The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

411: Finding Your Why, What a Liberal Arts Education Really Is, and How to Figure out What You Actually Want

Dec 5, 2023

Guests Maria Furtado and Ann Marano discuss the college search process, debunk affordability myths, and emphasize the importance of keeping students at the center. They explore liberal arts education, ways to explore colleges without visiting, and the significance of student agency in the admissions process.

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ADVICE

Start with Why

Start your college search by reflecting on your "why."
Consider your life goals and what you hope to gain from higher education.

ADVICE

Mythbust Yourself

Challenge your assumptions about colleges using "the work" of Byron Katie.
Ask yourself: "Is it true? Can I absolutely know it's true? How?"

ADVICE

Focus on Experiences

Ask yourself what you want to do during your college years, beyond academics.
Consider internships, research, leadership, and community involvement.

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On Season 1 of the podcast, Ethan had a great conversation with Maria Furtado, then Executive Director of the Colleges That Change Lives organization (also known as “CTCL”). It’s a lovely chat and to date one of our most downloaded episodes.

On today’s episode Ethan had the pleasure of sitting down with her successor, Ann Marano, and they get into:

Where to start when it comes to the college search
How to myth bust yourself (a practical exercise)
What questions to ask when you’re searching for a college
Some things Ann and Ann and Ethan wished they had done differently when they went through the process themselves
Busting some affordability myths
What it means to keep a student at the center of the college search

If you’ve never met Ann, you should know that she is a proud first-generation college graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University (CA) who earned her M.A. in Education-Psychology from Pepperdine. She’s served on several counselor advisory boards, including the Common Application Board of Directors and the Johns Hopkins University Access Advisory Board. After 20 years in college admissions counseling at several different universities and high schools and 12 years as the college bound advisor at the first all girls’ public school in the state of Texas, Ann Marano moved into the role of Executive Director for the Colleges That Change Lives.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Play-by-Play

1:57 - What is CTCL and what is Ann’s role as Executive Director?
3:58 - What’s it like to be a student at a liberal arts college?
8:09 - What kind of student is right for a liberal arts college?
10:01 - What’s a good place to start in the college search process?
14:49 - How to combat myths about colleges
19:04 - What are some questions that are important for students and families to be asking themselves as they go through this process?
- 25:52 - An exercise for picturing yourself on a college campus
29:45 - What would Ann and Ethan have done differently in college?
32:04 - How does a student get a sense of a school if they're not able to visit the campus?
34:15 - College affordability at private schools
39:17 - What are some tips for parents about keeping students at the center of the search?
43:56 - Another example of what it’s like to be a student at a liberal arts college
48:27 - An exercise students can do to begin this process of finding a great college
52:55 - Final thoughts / wrap-up

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