Getting In: A College Coach Conversation

College decisions are in, and with them, financial aid packages have arrived as well. Wondering how to fully understand the financial implications of those awards for your family? Former senior financial aid officer Laurie Peltier will be here to walk you through tips for evaluating those packages and avoiding award traps. Speaking of those decisions, we'll be talking about them all--admit, deny, waitlist, whether or not you can appeal a deny and how to go about the process of choosing your final school with former Georgetown admissions officer Karen Spencer. And while manyare in the final stages of the application process, some of you are just getting started. With that in mind, Former MIT and Caltech admissions officer Zaragoza Guerra will stop by to discuss what to do when, whether you or your child is a freshman, sophomore, or junior. We'll also be answering your questions live on air, so give us a call at 866-472-5788.

Wondering what it means to be waitlisted and, more importantly, what the likelihood is that your application will actually get switched from waitlist to admit? We'll get some answers from former Swarthmore senior admissions officer Kennon Dick, who will also discuss what students can do to improve--or decrease--those odds. Greg Grauman, assistant vice provost of undergraduate admissions at American University, will join us to share what test optional really means at the institutions that practice it. College finance expert Jeanne Mahan offers tips for reducing college costs once you are enrolled, including some tax breaks you may not know about. In our final segment, we'll take your questions, so send them to us at gettingin.voiceamerica@gmail.com. Even better--call us during the show at 866-472-5788.

What happens when the modern family--divorced, remarried, stepparents, stepchildren and all--applies for financial aid? What do you do if your ex doesn't want to be involved? Will your new spouse be expected to pay tuition for your child from a previous marriage? Join us for the March 19 episode of Getting In, when we'll discuss these issues and more with financial aid expert Beth Feinberg Keenan. We'll also talk through the potential impact of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets on students' college applications with admissions expert Ian Brook Fisher. And if acceptances are starting to roll in and you're wondering about all of those invites to admitted student receptions, admissions expert Becky Leichtling will stop by to talk about whether or not to attend and how to get the most out of your time there if you do. Finally, we'll be answering your questions on air at the end of the show, so send them to us at gettingin.voiceamerica@gmail.com.

Visiting colleges can be time consuming and expensive. On this episode, we'll welcome college visit expert Bill Ruben to talk about getting the most out of those visits, from when to go to what to see and do while you're there. We'll also dig into searching for private scholarships with Stacey MacPhetres, former financial aid offices at Emerson College and Elms College. Got a budding athlete in your house?Alex Santiago, a college athlete and former senior admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania, will join us to discuss starting the athletic recruitment process. As always, we'll finish up by answering your questions on air, so send them to us at gettingin.voiceamerica@gmail.com.

Can you really reposition family assets to create more financial aid eligibility? Are there ways to hide assets and lower your expected family contribution? Is it possible to get colleges to consider your child financially independent of you? Former Tufts and Boston University senior financial aid officer Shannon Vasconcelos will stop by to address college finance myths and offer real, ethical tips that everyone can use to maximize financial aid eligibility. Kathy Ventura, who heads up the guidance department for Wallington High School in NJ, will join us to discuss how to get the most out of your relationship with your or your child's guidance counselor. Former Tufts University senior admissions officer Becky Leichtling and I will also talk through how the high school that students attend impacts their college applications. Don't forget to send us your admissions and college finance questions at gettingin.voiceamerica@gmail.com. We'll answer as many as we can in our final segment.

Standardized tests are a key component of most college applications. But when should students start taking the SAT or ACT, and how far in advance should they begin to prepare for the tests? We'll talk through these questions with Jake Neuberg, CEO of Revolution Prep. We'll also welcome College Coach finance expert Kathy Ruby to discuss putting together a college list that factors finances and the ability to pay into the equation. For those students and parents who are starting to think about the college essay, College Coach admissions expert Ian Fisher will join us to talk through the first big step: choosing an appropriate topic. As always, we'll wrap up the episode by answering your admissions and finance questions.

Ever wondered what activities colleges most want to see on a student's application? Curious about whether or not community service or sports are required or if a job counts? Former Georgetown admissions officer Karen Spencer will join me to talk about whether or not there are right or wrong things for students to get involved in. In our second segment, Kyra Tyler, former admissions officer at Brandeis, will offer some great suggestions about the nuts and bolts of researching colleges and putting together a list. College finance expert Shannon Vasconcelos will provide her insight on negotiating a better financial aid award. Finally, we'll wrap up the episode by answering your admissions and college finance questions.

In this week's Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton will talk to college finance expert Laurie Peltier to cut through all the misinformation floating around and find out more about who actually qualifies for financial aid.The answer may surprise you! She'll also welcome former admissions officer and current College Coach colleague Steve Brennan to discuss getting started on the college list, and dig into making the most of summer break. The episode will wrap up with a Q&A session covering your admissions and college finance questions.

Join us for the inaugural episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, where Elizabeth Heaton and colleague Sally Ganga will discuss high school curriculum choices and attempt to answer the eternal question of whether it is better to get an A in the college prep course or a B in the honors level. Beth and guests Jake Neuberg of Revolution Prep and Mary Sue Youn of College Coach will also examine the new SAT, including what's changed, when it will debut, and how it might impact admissions for the class of 2017. Finally, Beth will answer all of your most pressing college admissions questions in Getting In's weekly question and answer segment.