Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

It's September, and school is officially back in session. With that in mind, we're shifting our summer application workshop series to the fall and relaunching it under the School's In Application Workshop banner. But despite the name change, our focus remains the same: helping students to master their applications in a timely and more methodical manner. Divorce can be challenging under the best of circumstances, but it gets even more complicated when it comes to applying for financial aid and-or paying for college. We'll offer some tips on how to navigate this issue. We'll also introduce a new series on international programs starting with the International Baccalaureate.

One of the scariest things about having more than one child close together is paying for all those diapers, but what happens when diapers turn into college tuition? We have some advice for those of you who will be in this situation shortly. We'll also explore predictors for success and discuss resources for first generation students heading off to college. And we'll feature another of our School's Out Application Workshop sessions.

Ever wonder how being an athlete can impact your chances of admission? In our next episode, we'll take a look at athletic recruitment and college admission, and the ways in which the two processes will affect each other. We'll also go over tips for making a strong financial transition to college. Finally, don't miss our weekly School's Out Application Workshop session.

Enjoy sushi on the weekends, a pricey gym membership, and shopping at the mall at least once or twice a week? Wondering how this will all fit into your budget when you get to college? You may want to tune in for this week's segment on learning to live like a college student. Hint: you may have to forgo a few things… If you're hoping to maintain a similar lifestyle, then you'll definitely want to tune in for the School's Out Application Workshop series, since applying for scholarships are on the docket this week. And we'll try to get to more of your listener questions in Office Hours.

The office is open this week, as we do an all Office Hours show. We'll continue our work on the application process, and one of our focuses will be what students should include as part of the "additional information" section of the application. Hint: it could be nothing at all!. We'll also answer listener questions related to both admissions and financial aid.

There are a lot of companies and organizations out there making big promises when it comes to scholarships and student loans. If something sounds too good to be true, guess what? It probably is. Join us as we take a closer look at scholarship and loan scams. We'll also have another segment in our School's Out Summer Application Workshop. We'll talk some more about presenting extracurricular activity accomplishments and other elements of the application. Make sure you listen in for the homework! Finally, we'll welcome Danielle Dougan from Student Universe, who will offer some tips on making travel arrangements to get to and from college.

Worried that family debt might affect financial aid eligibility? Don't miss our session discussing this very issue. Wondering how to present your extracurricular activities in the most impactful way on your college applications? Join us for our weekly School's Out Application Workshop. Curious about other organizations supporting college access? We'll talk to Donna Connolly, director of youth access at Massachusetts Education and Career Opportunities organization as part of our College Access series.

One of the questions we get very frequently is some form of, "Do I have a shot at getting into an Ivy League or highly selective college." In this week's show, we offer tips for students and families to help them evaluate their chances using the colleges' own primary criteria. We'll also discuss more about putting together a college list, including how to factor finances into that process, as part of our ongoing School's Out Application Workshop series, and explore the world of quirky scholarships.

Join us for segment two in our ongoing summer program, School's Out Application Workshop. We'll follow up on last week's homework and talk a bit about getting started with putting together a college list. A college finance expert will join to discuss how much is too much to borrow when it comes to paying for college, and we'll wrap up with office hours answering listeners' college admissions questions.

Ever wonder how highly selective schools evaluate and make final decisions on applications? If so, take a trip with us inside the Yale admissions office with Amy Alexander, former admissions officer for the university. School's Out: College Application Workshop, our special summer program taking students and families through the college application and finance process step-by-step makes its big debut as well as we discuss how to get started on the college essay. Finally, we'll look at how to best choose a student loan.