Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

Every year the National Association of College Admissions Counselors studies the state of college admissions and issues a report. We have the results of this year's report, and we're going to share some highlights. If you're planning to get loans to help pay for college, don't miss our segment on how much is too much too borrow when it comes to money for higher education. We'll also offer tips for students on the waitlist in Office Hours.

Is it better to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? And what does aquatic life have to do with college anyway? Tune in for our take. We'll also answer your college finance and admissions questions in Office Hours.

We're big fans of college visits, because there's no substitute for getting a firsthand view of the institution. But not all visits are created equal, so in this week's episode we'll be helping you avoid some common campus visit mistakes. We'll also wrap up our two part series on common college finance myths and help you prepare for regular decision results in Office Hours.

For students in the final stages of deciding which school to apply to or attend, overnight visits can really make a difference. Tune in to learn more about the value of the overnight visit. We'll also talk about the pros and cons of urban, rural, and suburban campuses and tackle the most college finance myths in part one of a two part series.

Whenever major changes are made to a standardized test, there's a transition period during which colleges are receiving scores from both the old and new tests. If you're wondering how colleges handle that, tune in this week for a discussion of conversion charts—why they exist and how they're used. ArborBridge test prep's senior director of instruction, Megan Stubbendeck is our expert guest. In Office Hours, we'll look at the nuts and bolts of college visits. And finally we'll talk through using your tax refund to make a dent in your student loans.

If you assume that all future doctors should major in biology, future PR practioners should major in communications, and future business leaders should major in business, you don't want to miss this week's segment exploring the connection between major and career. Guest Michael Sherman of Graduate to Employment will share his expertise on what truly makes someone a good candidate for a position. In Office Hours, we're answering listener questions on college finance and admissions.

Ever think that being the parent of a student in college should come with a tax break? You're in luck—it does, and we're going to tell you all about them in this week's show. In our Summer Program series we're looking at opportunities in the arts. Finally, Office Hours will cover everything you need to think about related to senior year transitions.

This week's Summer Program series segment is all about the wide variety of options available in volunteering. Doing good for free is easier than you think! We'll also walk through negotiating scholarships and explore trends and statistics from the early action, early decision, and priority decision rounds.

The latest segment in our Getting In series on summer programs focuses in on all the options available to students interested in sports, whether playing, refereeing, managing, etc. We'll also help families understand how to best appeal a financial aid award. Office Hours is all about early action decisions—why certain colleges might make the decisions they do, what a deferral can mean for regular decision, and more.

This week in the Summer Program series: internships. These can be a great way to investigate a variety of careers, and we'll talk through how to find them! We'll also answer your college finance and admissions questions.