Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

Did you know that the College Board will give students a preview of the new SAT this October when they sit for the PSAT? Designed as a practice for the real thing, the PSAT will roll out a shorter version of the test that will debut in March 2016. Jake Neuberg of Revolution Prep will join us to go through the changes and what they mean for students taking the test this fall. If you're already in college, we'll be talking about looking for scholarships while you're an enrolled student. And in the next in a series on the supplementary essay prompts required by a number of colleges, we'll take a look at Wake Forest's five additional required essays.

Much of what we see, read, and hear about college admissions seems to imply that even the very best students will struggle finding an institution to accept them. Once you step back from the craziness that surrounds admissions, you realize there are lots of options for many students. But is that true for students routinely earning C's or even D's? On this week's episode, we'll explore the college process for those students who are less than high achievers. We're also going to take a closer look at the National Merit Scholarship process, and round out the show with a in-depth analysis of how to approach MIT's essay questions for the 2015-2016 application.

Did you know that the University of California system will start accepting applications on November 1 and stop accepting them on November 30? If so, congratulations--you have at least one of the basics covered. But if you haven't sat down to fill out the actual UC application, you may not be aware that it generates a lot of student (and parent!) questions. In this week's episode, my California-based colleague, Steve Brennan, is going to answer as many of them as he can in the first two show segments. In addition, College Coach finance expert (and ROTC mom) Laurie Peltier will join us to talk all things ROTC.

As many of you may be aware, there are some great alternatives to highly selective private colleges and universities for very bright students, Those are the honors programs and colleges at some public universities. We're going to be discussing the benefits of those programs. We're also going to discuss another type of offering that might appeal to some students—same sex colleges. What are the positives of an all women's or all men's college? Finally, we'll cover how college students can best manage the money they spent all summer earning.

Have you or your student ever had a disciplinary issue that led to a suspension, an expulsion, or even a visit to court? Former Swarthmore senior admissions officer Kennon Dick will join us to share his thoughts about how to best address disciplinary issues in the college process. For those of you getting ready to apply for financial aid, college finance expert Beth Feinberg Keenan will walk us through understanding colleges' financial aid policies. Finally, former Babson senior admissions officer Christine Kenyon will discuss undergraduate business programs, including what is typically covered, which students might be most interested in the programs, and what graduates go on to do with their degrees.

The Common App for the 2015-2016 application season made it's official debut this past weekend on August 1. Before you rush to start filling it out, tune in to Getting In as Elyse Krantz and I walk through it and offer information and advice section by section. College finance expert Shannon Vasconcelos will also return to talk to us about what NOT to do when paying for college.

The Common Application is the application of choice for more than 500 colleges and universities in the US and abroad, which makes it fairly common for many students applying to college to use it. Each year the application goes live on August 1, and each year there are a few minor and sometimes major changes. Elyse Krantz, who writes a fabulous series of blogs each year the cover everything you need to know about the Common App, will share her practical insight and great tips on completing this year's application. On the college finance side, we're doing to dig a bit deeper into loan repayment, as Shannon Vasconcelos stops by to discuss income driven repayment plans.

It's hard to read any account of the college admissions process these days without hearing about how important extracurricular activities are. What is less widely discussed is that the ways in which you present those activities is almost as important as doing them in the first place. On this week's show, we'll answer your questions about how to make the most of those activities on your applications. We're also excited to have a representative from the Common App join the show to discuss changes to the application for 2015. And finally, we'll talk about what do do if it's time to start paying off all of those student loans you took out a few years ago.

Early decision is a way for students to show commitment to their top choice college and get an early answer at the same time. But you may not be aware that there can be significant financial implications to this binding option. We'll dig into what applying under this program can mean for financial aid and scholarships. We're also going to wrap up our four-part segment on the high school years with a final piece on what to focus on senior year. Finally, we're going to cover the impact of learning differences on the college process and offer tips on how to manage those challenges.

Ever heard that junior year is the most important of all when it comes to college admissions? In part three of our four-part series on what to be thinking about each year of high school, we'll tackle this question and offer insight into what is important to accomplish in this third year of high school. We'll also cover establishing a budget as a teenager, something that will come in very handy in the transition to college (and life!). We'll also delve into majors and the college process, including how the selection of a particular major can impact admissions and what majors really mean in terms of a student's ultimate career.