Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

One of the most common listener questions we receive is, "How can my son/daughter stand out in the application process?" This week, we're introducing the Standing Out series to try to get at some answers to this elusive question. The FAFSA became available to families a few weeks ago on October 1. If you're wondering whether or not to complete it as part of your child's applications, tune in to this segment for our thoughts. Finally, we'll discuss standardized tests and college applications in Office Hours, namely what to send, where to send, and when to send.

The University of California system has its own application that takes a slightly different approach than the Common Application. Instead of one primary essay, the UC app offers eight prompts for students to choose from when writing the four shorter required essays. In this week's Office Hours, we'll go through all eight prompts and talk through suggestions for approaching each of them. The general rule of thumb with scholarship searches is to start early! For those of you who didn't take that advice, we have suggestions for scholarships with deadlines through the end of the year.

Working on an essay and wondering if your idea is a good one? Take a listen to an all-new segment on terrible college essay ideas that we've encountered in our years of reading tens of thousands of these. We'll answer your college finance questions in our Q&A segment and offer advice for tackling Princeton's supplemental essays in Office Hours.

Struggling with your Apply Texas application essays? Look no further—we've got tips and suggestions for approaching these in this week's Office Hours segment. We'll also go inside the Harvard admissions office with a College Coach expert who used to be an admissions officer there, and we'll discuss the things you need to know about financing a health professions degree.

There are few phrases more common in college admissions than, "I heard that…"Most of what follows will be half-truths, innuendo, or information that is flat out wrong. In this week's show, we'll talk through the myths and realities of as many of those phrases as possible. We'll also go inside BU's financial aid office with a current College Coach finance expert who used to work there, and discuss which supporting documents will be required as part of the college admissions process and who is responsible for submitting them in Office Hours.

The Why This College Essay is one of the most important elements of any application that requires it. Tune in for tips on how to craft the best version possible. Paying for college is almost always as important as getting in, and it's important to do your research on whether or not you can afford it before you even apply. We'll offer suggestions on the best tools to use for that. Finally, in part two of our segments on the challenges of first generation students, we'll take a look at the obstacles facing them when they set foot on campus as freshmen.

In this week's Office Hours segment, we'll be exploring the University of California application. In another installment of Inside the Admissions Office, we'll look at how admissions are done at American University. Finally, we'll be answering your college finance questions.

We often focus on the cost of college, but rarely do we think about the costs associated with applying to college. This week's episode takes listeners through what to expect and budget for as they prepare to submit applications. We'll also take a close look at the Apply Texas application, a common application accepted by many Texas-based colleges, and offer tips for getting started on applications in Office Hours.

The new Common Application was released on August 1, and we've got information you need to know about this new version. While we're sure you've spent lots of time focusing on the big spends related to college, like tuition and room and board, you may not have thought to budget for all the incidental expenses likely to come up. We'll give you details on what other charges you should anticipate and build into your master spreadsheet. In Office Hours, we will talk you through activity resumes—including who needs them, what to add in and what to leave out, and other tips for crafting a successful record of your extracurricular achievements.

Students about to start senior year will want to catch this week's Office Hours, in which we discuss getting started on the college essay. We know it's weighing on your mind, so stop thinking about it and start writing it! In other segments, we'll take you behind the scenes of the admissions process at both Swarthmore College and Drexel University in the latest in this series. Finally, we'll talk through the things you need to know if your grandparents are going to help pay for college.