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

In this episode you will hear:   (08:58) Vince and Mark discuss an article written by Mari McQuaid, a former MIT admission officer entitled: 10 College Application Mistakes to Avoid. Vince will discuss four of the 10 mistakes in part 1 with Mark and Julie will finish the remaining reasons with part 2 of 2 next Thursday.      (50:30) Lisa and Mark discuss a Speakpipe question from Leslee from California about need-blind admissions? How many schools are really need-blind and for those that are not, what does that mean for a student that needs financial aid?   (01:08:02) We start a new interview with Ronne Turner, the Vice Provost of Enrollment at Washington University in St. Louis. Topic: Understanding Wash U, 1 of 3   Preview Part 1 o   Ronne tells us about her 35 years of admissions experience at four different institutions o   Ronne explains some of the main initiatives t Wash U right now o   Ronne explains some of the reasons why applications o   Ronne explains how Wash U is different from their overlap schools o   Ronne explains what Wash U’s personality is o   Ronne explains why she came to Wash U o   Ronne explains what makes the Olin College of Business special o   Ronne explains multiple pathways for students to take advantage of the Olin College of Business o   Ronne tells us what some of the strengths are of the McKelvey School of engineering.     (01:16:32) The recommended resource is the Twitter feed for the College Board, @CollegeBoard    (01:30:05) Sylvia Borgo tells us about the American University of Paris for the College Spotlight     We now have set up audio recordings in your own voice for any question you send in for our “question from a listener” segment. In order to send us an audio message, just go to speakpipe.com/YCBK. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our preferred method for you to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. If you have a question for one of our upcoming interviews with admissions professionals, here is a list of admissions professionals who we will interview in 2023 or 2024 Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe MEFA Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Bard College Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology-Ashley Pallie Colorado School of Mines Creighton University   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup.   Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/ Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   1. To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ 2. Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link 3. Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it 4. Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans 5. Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps 6. Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point 7. You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa or Lynda, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at or Lynda at Lynda@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   ²  Mark shares highlights and lowlights of the 300 episodes of YCBK ²  Lisa answers the Speakpipe question, How flexible are financial aid deadlines? Jamie from Montana ²  Mark interviews Mitch Warren, Associate Vice Provost and Director of Admissions at Purdue University. Title: Understanding Purdue, 3 of 3       Our favorite way for you to leave a question or any message for us is to put speakpipe.com/YCBK in your browser and take up to 90 seconds to leave a message. We recommend you share your first name and your state, but you can also be anonymous.   If you do not want to verbally leave a message for us by using speakpipe.com/YCBK you can send in your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab  or via email at .   You can also send in questions for our interviews by using speakpipe.com/YCBK. Our interviews are confirmed for 2023 and 2024 with the following leaders at the following schools: Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe Bard College- Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology Colorado School of Mines Creighton University     To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   1. To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ 2. Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link 3. Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it 4. Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans 5. Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps 6. Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point 7. You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa or Lynda, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at or Lynda at lynda@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   (19:14) Susan and Mark discuss what colleges are doing about Chatbots like ChatGPT to prevent students from falsifying their work. They also speculate what admissions offices may do to address the potential for falsification of work through Chat GPT   (50:30) Lisa and Mark discuss two speakpipe questions that listeners sent in. Nina from MA wants to know how college admission officers handle students from the same family that apply at the same time. Amanda from Texas wants to know why do schools seem to put so much emphasis on recruiting leaders; do they not value other gifts?   (01:11:05) We continue our 3-part interview with Dr. Kelly Holloway, the Director of Admissions at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Topic: Understanding Mercer University (Part 3 of 3)   ²  Kelly explains whether Mercer admits by major, by college or into Mercer as a whole ²  Kelly explains which of their programs are Direct Admit once you get to Mercer ²  Kelly explains when an interview is required. ²  Kelly explains how merit scholarships work ²  Kelly talks about the composition of the student body from a socioeconomic and racial standpoint. ²  Kelly talks about when Demonstrated interest is factored in and when it isn’t a factor at all ²  Kelly talks about the personal touch that Mercer admissions officers display in their communication with their students in their territory. ²  Kelly talks about the biggest area that Mercer needs to work on.     (01:25:30) The recommended resource is the website: acceptancerate.com. The website shares acceptance rates and test scores for thousands of colors.    (01:37:48) Mark and Lynda Doepker discuss Pomona College for the College Spotlight     We now have set up audio recordings in your own voice for any question you send in for our “question from a listener” segment. In order to send us an audio message, just go to speakpipe.com/YCBK. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our preferred method for you to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. If you have a question for one of our upcoming interviews with admissions professionals, here is a list of admissions professionals who we will interview in 2023 or 2024 Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe MEFA Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Bard College Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology-Ashley Pallie Colorado School of Mines Creighton University   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup.   Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/ Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   1. To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ 2. Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link 3. Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it 4. Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans 5. Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps 6. Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point 7. You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa or Lynda, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at or Lynda at Lynda@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   Mark shares a half dozen Higher Ed updates. Lynda answers the Speakpipe question, How to evaluate what engineering programs are a good match for your kid Mark interviews Mitch Warren, Associate Vice Provost and Director of Admissions at Purdue University. Title: Understanding Purdue, 2 of 3   Preview of Part 2   Mitch explains whether you can transfer to Purdue’s most competitive programs Mitch talks about some of the exceptionally strong programs Purdue has that often fly under the radar Mitch answers a few questions about “impacted majors” Mitch talks about the importance of applying Early Action Mitch explains what “Exploratory studies” is Mitch talks about the “First-year engineering program” Mitch answers the question, can a student do an internal transfer from one major to another at the main campus? Mitch tells us about West Lafayette as a city Mitch answers a question a listener sent in about co-ops?       Our favorite way for you to leave a question or any message for us is to put speakpipe.com/YCBK in your browser and take up to 90 seconds to leave a message. We recommend you share your first name and your state, but you can also be anonymous.   If you do not want to verbally leave a message for us by using speakpipe.com/YCBK you can send in your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab  or via email at .   You can also send in questions for our interviews by using speakpipe.com/YCBK. Our interviews are confirmed for 2023 and 2024 with the following leaders at the following schools: Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe Bard College- Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology Colorado School of Mines Creighton University     To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

(12:38) Dave and Mark discuss an article in the Tulane University admission blog by the Director of Admission Engagement, Owen Knight. The article was written on Sept 16, 2022 and it is entitled, “What’s the Deal with engagement”. Mark and Dave discuss what engagement is and they discuss how important is engagement at Tulane and other universities (50:36) Lisa and Mark discuss a question that asks, how am I supposed to know which colleges we should visit on my student’s college list? Mark shares three tips and Lisa chimes in with a great fourth tip.   (01:03:10) We continue our 3-part interview with Dr. Kelly Holloway, the Director of Admissions at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Topic: Understanding Mercer University (Part 2 of 3)   Preview Holloway shares what are regarded as the strongest majors at Mercer Kelly explains one prestigious award that more Mercer students have won than any other school in the entire country Kelly answers the question, “why have so few people heard of Mercer nationally” Kelly describes Mercer’s Division 1 athletics and what their experience is Kelly talks about the special relationship between Mercer’s undergrad and the opportunity to get admitted into Mercer’s professional programs like Med school, Physician assistant, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Counseling, Business, Education Kelly explains how their accelerated programs work and how they different types of accelerated programs Kelly talks about how they evaluate an applicant Kelly talks about what the student Kelly talks about how they look at GPA and how they recalculate a GPA Holloway, explains why they look at AP or IB differently then dual enrollment     (01:14:10) The recommended resource is YouTube video called, “Behind the Curtain” that gives a great 1 hour overview of the Claremont Colleges. It aired in 2022   (01:27:10) Mark and Lynda Doepker discuss Pitzer College for the College Spotlight     We now have set up audio recordings in your own voice for any question you send in for our “question from a listener” segment. In order to send us an audio message, just go to speakpipe.com/YCBK. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our preferred method for you to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. If you have a question for one of our upcoming interviews with admissions professionals, here is a list of admissions professionals who we will interview in 2023 or 2024 Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe MEFA Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Bard College Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology-Ashley Pallie Colorado School of Mines Creighton University   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup.   Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/ Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa or Lynda, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at or Lynda at Lynda@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   Mark shares a half dozen Higher Ed updates. Mark interviews Mitch Warren, Associate Vice Provost and Director of Admissions at Purdue University. Title: Understanding Purdue, 1 of 3   Preview of Part 1   Mitch tells us how he got into collegeadmissions;he explains the jobs he had before he got his current job and he tells us about his family and his favorite hobby. Mitch tell us who Purdue is. He tells us about the main campus and four other opportunities to go to Purdue other than the main campus Mitch answers the question, “Why Purdue”² Mitch describes the student that does well at Purdue Mitch discusses the student who struggles at Purdue Mitch tells us what “Purdue Global” is and how it differs from the other campuses Mitch talks about how the satellite campuses are different from the West Lafayette campus     Our favorite way for you to leave a question or any message for us is to put speakpipe.com/YCBK in your browser and take up to 90 seconds to leave a message. We recommend you share your first name and your state, but you can also be anonymous.   If you do not want to verbally leave a message for us by using speakpipe.com/YCBK you can send in your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab  or via email at .   You can also send in questions for our interviews by using speakpipe.com/YCBK. Our interviews are confirmed for 2023 and 2024 with the following leaders at the following schools: Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe Bard College- Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology Colorado School of Mines Creighton University     To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news,  and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer them on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   (16:05) Dave and Mark discuss an article in Higher Ed Drive by Jeremy Bauer entitled, “7 higher-educational trends to watch in 2023.   (44:28) Lisa and Mark discuss a question Laura from Maryland sent in via Speakpipe: Why does the Common Data Set only report the English and the Math sections for the ACT; does this mean colleges don’t value the Reading and Science sections?   (01:06:48) We start a new 3-part interview with Dr. Kelly Holloway, the Director of Admissions at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Topic: Understanding Mercer University   Kelly Holloway shares her background and the various roles she has had Kelly gives a description of all of the colleges and schools Mercer has including a description of the seven campus locations Kelly explains the Mission of Mercer Kelly explains how Service Learning is at the core of what Mercer does and Kelly shares a number of recognitions they have received Kelly explains what “Mercer on a mission” is Kelly explains why students turn down other schools to come to Mercer     (01:17:00) The recommended resource is a website by Decision Academy entitled, Making Your Final College Choice. It blends heart and head factors to help students with making a college decision. Lisa shares the recommended resource this week.   (01:31:54) Mark and Lynda Doepker discuss Claremont Mckenna College for the College Spotlight     We now have set up audio recordings in your own voice for any question you send in for our “question from a listener” segment. In order to send us an audio message, just go to speakpipe.com/YCBK. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our preferred method for you to ask a question but if you are not comfortable with this, we will also receive your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab or via email at If you have a question for one of our upcoming interviews with admissions professionals, here is a list of admissions professionals who we will interview in 2023 or 2024 Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe MEFA Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Bard College Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology-Ashley Pallie Colorado School of Mines Creighton University   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup.   Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/ Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   Mark shares higher ed updates on five different topics Mark interviews Hillary Dickman, the Assistant Director of Admissions at Colorado College on the topic of, “What is FERPA and how does it relate to your student”     Our favorite way for you to leave a question or any message for us is to put speakpipe.com/YCBK in your browser and take up to 90 seconds to leave a message. We recommend you share your first name and your state, but you can also be anonymous.   If you do not want to verbally leave a message for us by using speakpipe.com/YCBK you can send in your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab  or via email at .   You can also send in questions for our interviews by using speakpipe.com/YCBK. Our interviews are confirmed for 2023 and 2024 with the following leaders at the following schools: Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe Bard College- Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology Colorado School of Mines Creighton University     To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news,  and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer them on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   (26:36) Julia and Mark discuss who are the students that are driving up the number of applications at selective colleges? What can we learn by a recent study that looks at the college application patterns of students.   (45:24) Lisa and Mark discuss a question Tricia from California sent in via Speakpipe: What is the POSSE scholarship; I’ve heard Mark mention this a few times.   (01:13:36) Our interview is with Brian Hodges, the Senior Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. Lisa joins Mark for this interview. The topic is, “Understanding UIUC” and this is part 3 of 3     Preview for Part 3 Brian describes how holistic admissions works at UIUC Brian explains how admissions differ at other University of Illinois campuses? Brian comments on whether AP scores are factored in at UIUC for more competitive majors. What is your advice for us as counselors as to how to advise our students whether they should submit their test scores for UIUC? How does state residency and geographic residency impact admissions decisions? What do students do for fun? Brian talks about the food scene in Champaign. Brian explains why sometimes the location is referred to as Champaign and sometimes as Urbana Brian goes on the hot-seat in our lightning round     (01:26:30) The recommended resource is How to get the most out of college:  by Elliott Felix   (01:37:54) Mark and Lynda Doepker discuss Whittier College for the College Spotlight     We now have set up audio recordings in your own voice for any question you send in for our “question from a listener” segment. In order to send us an audio message, just go to speakpipe.com/YCBK. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our preferred method for you to ask a question but if you are not comfortable with this, we will also receive your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab or via email at If you have a question for one of our upcoming interviews with admissions professionals, here is a list of admissions professionals who we will interview in 2023 or 2024 Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe MEFA Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Bard College Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology-Ashley Pallie Colorado School of Mines Creighton University   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup.   Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/ Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

In this episode you will hear:   Mark lets listeners know what are the 16 blog articles that Mark and Lisa have written so far. Mark interviews Hillary Dickman, the Assistant Director of Admissions at Colorado College on the topic of a creative way to see how many spots are available at selective schools for a student that is similar to your child     Our favorite way for you to leave a question or any message for us is to put speakpipe.com/YCBK in your browser and take up to 90 seconds to leave a message. We recommend you share your first name and your state, but you can also be anonymous.   If you do not want to verbally leave a message for us by using speakpipe.com/YCBK you can send in your questions either on Twitter at @YCBKpodcast using the Messages tab  or via email at .   You can also send in questions for our interviews by using speakpipe.com/YCBK. Our interviews are confirmed for 2023 and 2024 with the following leaders at the following schools: Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Akil Bello of Akilbello.com Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe Bard College- Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology Colorado School of Mines Creighton University     To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news,  and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer them on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/