Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews

In this episode you will hear: (6:22) In this week's news, a Wall Street Journal article "Temple University Settles Suit Over Fudged Data on MBA Ranking", by Kelsey Gee. Temple agrees to pay nearly $5.5 million to current and former business school students after the university acknowledged that their online MBA program's top spot in a nationwide ranking was based on false data. The school admitted to no liability or wrongdoing as part of the settlement. We discuss how common it is to see colleges fabricate data for the rankings. We talk about the interest that students and parents have in rankings and we talk about the interest colleges have in the rankings. This produces a perfect storm. We encourage students and parents to have a healthy degree of skepticism when it comes to taking rankings as gospel. (18:12) We are in Chapter 70 of 171 Answers and it's about how your child can avoid automatic denials if their high school file contains red flags. We discuss the five big areas where a student can have negative information in their file. Admissions officers often refer to this as "red flag" or just a "flag". We share what these flags are and we also discuss what you can do to avoid having these flags sink your ship. We emphasize honesty and authenticity and we acknowledge that sometimes when you communicate a very plausible reason for the mishap, it still will not prevent a denial but the point is, that you want to give yourself the best possible chance while simultaneously being completely honest and truthful. We share how to do this and we also share how you can strengthen your case for addressing a flag/weakness/concern/risk factor by bringing in outside corroboration. (34:19) For our question segment – we are responding to the breaking news around the College Board rolling out what they are calling the Environmental Context Dashboard (ECD) so Mark is addressing questions that he has been receiving over the last week. Mark feels this ECD is one of the most profound potential changes to college admissions so Mark and Anika will take the next four weeks to talk about some component of the ECD. The outline for the next four weeks is as follows: Week 1) (this episode) What is the Environmental Context Dashboard and why is the College Board rolling it out? 2) What is the case against the Environmental Context being a good idea? 3) What is the case for the Environmental Context dashboard being a good idea? 4) What are the things to watch over the next few years regarding the rollout of the ECD, the reaction to the ECD and the impact of the ECD? If you want a detailed understanding of this new supplemental information that will appear alongside each student's SAT score, this four part series should answer most if not all of your questions. We encourage you to tell those in your social circle about this four part discussion we are having. (55:00) Mark interviews Mr. Yancie Davis, Admissions Officer at Macalester College in Part III of Using Non-Cognitive variables to help with admission decisions. Yancie continues explaining to us what these 8 non-cognitive variables are. (66:00) Mark's recommended resource of the week is the Twitter account @CollegeBoard. Mark will be sharing some of his favorite college admissions and college related Twitter accounts throughout the summer. To kick off this Twitter series, Mark starts out with the powerful organization that is in the news every day; it's the collegeboard and the twitter account is simply, @CollegeBoard. These guys own the SAT and AP exams, and the CSS PROFILE, which means you'll get an easy way to stay on top of test dates and deadlines. Plus: practice questions and tips for test day, advice on narrowing down your college list, and testimonials from students on their experience applying for admission and financial aid. If you want to follow the latest with the Environmental Context Dashboard, or ECD, I know of no better Twitter account to follow than @CollegeBoard Another resource we referenced in the podcast is the following article, "Obsession With Academic Rankings Leads to Cheating by Colleges" This appeared in the Daily Breeze on Feb 5th, 2012 Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (4:20) In this week's news, a Hechinger Report article "Non-degree badges are booming, are they useful?", by Matt Krupnick. While there is a general consensus on what a college degree represents, there is confusion over new online credentials and if they are useful to employers and job seekers. Thousands of credential classes have been born to improve specific skill sets, and colleges have responded by adding non-degree programs of their own. We discuss the differences between badges and certifications. Mark and Anika discuss microcredentials and macrocredentials; what is the difference and are they worth pursuing? (16:35) We are in Chapter 69 of 171 Answers and it's what you need to know about college admissions interviews. What are the different type of interviews? How can you know which type of interview is being conducted? Where are these interviews conducted? How should you dress for these interviews Who will be doing these interviews? Are you responsible for setting them up or will you be contacted? Why do some schools not have interviews and others do? All of these things will be discussed in this segment of our podcast? (31:35) This week's question is from a mom who wants to know if she can be refunded for SAT or ACT, if her child no longer needs to take the test. We discuss the policies for the SAT and the ACT in these instances and we also discuss some of the many other fees that people do not know about. Mark does not hold back his thoughts about how the College Board and the ACT handle such instances. (41:13) Mark interviews Mr. Yancie Davis, Admissions Officer at Macalester College in Part II of Using Non-Cognitive variables to help with admission decisions. Yancie continues explaining to us what these 8 non-cognitive variables are. (47:51) Mark's recommended resource of the week is the website campusreel.org. Campus reel prides itself on being the youtube for college admissions. Students give their perspective of what they like and what they don't like about their college experience. They also discuss any unique aspects of their college. I commend any attempt to get a more natural understanding of what campus life is like, to cut through the marketing. Campus reel still needs to add more colleges and they could use some upgrades on their website. They could also use some more quality control on the volume of some of their settings for their videos but I like where this website is going and In the next two years they can be at a whole different place from where they are now. They are adding more colleges and more videos every month. I still recommend you check them out now but YouTube will still be a primary source as they have more videos, but it is nice to have something that is exclusively for college that takes you beyond college marketing and statistical info. Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (4:43) In this week's news, a Wall Street Journal article "Oberlin, University of Chicago and Other Elite Colleges Extend Application Deadlines", by Melissa Korn. Schools are claiming to extend their application deadlines to ensure that all students have an opportunity to apply, however Korn suggests that this is a clear sign of the pressure that schools are feeling to fill their incoming classes. Mark and Anika discuss why colleges are extending their deadlines. They discuss whether this is being done for students or for the colleges themselves. (15:47) We are in Chapter 68 of 171 Answers and it's all about the mistakes that students make with their extracurricular activities in the admissions process. Mark and Anika discuss five very common mistakes that students make when listing or describing their extracurricular activities. (33:05) It's time again for our bonus content this week: what your student can do to best utilize the upcoming summer. Mark mentions seven things that can make a lot of sense for students to be involved in over the summer and Anika chimes in and adds and eighth option that Mark forgot to mention. The focus of the conversation is that this is highly personalized approach, so there is no "one size fits all". The one thing Mark mentions is that regardless of what you so, you need to keep your mind sharp with plenty of reading. (48:35) Mark interviews Mr. Yancie Davis, Admissions Officer at Macalester College in Part I of Using Non-Cognitive variables to help with admission decisions. (59:53) Mark's recommended resource of the week is The Freshman Survival Guide: Soulful Advice for Studying, Socializing, and Everything In Between Paperback – The book is written by Nora Bradbury-Haehl (Author), Bill McGarvey (Author). I recommend that you get the 2016 updated edition. The book helps the new college student to navigate the first year of college. The book speaks to college students in their own language and offers practical tools that readers need to keep from drinking, sleeping, or skipping their way out of college. Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (3:52) In this week's news, a Hechinger Report article "America's colleges struggle to envision the future of diversity on campus", by Laura Pappano. What's really on the table is the dicey matter of how diversity gets measured – and even now, what exactly it is. Should someone's race, socio economic status, gender, or political views be treated as forms of merit in the admissions process? We start out by talking about why diversity is so valuable on a college campus but also we talk about why it is so frustrating to so many colleges right now. Anika asks Mark, what admission officers should do to minimize the confusion. Mark has a surprising answer. (17:20) We are in Chapter 67 of 171 Answers and it's all about ways that students can demonstrate their academic passions. Mark spends some time talking about why Academic passions matter so much and then Anika and Mark have a shorter discussion about just a few of the ways a student can make their academic interest jump off the page. (30:01) This week's question is from a parent who wants to know more about pros and cons of US students going to college abroad. Our conversation focuses on going to college in Europe. We decided to focus here because the question asked us about Europe. Mark reveals five pros about studying in Europe and four cons to studying in Europe. Mark also shares one neutral factor, that to some people will be a pro and for others it will be a con. This is a very content rich discussion. Anika makes it crystal clear that her kids will not be going to Europe, but Mark pushes back and says it has been a fantastic option for the right kid. (51:12) Mark wraps up his interview with Chris Carlton, Founder of StudyAbroadsmarter.com, in the final part of "The Value of Studying Abroad". (60:23) Mark's recommended resource of the week is UCAS.com; this is the primary go to website when it comes to applying to universities in Europe. It is also the primary website when it comes to researching universities in Europe. UCAS stands for The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service and it has been around for more than 25 years. Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (6:33) In this week's news, a Forbes article "6 Terms to Stop Using in College Admissions", by Brennan Barnard. Barnard surveys admissions professionals about terms they feel should stop being used either because of their overusage or misconstrued understanding. Mark and Anika have a spirited and at times, "humorous" discussion about their thoughts about the six terms that Brennan selected. Mark and Anika share whether they agree or disagree that these terms should be abandoned in the college admission conversation. After discussing these terms. Mark shares a few other terms that could have easily been on this list. (31:27) We are in Chapter 66 of 171 Answers and it's all about what visual and performing art majors need to know that is unique about their college application process. The focus here is how performing arts and visual arts admissions differs from the more traditional admission process. Anika shares the things from this chapter of Marks book, "171 Answer" that jumped off the page for her. Mark chimes in with his thoughts and he comments about some different points of emphasis about Visual and Performing Arts admissions than the ones that Anika shares. (41:44) This week's question is from John, a dad from Massachusetts who has multiple college age kids. John wants to know if he will be able to optimize college 'discounts' either through FAFSA and or through the schools themselves. John is particularly interested in learning about special multiple school discount plans. Mark initially has some news for John that may not be encouraging but as Mark continues to answer John's question, John receives some good news. Mark offers a warning that just because a family has a need, it does not mean that a school is obligated to meet it. (50:10) Mark continues his interview with Chris Carlton, Founder of StudyAbroadsmarter.com, in Part II of "The Value of Studying Abroad". Chris answers the following questions in Part 2 of 3 of this interview: · Chris shares what he has learned about study abroad from all of the bloggers, advisors and interviews he has done · Chris addresses the concern about cost and he has some encouraging news for us · I share my experience with my own kids going abroad · Chris shares the different options for students when it comes to studying abroad and he talks about internships, exchanges, volunteer opportunities and 3rd party programs · Chris, talks about the composition of who will be with you when you study abroad · Finally, Chris talks about homestays and other living arrangements when you are abroad (56:40) Mark's recommended resource of the week is the official SAT app that sends students a SAT question every day. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/daily-practice-app You can download this app from the Apple Store of Google Play. You get immediate feedback when you answer the reading, writing, language or math question of the day. You can even ask for a hint if you are stuck. Mark will be doing three one hour "free webinars" on May 8th, June 11th and July 11th for Revolution Prep, a leading test prep company. The topics of the webinars are, "Getting in and Getting Money", "What is Demonstrated Interest and how do colleges use DI when making admission decisions" and "How to excel when writing "College-Specific-Essays. To sign up, use the following link: https://www.revolutionprep.com/webinars/ Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (3:47) In this week's news, a Wall Street Journal article "Hackers Breach College-Applicant Databases and Seek Ransom", by Douglas Belkin and Melissa Korn. Hackers were recently able to reset college staff member passwords to get data on prospective students and attempt to sell it back to them for the sticker price of $3,800. The schools affected were Oberlin College in Ohio, Grinnell College in Iowa and Hamilton College in NY. (11:30) We are in Chapter 65 of 171 Answers and Mark is sharing his sound advice for your child's letters of recommendation. Mark and Anika discuss who you should ask and why should ask to write these letters. They also talk about how you should ask. Mark shares an inside tip of what to do to make certain things you were involved in stand out. Anika asks if colleges tell you what they are looking for and Mark answers that question. Mark shares a quote from Princeton Dean of admissions where she puts teacher recommendations right on par with the transcript in terms of the value they have in helping a college make a sound admission decision. (43:48) This week's question is from Daniel from Elkridge Maryland and he wants to know how to factor in a university's honors college when categorizing the schools on his child's list. Mark explains how applying to an Honors college is a total Game Changer when it comes to building a balanced college list. Mark and Anika proceed to talk a lot about Honors college and Mark shares his view that from a "value standpoint" they are as good an educational bargain as you will find. Mark explains why he is so bullish about Honors colleges and they focus on some of the unique features that the University of Maryland's honors college. (60:13) Mark's interview this week is with Chris Carlton, Founder of StudyAbroadsmarter.com and they are in Part I of "The Value of Studying Abroad". Chris shares his story in the first part of a three-part interview with Chris. Studying abroad transformed Chris life and he wants to get the word out to everyone about how it can do the same things for them. (69:43) Mark's recommended resource of the week is an article on the MIT website entitled, "How to write good recommendation letters" Mark is extremely enthusiastic about this article and he encourages every college counselor, teacher, educator, parent and student to read it. https://mitadmissions.org/apply/parents-educators/writingrecs/. Mark will be doing three one hour "free webinars" on May 8th, June 11th and July 11th for Revolution Prep, a leading test prep company. The topics of the webinars are, "Getting in and Getting Money", "What is Demonstrated Interest and how do colleges use DI when making admission decisions" and "How to excel when writing "College-Specific-Essays. To sign up, use the following link: https://www.revolutionprep.com/webinars/ Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (6:04) In this week's news, a Hechinger Report article "Embattled colleges focus on an obvious fix-helping students graduate on time", by Jon Marcus. While most students expect to earn degrees in 4 years, fewer than half actually do. Marcus outlines the reasons why students are not graduating within 4 years – beyond financial reasons; what institutions are doing to address the issue, and why. (22:36) We are in Chapter 64 of 171 Answers and we're talking about what admissions counselors look for in college specific essays. Mark and Anika have a discussion about why these college-specific essays and short answer questions are so important. Mark feels compelled to include a bonus section because this is our last discussion on college essays in our book chapter discussion portion of our podcast. We also discuss more than ten topics that students need to be very careful about, should they chose to write on these subjects. Mark shares how these controversial topics can lead a student to be seen as unlikeable in the eyes of the admission counselor. Mark explains the paramount importance of likeability. The other danger with these topics is that they run the risk of having the admission officer feel a lot of strong negative emotions. This discussion reveals how human and even subjective the process is with holistic admissions. (53:48) This week's question asks about the new no-enrollment online options for college courses. Mark and Anika discuss what these programs are and who they are good for. We also discuss how they differ from traditional residential education for new high school graduates. (62:49) Mark concludes his interview with Anne Jean, a senior at Georgia State University, in the final part of 'How to know if you are on the right career path'. Anne addressed what she did in high school to confirm that she is on the right career path, but in our final part, Anne discusses what she did in college to confirm that she is on the right career path. (73:58) Mark's recommended resource of the week is a great blog article that will help any student with the famous, "Why us" essay. The blog article shows a few examples of very good "Why Us" essays for the University of Michigan and Tufts University. There are also some great other tips for these "College-Specific" essays. https://www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/why-this-college-essay. Mark will be doing three one hour free webinars, including one on college-specific essays, to sign up, use the following link: https://www.revolutionprep.com/webinars/ Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (2:39) In this week's news, a Hollywood Reporter article "6 Tips From College Admissions Pros on Standing Out, by Margaret Loftus of US News. The author lists tips ranging from social media advice to building your academic strengths and recommendations. (21:59)We are in Chapter 63 of 171 Answers and we're talking about how to choose the essay prompt for your personal essay. (33:58) This week's question asks how to calculate a grade point average (GPA) when it is not listed on the transcript. (51:08) Mark is interviewing another student! Ms. Anne Jean, a senior at Georgia State in Part I of 2, 'How to know if you are on the right career path'. (58:05) Mark's recommended resource of the week is another great resource by Prep Scholar; it is their article on how to calculate your Weighted GPA: https://blog.prepscholar.com/weighted-gpa-calculator Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (3:40)In this week's news, a Hollywood Reporter article"Everybody'sDoing It": Cheating Scandal Shows How Privileged Kids FakeDisability", byScott Johnson and Peter Kiefer.According to parents and counselors, it's common practice for parents at elite schools to pay for a doctor's diagnosis that allows their children extra test-taking time, whether or not they need it. Unfortunately, this practice has been found to be largely exploited by wealthy families. (15:11)We are inChapter 62of 171 Answers and we're talking about the biggest mistakes applicants make with their personal essays. Mark shares what he does when he visits a college (40:36) Mark concludes his interview with Susan Tree, former AdmissionsCounselor at Bates College and former Director of CollegeCounseling at West town, in PartIV:Writing the Personal Essay:Don't miss your opportunity to fill in the gaps and bring yourself to life (53:46) Mark's recommended resource of the week is the portion of theJohn Hopkins website where they discuss "real essays that worked with the john Hopkins admissions review.. Here is the link:https://apply.jhu.edu/application-process/essays-that-worked/ Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.

In this episode you will hear: (2:56) In this week's news,a Vox. com article"What the college admissions scandal reveals about the psychology of wealth in America", by Anna North.When the Department of Justice revealed that dozens of people were accused of bribery and lying so their kids could get into elite colleges,one question kept coming up: why?North suggests that this scandal could cause people to reevaluate their beliefs about wealth and success, as Americans realize how rich people can buy things. (23:10) We are in Chapter 61 of 171 Answers and we're talking about what college admission counselors look for in a personal statement or main essay.We tried to coordinate our book chapter discussion with our interview this time as our interview will also look at this same topic (32:59) This week's question is from a mom who wants to know how to help her child make their final decision on which college to attend.Julie from Lakewood, Tennessee asked this question but two others also sent in this same question (46:03) Mark continues his interview with Susan Tree,former Admissions Counselor at Bates College and former Director of College Counseling at Westtown, in Part III:Writing the Persona Essay: Don't miss your opportunity to fill in the gaps and bring yourself to life (67:36) Mark's recommended resource of the week is the book, "On writing the college admissions essay, 25th anniversary edition,the Key to Acceptance" by Harry Bauld Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to [email protected] Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers.