letters in on time to make the different application deadlines. The truth is, teachers are not obligated to write letters of recommendation for anyone. Those who do it, do it out of their desire to help students succeed. Because of that, we share the importance of asking for letters in a proper way, and what to do when a teacher declines to write a letter, and what to do when one accepts. Throughout the episode, we repeat the need for students to ask for letters of recommendation at a specific time during the junior. We uncover this and more in this very important episode. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/31. If you would like to help us reach out to more high school students and parents, you can do so by leaving us a positive review and a 5-star rating on our website, www.collegemetropolis.com, or on the platform you used to download this episode. We will really appreciate it. Thank you!

#030 - On this episode, we will go over a very important step you will take as a high school student who is planning to go to college, narrowing down the list of colleges to which you want to apply, by selecting only colleges that are a good fit for you. This is something you should do during the junior year. We will talk about how to make sure the list is well balanced, meaning, it has three types of schools. These are schools to which getting admitted is a stretch, schools to which you will possibly be admitted, and schools that will surely grant you admission. We will go over admissions data for Occidental College in Pasadena, California, and will tell you how a student can determine his or her chances for admission there. You will be able to use that information to find your own chances for admission into any college. Lastly, we share with you another step you should take in the junior year, attending college fairs, which for now you can do online. We will let you know where you can go to participate in some of those college fairs, and the importance of establishing good relationships with the college reps you will meet in those fairs. There is a lot in this episode that you will find interesting and valuable. You can find the show notes for this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/30. We will be very grateful if you would give our show 5 stars, and leave us a positive review on the platform you used to download the show. That will help us reach out to more high school students and parents. Thank you!