Shows
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat Do Colleges Think When A Student Doesn’t Have Any Service HoursIn this episode you will hear: (01:36) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary continue giving tips for college fairs but then they discuss how it lands when a student doesn’t have any service hours. (17:33) Interview: Mark Stucker and Nate Haveman, VP of enrollment of Hope College Preview of Part 2 of 4 v Nate and I talk about why college costs so much these days v Nate goes back to Hope Forward and goes into more in depth explaining things like, how are students selected for Hope Forward and is it based more on merit or need, and what is the intervie...2025-05-0848 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat is your advice for a student who is content getting B’sIn this episode you will hear: (02:30) In The News Vince Garcia and Mark Stucker discuss observations from admission decisions from this year’s class. Part 3 of 3 (16:55) Question from a listener: Mark and Susan answer a question from a listener who wants advice for student who is content getting B’s (50:00) Interview: Mark Stucker and Nate Haveman, VP of enrollment of Hope College Preview of Part 1 of 4 v Nate gives his backstory v Nate explains how Hope is different from other colleges v Nate talks about how attending HOPE impacting him as a student v Nate tells us what the tradition of “The Pull...2025-05-011h 29
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsAn interview with Jim Bock, Dean and VP at Swarthmore College-3 of 3In this episode you will hear: (01:55) In The News Vince Garcia and Mark Stucker discuss observations from admission decisions from this year’s class. Part 2 of 3 (18:27) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary answer a question from a listener about how her student can demonstrate interest effectively (39:37) Interview: Mark Stucker and David Blobaum, The Co-Founder of Summit Test Prep Debate whether selective colleges should make the SAT or the ACT mandatory-Part 3 of 3 Preview of Part 3 of 3 ² I share a position that one of MIT’s competitors has that I agree with ² I share a reason why I do not believe using first...2025-04-241h 38
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsA Way For A Parent To Help With College That No One Is Talking About Mark shares a new survey he will be doing with YCBK listeners; he shares two recommended resources for studendts Mark then shares a project a parents can do to really help their student out a lot with the college process that he isn’t hearing anyone else talking about . Lisa interviews Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of the Disengaged Teen Preview of Part 3 ² Jennifer starts by talking about what you can do if you have a student who is stuck in resister mode ² Rebecca talks about what we can do if we have a student who has mental health or learni...2025-04-2156 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat You Need To Know About Majoring in EngineeringIn this episode you will hear: (02:12) In The News Vince Garcia and Mark Stucker discuss observations from admission decisions from this year’s class. (23:34) Question from a listener: Mark and Susan answer a question from an anonymous listener who has a number of questions about selecting an engineering program (56:18) Interview: Mark Stucker and David Blobaum, The Co-Founder of Summit Test Prep Debate whether selective colleges should make the SAT or the ACT mandatory-Part 2 of 3 Preview of Part 2 of 3 ² I share multiple other reasons why I am not in favor of a mandatory ACT or SAT policy ² David shares what he thinks a...2025-04-171h 50
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow To Get Access to the College-Specific Custom Prompts Before Aug 1stIn this episode you will hear: Mark shares insights from two conversations he had with two admission officers at the SACAC conference Mark then shares how a student can get access to the custom prompts that many colleges require in June or early July, instead of in August when the colleges release their Common Apps. . Lisa interviews Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of the Disengaged Teen Preview of Part 2 ² Lisa Jenny and Rebecca continue to talk about the price we are paying as a society for the “perfectionism at all costs” mentality ² Rebecca talks about the idea of productive struggle ²...2025-04-1450 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsA Debate About Whether ACT/SAT Scores Should Be MandatoryIn this episode you will hear: (02:32) In The News Andy Strickler shares some of the changes admissions offices are making due to financial pressures. Part 3 of 3 (16:28) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary answers questions from listeners about if a student applies for aid and doesn’t submit the CSS PROFILE, should that student not be admitted? (42:05) Interview: Mark Stucker and David Blobaum, The Co-Founder of Summit Test Prep Debate whether selective colleges should make the SAT or the ACT mandatory Preview of Part 1 of 3 ² David Blobaum gives his backstory ² David says what his test score policy would be if he were...2025-04-101h 42
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat Should 9th, 10th and 11th Graders, and their Parents Be Doing NowIn this episode you will hear: Mark Stucker shares when a student and parent should complete the portions of the college application process that are the most time consuming. Mark interviews Rob Franek, Editor and Chief of the Princeton Review on the Latest “College Hopes and Worries” Survey Preview of Part 2 v Rob talks about the responses from the student survey to the question, how far from home do you want to go for college? v Rob shares where he has seen the greatest changes in the responses v Rob talks about how savvy students are? v Rob explains what he talks a...2025-03-3154 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat Has Students & Parents Worried When It Comes To CollegeIn this episode you will hear: Mark Stucker shares what parts of the college application process are the most time-consuming. Mark interviews Rob Franek, Editor and Chief of the Princeton Review on the Latest “College Hopes and Worries” Survey Preview of Part 1 ² Rob shares how the survey was done ² Rob tells us what students and parents found to be the hardest part of the college admissions process ² Rob shares what the survey shows about the stress level students are experiencing ² Rob explains his role at the Princeton Review ² Rob explains the results from the survey question, what is the most important thing...2025-03-2447 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews15 Changes in Admissions to Expect in 2025 and 2026In this episode you will hear: Mark Stucker gives his opinion on 15 changes he is expecting in admissions due to the financial pressure colleges are facing. Mark interviews Kathleen deLaski, Founder of the Education Design Lab Preview of Part 5 ² Kathleen explains what she means when she says, “we need to fix and disrupt” college education ² Kathleen gives an example of who she feels has done a good job of fixing and disrupting ² Kathleen shares how the educational Design lab she started is now working with 100 community colleges on innovative projects ² Kathleen talks to us about the Who Needs College Anymore discussion gr...2025-03-171h 04
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsForbes College Financial Grades Reveal Stable vs Struggling CollegesIn this episode you will hear: Mark discusses new changes to the Common App, and then he gives he describes Forbes College Financial Grades, a tool you cn use to know which colleges are stable financially and which colleges are struggling financially? Mark interviews Kathleen deLaski, Founder of the Education Design Lab Preview of Part 4 ² Kathleen and I discuss the correlation between parent involvement and high achievement ² Kathleen tells our listeners what the Year Up program is ² Kathleen tells us what a skills genome is ² Kathleen tells us what the badging movement is ² Kathleen talks about what she calls the edu-trainin...2025-03-101h 01
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhen Should My Student Start The College ProcessIn this episode you will hear: Mark answers a Speakpipe QFL from a listener who wants to know when my student should start the college process? Mark answers a second question, Any advice to give us hope with the new administration with all of the changes they are making? Mark interviews Kathleen deLaski, Founder of the Education Design Lab Preview of Part 3 ² Kathleen talks about the difference between micro-credentials and micro pathways ² Kathleen talks about the growth of certificates ² Kathleen talks about the fields that are being disrupted the most by alternative pathways to college ² Kathleen shares some great opportunities for s...2025-03-031h 21
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsData That Is Available About Colleges That Most People Don’t KnowIn this episode you will hear: Mark answers a Speakpipe QFL from a listener who wants to know what other valuable information is in the Common Data Set that most people don’t know about Mark interviews Kathleen deLaski, Founder of the Education Design Lab Preview of Part 2 § Kathleen talks about an experience she had that made her realize just how stressful the college admissions process has become § Kathleen talks about the 150 interviews she did with a wide range of people to prepare before she wrote the book § Kathleen talks about the growth of skills based hiring instead of degree based hir...2025-02-2455 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat Benefits Do You Get Besides Prestige If You Go To An Elite CollegeIn this episode you will hear: Mark brings back Anika and Dave to give updates and to celebrate the start of year 8 Mark interviews Dean Christoph Guttentag, Understanding How Duke Makes Admissions Decisions Part 3 of 3 o Christoph make such an important point about the angular student and the well-rounded student that we start by letting you hear the last few minutes from part 2 of our interview o Christoph answers the question, has he seen the rise of students doing their own research and how does the admissions office perceive this o Christoph walks us through what their 1-5 rubric is and he...2025-02-101h 45
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsUnderstanding How Duke Makes Admissions Decision-Part 2 of 3In this episode you will hear: Mark shares one area where his counseling to students has changed over the years. He also shares an important takeaway from four conversations he had in the counseling room this week Mark interviews Dean Christoph Guttentag, Understanding How Duke Makes Admissions Decisions Part 2 of 3 o Christoph talks about the ways in which faculty take an interest in students o Christoph talks about the multiple advisors students receive at Duke o Christoph shares some of Duke’s institutional priorities and where Duke is heading now and he gives several examples of Duke implementing these priorities o Is Du...2025-02-031h 00
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsInterview w/Dean Christoph Guttentag: Understanding Duke University-2/2In this episode you will hear: Julia and Mark discuss a real concern that we are seeing in the student essays that we read and we want to keep students from issing out on an opportunity to bring themselves to life through the proper use of student essays Mark interviews Dean Christoph Guttentag, Understanding Duke University Part 2 of 2 Part 2-Preview o Christoph talks about the ways in which faculty take an interest in students o Christoph talks about the multiple advisors students receive at Duke o Christoph shares some of Duke’s institutional priorities and where Duke is heading now and he gi...2025-01-2054 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsLawsuit Accuses Elite Colleges of Admitting Kids Based Solely on WealthIn this episode you will hear: (25:58) In The News Vince joins Mark to discuss an article by Stephanie Saul that appeared in the NY Times in mid-December entitled, (40:04) Question from a listener: Hillary joins Mark to discuss a question from a school-based counselor in California who wants to know what ever happened to all of the colleges dropping out of US News and World Report’s rankings (01:05:56) Interview: Rob Franek, Chief Editor of the Princeton Review: How can you use the research Princeton Review does through surveys every year to better understand the colleges that we are researching? Preview of Part 2 of...2025-01-161h 42
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsInterview with Dean Christoph Guttentag: Understanding Duke UniversityIn this episode you will hear: For episode 500, 21 listeners sent in verbal messages about lessons they have learned in the first 500 episodes that they feel can help other students and parents. Julia and Mark discuss the danger of having a top heavy college list. Mark interviews Dean Christoph Guttentag, Understanding Duke University Part 1 of 2 Part 1-Preview o Christoph gives his backstory o Christoph lets us know the difference between the East Campus and the West Campus o Christoph explains the difference between the Trinity School and the Pratt School o I say, you are always asking our students, “Why Duke”, so I am going...2025-01-132h 04
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDemystifying The Role College Major Plays For College ApplicantsIn this episode you will hear: Mark takes a look at the different role college major plays at a half a dozen schools he recently visited including: The University of Georgia, Pomona College, Cal Poly SLO, Virginia Teach, Santa Clara University and the University of Virginia Lisa Interviews Erin Lewellen, the CEO of Tilting Futures, “Debunking Myths about Generation Z” Preview of Part 3 ² Lisa asks Erin about whether it is true that Gen Z is addicted to social media and Erin responds ² Lisa asks Erin how can we develop better relationships with Gen Z teens and Erin has some greater pointers f...2025-01-0655 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow Can I Know How To Win Scholarships To Make College AffordableIn this episode you will hear: (04:10) In The News Julia and Mark discuss an article “How to Solve Campus Parking Problems Without Adding More Parking? The article appeared on March 26th, 2024 in the Chronicle for Higher Ed and it was written by Daniel Kenney (16:52) Question from a listener: Hillary and Mark answer a question from a homeschooled mom from Connecticut and she has several questions about paying for college. (54:56) Interview: What is the proper way to handle an acceptance offer? Rick Clark, Georgia Tech Preview of Part 3 of 3 § Rick Clark is the Executive Director of Strategic Student Access at Georgia Tech. §...2025-01-021h 11
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews4 Reasons Why So Many States Are Launching Direct Admission PlansIn this episode you will hear: Mark shares four reasons why so many states are launching Direct admit, top 10 percent plans. Mark also shares more than 15 states that have launched these plans in recent years, usually in 2023 or 2024. Lisa Interviews Erin Lewellen, the CEO of Tilting Futures, “Debunking Myths about Generation Z” Preview of Part 2 ² Lisa asks Erin about another stereotype about Gen X, that they are too sensitive, and Erin offers a very creative response to this myth ² Erin shares what we can learn from Gen Z ² Lisa asks Erin about the perception that Generation Z is wrapped up in identity...2024-12-3042 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsCommon Mistakes Students Make When Selecting Their HS CoursesIn this episode you will hear: Mark answers two Speakpike questions from listeners about high school rigor, especially when it comes to foreign language courses. Mark also shares a conversation he had with an admission officer when he was at the College of William & Mary Lisa Interviews Erin Lewellen, the CEO of Tilting Futures, “Debunking Myths about Generation Z” Part 1 Preview of Part 1 ² Lisa gives an overview of Erin Lewellen’s background ² Erin shares her experience with social impact organizations ² Erin is the CEO of Tilting Futures and she tells us what Tilting Futures Is ² Lisa introduces our Topic for this interview...2024-12-2341 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 484: Everything You Need to Know About Early Decision 1 and Early Decision 2In this episode you will hear: Mark interviews Andy Strickler-Everything you need to know about Early Decision 1 and Early Decision 2-Part 1 of 4 Preview of Part 1 of 4 § Andy answers 20 frequently asked questions about Early Decision in this interview § Andy shares how Early Decision helps colleges § Andy tells us whether having 45-48% of the class coming in ED is intentional or does it just work out this way (2) § Andy shares why he doesn’t want the incoming class to be more than 50% of the incoming class § Andy shares the three main reasons why the yield for ED is 95% and not 100% § Andy explains why he feels, a...2024-11-181h 04
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDo You Need to Tell A College If You Drop a Course In the Middle of The 12th GradeIn this episode you will hear: (02:20) In The News Mark and Julia discuss whether a student needs to tell a college if they drop a course in the senior year after reporting that they would be taking the course in the 12th grade? (08:22) Question from a listener: Our Roundtable is back; this time it is Hillary Dickman, Vince Garcia, Susan Tree and Mark Stucker and they answer a question about the use of video submission in your applications-Part 2 of 2 (23:06) Interview Jay Rosner explains tips for students to get their highest possible score when prepping for the ACT and the SAT-Part 2 of 4...2024-10-241h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDo Colleges See Your Senior Year Grades When They Make Admission DecisionsIn this episode you will hear: (03:36) In The News Mark and Julia discuss whether colleges see your senior year grades when they made admissions decisions (17:26) Question from a listener: Our Roundtable is back; this time it is Hillary Dickman, Vince Garcia, Susan Tree and Mark Stucker and they answer a question about the use of video submission in your applications-Part 1 of 2 (34:10) Interview Jay Rosner explains tips for students to get their highest possible score when prepping for the ACT and the SAT · Jay, shares his background with the SAT and ACT · Jay, lets us know how many weeks in advance of the test should you s...2024-10-171h 24
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhy Is The Common App Asking My Student About Her Future Plans After CollegeIn this episode you will hear: (10:50) In The News Mark and Julia discuss SlideRoom, what is it and what tips do we have for students using SlideRoom? (21:40) Question from a listener: Our Roundtable is back; this time it is Hillary Dickman, Vince Garcia, Susan Tree and Mark Stucker and they answer several questions from a mom who wants to know, why is the Common App asking about the Future Plans of my daughter after college? (35:44) Interview David Graves, a 27-year veteran of the admission office at the University of Georgia does a 2-hour deep dive into helping us understand the Unive...2024-10-101h 07
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow To Know If A College Your Student Is Interested In Is Struggling FinanciallyIn this episode you will hear: (06:50) In The News Mark and Julia discuss why some colleges are moving away from requirinteacher recommendations. (28:10) Question from a listener: Our Roundtable is back; this time it is Hillary Dickman, Vince Garcia, Susan Tree and Mark Stucker and they answer a question, how can I know if the college I am interested in is struggling financially (45:35) Interview David Graves, a 27-year veteran of the admission office at the University of Georgia does a 2-hour deep dive into helping us understand the University of Georgia-Part 4 of 5 Preview of Part 4 § David talks the difference between their in-stat...2024-10-031h 06
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 469: Should You Send Support An AP Score of 5 To A Highly Selective CollegeIn this episode you will hear: (02:06) In The News Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how does athletic recruiting work for students who are applying to selective colleges. 7 of 7 (18:34) Question from a listener: Our Roundtable is back; this time it is Hillary Dickman, Vince Garcia, Susan Tree and Mark Stucker and they answer a question, do I only submit a score of 5 to a highly selective college (46:46) Interview David Graves, a 27-year veteran of the admission office at the University of Georgia does a 2-hour deep dive into helping us understand the University of Georgia-Part 3 of 5...2024-09-261h 23
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDavid Graves Does a Two Hour Deep Dive on The University of Georgia-Part 1 of 5In this episode you will hear: In The News Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how does athletic recruiting work for students who are applying to selective colleges. 5 of 7 Question from a listener: Kevin Newton answers a question from Dale from Virginia about how International Universities look at IB courses Interview David Graves, a 27-year veteran of the admission office at the University of Georgia does a 2-hour deep dive into helping us understand the University of Georgia Preview of Part 1 Recommended Resource: returns in October College Spotlight-The University of Georgia Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our metho...2024-09-121h 03
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 463: Why Colleges Tell an Athlete They Have a Roster Spot But Then They Back Out (06:28) In The News Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how does athletic recruiting work for students who are applying to selective colleges. 4 of 7 (31:39) Question from a listener: Mark flies solo to answer a question he is getting asked a lot: Which activities do I include in my application? (46:20) Interview Julia and Lara, a mother and daughter talk about how they worked in partnership to identify and win 14 external or outside scholarships Preview of Part 4 · What role Julia played · What role Lara played · How many scholarships did Lara apply to · How many scholarships did Lara win · What mistakes did they make · What worked w...2024-09-051h 21
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat Do You Do If One Parent Refuses To Fill Out The Financial Aid FormsIn this episode you will hear: Mark shares how colleges handle it if one parent refuses to complete the financial aid forms? Do you have any options? Vince interview Sarah Lovely, an expert in admissions and the arts. 1 of 5 Part 1 ² Vince gives an in-depth preview of Sara’s background ² Sarah talks about her experience at Bowdoin, Brandeis, Walnut Hill, Tisch School of the Arts and at Julliard ² Sarah talks about applying to Conservatory style programs ² Sarah talks about the experience at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU was different from the Julliard experience Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you wan...2024-08-1946 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow Students Can Get Accepted To Colleges With Scholarships in AugustIn this episode you will hear: Mark shares how students can relieve stress by getting some early acceptances with scholarships in August of their senior years by taking advantage of Direct Admissions Interview with Jay Rosner-Part 4 of 4 · Jay, goes on the hotseat · Jay explains what it was like testifying before the Supreme Court · Julia shares how Jay has inspired her · Jay shares a great story about our own Susan Tree Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. Unfortunately, we will NOT answer questions on the podcast anymore that are emailed in...2024-08-1252 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow To Know If A College Your Student Is Looking At Has Good Career OutcomesIn this episode you will hear: (06:00) Question from a listener Mark and Lisa answer a question from a student: If my sister turned down a highly selective school, will that be held against me? (11:35) Question from a listener: Susan joins Mark to answer a question, How does Landscape help admission officers when they are reading an application? (43:45) Question from a listener Lisa and Mark answer a question about how can you know if a college has good career outcomes and how do you know if it is financially stable? (57:45) Interview Mark interviews Carlynn Greene, AKA, “the Scholarship Guru” on the topic of...2024-08-081h 40
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsTopics To Avoid When Selecting A Topic For Your Personal Statement-1 of 2 In the News-Julia and Mark discuss topics to avoid when selecting a topic for your Personal Statement (1 of 2) Interview with Jay Rosner-Part 3 of 4 § We return to challenging Jay’s perspective and § Jay explains why “test-free” is better than a school being test-optional § Jay explains the history of the SAT and Eugenics § Jay shares his advice for someone who is wrestling with whether to take the test § Jay shares how many times a student should take the test § Jay shares how long a student should prepare in advance of the test and he shares how much time a day they should be prepping for the SA...2024-08-0555 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow To Know If Your Student Is Competitive At An Honors CollegeIn this episode you will hear: (02:36) In the News Mark and Julia answer several question from Assaf from Rochester. He has several questions about Honors College’s (23:45) Question from a listener: Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a few questions from an anonymous mom about the Honors section of the Common App. (39:50) Interview Mark interviews Stephen Burd, Editor of the book, Lifting the Veil on Enrollment Management, and Don Hossler, one of the major contributors to the book Preview of Part 3 § Stephan and Don talk about some firms leverage financial aid for every single st...2024-08-011h 33
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsA Test-Prep Expert With Over 40 Years Experience, Has Lost Faith In The ACT/SATIn this episode you will hear: In the News-Julia and I discuss U Chicago’s new Early Decision Program Interview with Jay Rosner-Part 2 of 4 § Jay explains what he believes the motivations are for the elite colleges § Jay answers the question, why should a highly selective school not use testing, after all, they need some factor to differentiate where most students have all A’s, and embellished recs and professionally polished writing, § Jay rebuts the diamond in the rough theory, that argues that test scores help you to identify strong kids that are not highly resourced Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you wa...2024-07-291h 01
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow Do Colleges Evaluate the Rigor of Under-resourced HS That Do Not Have AP CoursesIn this episode you will hear: (03:35) In the News Mark and Julia answer a question about how colleges evaluate the rigor of under-resourced high schools that do not have many AP courses (28:44) Question from a listener: Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a question from Alison from Ohio about Cum Laude and the Honors section (38:12) Interview Mark interviews Stephen Burd, Editor of the book, Lifting the Veil on Enrollment Management, and Don Hossler, one of the major contributors to the book Preview of Part 2 Don shares the positive side of Enrollment Management o I ask Don so...2024-07-251h 33
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe ACT is Overhauling its Test: Here are the Changes They are MakingIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares the new changes that were announced this week o Mark and Julia interview Jay Rosner on the Inherent Flaws with the ACT and the SAT-Part 1 of 4 o Part 1-Preview § Julia does an intro of Jay Rosner and then Jay goes into more depth about his background § Jay explains the mission of the foundation that he works for § Jay explains why he went from running a Princeton Review test prep office 35 years ago to someone who has become more opposed to the SAT and the ACT the longer he lives § Jay answer the question, isn’t the standardiz...2024-07-2256 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsEnrollment Management: The Invisible Hand that Controls Admissions DecisionsIn this episode you will hear: (02:25) In the News Mark and Lisa answer the question from a listener: How can you know if a college makes holistic admissions decisions or whether they admit students by the number (12:40) Question from a listener: Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss several questions from a student about whether Eagles Scout belongs in the Honors Section (19:36) Interview Mark interviews Stephen Burd, Editor of the book, Lifting the Veil on Enrollment Management, and Don Hossler, one of the major contributors to the book Preview of Part 1 ² Stephen Burd gives his bac...2024-07-181h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe New Tactic Families are Using to Earn Scholarships and Pay Less For College-Part 2In this episode you will hear: (03:45) In the News Mark and Julia discuss waitlists and then they discuss an article by Jeff Selingo entitled, “The New Trick Families are using to Lower Tuition” Part 2 of 2 (26:57) Question from a listener: Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a question from a listener in Narobi, Kenya about the Common App. The roundtable then discusses the Additional Information Section of the Common App. (38:20) Interview Mark interviews Matt Carpenter on the topic of, “Understanding College Aid Pro” Part 2 of 2 Preview of Part 2 v Matt goes over the three different leve...2024-07-111h 23
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe New Tactic Families are Using to Earn Scholarships and Pay Less For CollegeIn this episode you will hear: (25:20) In the News Mark and Julia discuss waitlists and then they discuss an article by Jeff Selingo entitled, “The New Trick Families are using to Lower Tuition” Part 1 of 2 (49:28) Question from a listener: Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a question from a listener in Narobi, Kenya about the Common App. The roundtable then discusses the Additional Information Section of the Common App. (01:04:43) Interview Mark interviews Matt Carpenter on the topic of, “Understanding College Aid Pro” Part 1 of 2 Preview of Part 1 v Matt shares his two pieces of advice that...2024-07-041h 50
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat is Scholarship Displacement and What Can You Do About ItIn this episode you will hear: o Julia and I discuss Scholarship Displacement, what is it and is there anything you can do about it; are any states outlawing scholarship displacement o Julia and Mark discuss Stanford’s return to requiring the SAT or the ACT and Mark has his first grinding my gears in the last 6 months. o Mark interviews John Hoffman: Reflections on 45 years doing college placement and school placement-Part 3 of 3 o Preview of Part 3 o John talks about how Columbia’s core curriculum helped him o I talk about why the Open Curriculum is appealing to me o John goes on the hotseat Sign u...2024-06-101h 23
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThree Opportunities Some Students Miss Out on Over The SummerIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares three opportunities he sees too many students and parents missing out on over the summer. o Mark interviews John Hoffman: Reflections on 45 years doing college placement and school placement-Part 2 of 3 o Preview of Part 2 o John talks about the college process for his daughter that was just completed last month o John shared how his daughter communicated the lower grades that she had in her freshman year to the colleges she applied to o John shares the lessons he learned from his daughter going through the college process o John shares his view of what role if any the name re...2024-06-031h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhy are there so many more kids from the local area at very selective collegesIn this episode you will hear: o Mark and Lisa answer a question from Mary from South Dakota: Why are there so many kids from the local area at highly selective colleges o Mark interviews John Hoffman: Reflections on 45 years doing college placement and school placement-Part 1 of 3 o Preview of Part 1 o John shares his background o John shares why a Jewish man from NY wants to work with black and brown and Asian kids o John talks about how the college process is radically different now than it was 50 years ago o John tells a story about a course he took at Columbia that had a profound...2024-05-271h 05
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsJeff Selingo Interview: Miscellaneous TopicsIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares some updates about upcoming webinars and YCBK meet and greets o Suan and Julia answer a question from a mom with three high school students that are 18 months apart in age; she wants to know of a good organizational tool to help with the college process o Mark interviews Jeff Selingo on a range of topics including: undergraduate and graduate certificates, his book, “Who Gets In and Why”, his 2025 book he is working on, dual enrollment and more o Mark plays a Speakpipe question he has played before but this time he gives some new commentary o ...2024-05-2054 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsJeff Selingo Interview: How to know if a college is struggling financiallyIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares a text he received that had an idea he thought could help the podcast o Mark shares a text message and a Speakpipe comment he thought was profound, and worth sharing o Suan and Mark answer a question about whether a student graduates from a selective liberal arts school in economics will hurt them compared to if they got a business degree from a national university o Mark interviews Jeff Selingo on the topic of, How to know if a college is struggling financially-Part 1 of 2 Preview of Part 1 o Jeff Selingo shares the spa...2024-05-131h 13
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat is Double Depositing and why it is regarded as inappropriateIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares a text message and a Speakpipe comment on two different topics that he thought were profound, and worth sharing o Mark talks about a tweet that is generating some buzz and he previews an interview that will air on Episode 430 and 432 about that tweet o Julia and Mark have a robust conversation about “Double Deposits” o Lisa interviews Elizabeth Hamlet, a Disability Services Expert. They discuss how students with Disabilities can successfully transition to college-Part 3 of 3 Preview of Part 3 o Liz talks about the level of independence students need to be successful when th...2024-05-061h 17
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsFilling out the Activities Section of the Common App: Do’s and Dont’s, 1 of 3In this episode you will hear: (02:00) We have a five-way conversation for the first time at YCBK. Our four regular (Julia, Susan, Vince and Mark) are joined by Hillary Dickman, (Assistant Director of Admissions, Colorado College) for a conservation about how to complete the Activities Section of the Common Application. We discuss the Do’s and the Don’ts over the next three weeks. (31:25) Question from a listener Jessica, an international listener has a question about the change from test-optional to test mandatory that is happening at a number of colleges. (46:30) Interview Chris Cage, the VP of enrollment at Belmont Universit...2024-05-021h 08
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe FAFSA Fiasco and More Chaos on College CampusesIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares more details on the FAFSA Fiasco this year o Mark talks about the tumult on college campuses that is breaking out across the country o Lisa interviews Elizabeth Hamlet, a Disability Services Expert. They discuss how students with Disabilities can successfully transition to college-Part 2 of 3 Preview of Part 2 o Liz explains why students choose not to list their disabilities with the college. o Liz talks about what skills students need to have at home for a successful college transition. o Liz talks about why assignment calendars are important. o Liz continues to talk about what disab...2024-04-2952 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsUnderstanding the Nine Universities that make up the UC’sIn this episode you will hear: (02:00) Mark and Vince discuss the nine colleges that make up the University of California-Part 2 of 2 (37:20) Question from a listener Jessica, an International listener has a question about the change from test-optional to test mandatory that is happening at a number of colleges. (50:30) Interview Jeremy Lowe, the Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Admissions at American University discusses American University with Lisa Rouff-2 of 2 (01:12:30) Interview 2 Chris Cage, the VP of enrollment at Belmont University discusses Belmont University with Mark Stucker-Part 2 of 3 (59:10) Recommended Resource: Teen Life Summer Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a questi...2024-04-251h 33
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMore Observations from Admissions Decisions For the Class of 2024In this episode you will hear: o Mark and Julia discuss what they learned from admissions decisions from the class of 2024 o Lisa interviews Elizabeth Hamlet, a Disability Services Expert. They discuss how students with Disabilities can successfully transition to college-Part 1 of 3 Preview o Liz shares her backstory from special ed teacher to author and success advocate for students with learning disabilities. o Liz talks about the range of disability accommodations that colleges provide, and she talks about how those accommodations differ from high school accommodations. o Liz talks about what colleges are legally bound to provide versus what is optional or what s...2024-04-2259 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow are extracurricular activities evaluated by highly rejective collegesIn this episode you will hear: (02:02) Mark and Vince discuss the nine colleges that make up the University of California-Part 1 of 2 (36:50) Question from a listener An anonymous mom from New York wants to know how highly rejective colleges evaluate extracurricular activities (54:16) Interview Jeremy Lowe, the Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Admissions at American University discusses American University with Lisa Rouff-1 of 2 (01:13:33) Interview 2 Chris Cage, the VP of enrollment at Belmont University discusses Belmont University with Mark Stucker-Part 1 of 3 (01:02:58) Recommended Resource: Schoolhouse.world, a great resource for free online tutoring that uses student teachers who have shown mastery of the content they te...2024-04-181h 33
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsStudents Brand Themselves In Order to Try to Get In Elite CollegesIn this episode you will hear: (03:30) Mark and Vince discuss an article on how students are being coached to brand themselves in their applications. This is an article that appeared in the NY Times by a Guest Essayist, entitled, “Elite college admissions have turned students into brands” (33:30) Question from a listener Lee from Northern California has three questions about how colleges admit students when there is so much grade inflation. (49:22) Interview Jeremy Lowe, the Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Admissions at American University discusses Direct Admissions with Lisa Rouff (01:14:45) Interview 2 Chris Cage, the VP of enrollment at Belmont University answers the ques...2024-04-111h 43
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow to select a college when you have options-Part 3 of 3In this episode you will hear: o Mark gives a preview of some up and coming episodes o Lisa gives advice about selecting a college from a psychological and practical standpoint. o Lynda interviews Marjorie Betley, the Senior Associate Director of Admission at the University of Chicago, and the Executive Director of Admissions at the STARS College Network, and they discuss the STARS College Network STARS is an acronym for Small Towns and Rural Student-Part 3 of 3 Marjorie Betley-The STARS Network Preview-Part 3 § Marjorie talks about her own adjustment from a rural school to the University of Chicago § Majorie talks about the mentorship an...2024-04-081h 24
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMark and Vince discuss observations from this year’s admission decisionsIn this episode you will hear: (01:50) Mark and Vince will eventually discuss an article on how students are being coached to brand themselves in their applications. This is an article that appeared in the NY Times by a Guest Essayist, entitled, “Elite college admissions have turned students into brands” but they get into that article in Part 2, on Episode 421, that will air on April 11th, but this week, Vince and Mark discuss their observations from this year in college admissions; they also share some admission tips, an admission vernacular and a big number; the big number really inspired Mark (49:50) Question from a...2024-04-041h 53
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsLessons Learned From SACAC, College Visits and Meetings with Admission Officers o Mark gives a recap of some of his key takeaways from the SACAC conference o Mark shares some key takeaways from college visits and from conversation with reps o Mark looks at what may look like perplexing admissions decisions for about a dozen students School Match 4U counselors worked with and he discusses the reasons why this surprising decisions happen o Lynda interviews Marjorie Betley, the Senior Associate Director of Admission at the University of Chicago, and the Executive Director of Admissions at the STARS College Network, and they discuss the STARS College Network for the next three Mondays. STARS is a...2024-04-011h 16
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhat 16 Colleges are Doing To Get More Rural & Small Town StudentsIn this episode you will hear: o Mark gives a recap of the first ever YCBK Meet & Greet that occurred in Durham, NC on 3/23 o Julia has returned to admission file reading after 8 years and she shares how things have changed and what she has learned o Lynda interviews Marjorie Betley, the Senior Associate Director of Admission at the University of Chicago, and the Executive Director of Admissions at the STARS College Network, and they discuss the STARS College Network for the next three Mondays. STARS is an acronym for Small Towns and Rural Student Marjorie Betley-The STARS Network Preview-Part 1 · Marjorie gives he...2024-03-2545 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYour Biggest Bruises Often Become Your Biggest BlessingsIn this episode you will hear: o Mark discusses three upcoming events: The YCBK gathering in Raleigh, Andy Strickler’s Q & A with our listeners and the final info session for ScholarMatch o Mark shares a powerful quote from Nvidia founder Jenson Huang that he can’t stop thinking about o Mark interviews Andy Stickler on the topic of, Understanding Connecticut College, Part 3 of 3 Andy Strickler Interview-Understanding Connecticut College Preview Part 3 ² Andy goes into more detail about how they use scores ² Andy talks about the academic reader rating and how they factor historical data into their decisions. Sign up for our Q & A session...2024-03-1841 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMany States are Admitting Students by Class Rank; is This Good or Bad?In this episode you will hear: o Mark takes a look at the growing trend to guarantee admission to students based on class ranking. Mark shares six reasons opponents don’t like these plans and six reasons why proponents love these direct admit plans based on class rank o Mark interviews Andy Stickler on the topic of, Understanding Connecticut College, Part 2 of 3 Andy Strickler Interview-Understanding Connecticut College Preview Part 2 · Andy talks about Connecticut Colleges’ faculty mentorship program. · Andy talks about the 2 different ways Connecticut College does study abroad. · Andy talks about the programs that students most frequently name when as reasons they come to file · ...2024-03-111h 03
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews6 Questions To Ask To Help you Compare the Colleges That Admitted YouIn this episode you will hear: o Susan and Mark answer a Speakpipe question that asks for advice when your student is selecting a college and he/she has two or more quality options, and they are really torn o Mark interviews Andy Stickler on the topic of, Understanding Connecticut College, Part 1 of 3 Sign up for our Q & A session with Andy Strickler (VP of enrollment at Rhodes College) on March 3rd, 9:30 EST and 6:30 PST by going to Here are the remaining two dates for the ScholarMatch information sessions: (PST) (PST) Here is a link to the ScholarMatch volunteer form: You can also se...2024-03-041h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsColleges come up with very creative ways to use the ACT/SATIn this episode you will hear: o Mark does a deep dive on Yale’s decision to embrace a test flexible policy o Hillary Dickman comes on to explain how Colorado College’s non-harm test score policy works. o Mark interviews Andy Borst, the VP of enrollment at the University of Georgia on the topic of, why do college students go out of state and why are so many heading to southern universities o Mark shares an investment story. Andy Borst Interview Preview Part 2 § Andy and I continue to discuss various reasons why students are headed south for college. I ask Andy about six...2024-02-261h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDartmouth requires the ACT or SAT, why students go to out of state collegesIn this episode you will hear: o Mark and Julia discuss Dartmouth’s decision to be the first IVY league school to require test scores. Part 2 of 2 o Mark interviews Andy Borst, the VP of enrollment at the University of Georgia on the topic of, Why do college students go out of state and why are so many heading to southern universities Andy Borst Interview Preview Part 1 ² Andy shares data on the five states where students are leaving the most and he shares where they are going’ ² Andy shares some of the reasons that determine which colleges students are experiencing a surge in appl...2024-02-191h 20
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsIf a student has multiple college acceptances, how should decide where to go?In this episode you will hear: o Mark tells listeners how to access the sign-up form for the first YCBK in-person gathering on Saturday, March 23rd at 7 pm in Durham, NC o Mark asks Julia, what is her advice when a student asks her, how am I supposed to decide between my college options. o Mark and Julia warn listeners about a common missed opportunity they encounter fairly frequently when it comes to college list building. o Mark interviews Andy Strickler, the Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College and they discuss, how is admissions file reading different when a college gets an u...2024-02-051h 09
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow can my son know if a teacher he wants to ask for a recommendation is a good writerIn this episode you will hear: o Mark tells listeners how to access the sign-up form for the first YCBK in-person gathering on Saturday, March 23rd at 7 pm in Durham, NC o Mark and Susan discuss a question from Carla from Western Washington who wants to know how my son can know if the teacher he wants to ask for a recommendation is a good writer o Mark interviews Andy Strickler, the Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College and they discuss, How is admissions file reading different when a college gets an usually large number of strong applications from the same hi...2024-01-2956 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsAre colleges secretly factoring test scores into decisions for test-optional applicantsIn this episode you will hear: o Mark tells listeners how to access the sign-up form for the first YCBK in-person gathering on Saturday, March 23rd at 7 pm in Durham, NC o Mark and Julia answer a question from Michelle from Washington state, she wants to know, are colleges secretly using imputed test scores when a student requested to be a test-optional applicant o Mark interviews Andy Strickler, the Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College and they discuss, How is admissions file reading different when a college gets an usually large number of strong applications from the same high school-Part 1 of 3 ...2024-01-2247 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDo I send my test scores if they are high for my HS but not my collegesIn this episode you will hear: o Mark and Julia answer a question from Cortnie from CONN, she wants to know, should my daughter send her test scores to colleges, if they are high schools at her high school, but low for the colleges she is applying to o Mark and Susan just talk about college admissions. They start out talking about how colleges make admission decisions and move on to other topics. You can also send in questions for our interviews by using speakpipe.com/YCBK. Our interviews are confirmed for 2024 with the following leaders at the following schools: To sign...2024-01-1556 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow do colleges make admissions decisionsIn this episode you will hear: o Mark makes a request to listeners in the Greater LA area o Mark and Susan just talk about college admissions. They start out talking about how colleges make admission decisions and move on to other topics. o Lynda interviews Soup Campbell, Head of Marketing and Brand at Zeemee-Part 4 of 4 Soup Campbell Interview-Part 4 of 4 o Soup talks about the amazing brand partnerships Zeemee has o Soup explains what the virtual backpack is o Soup explains why Ed Sharon exclusively uses Zeemee o Soup talks about a company could help a student get amazing things for their dorm w...2024-01-081h 00
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMark and Julia discuss and debate essay length and resumesIn this episode you will hear: o Mark has a health update o Mark and Julia, discuss and debate, what is the minimum length a college essay should be? o Mark and Julia, discuss and debate, when a student should submit an essay and whether to include a photo o Lynda interviews Derek Terrell, Director of Engagement for the Coalition of College on the topic of understanding the Coalition for College, Part 2 of 2 Derek Terrell interview Part 2 · Derek talks about the resources that are built into the Coalition for College for parents. · Derek tells us about the benefits to being part of the Coalition for th...2023-12-1149 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMark shares lessons he learned from a health scare he had this weekIn this episode you will hear: o Mark shares a personal story of a heath scare he had and he shares the lessons he learned from the health scare o Lisa interviews, Dr. Jenni Griffin, the Dean of APEX at the College of Wooster, Part 1 of 3 Our favorite way for you to leave a question or any message for us is to put speakpipe.com/YCBK in your browser and take up to 90 seconds to leave a message. We recommend you share your first name and your state, but you can also be anonymous. If you do not want to verbally...2023-07-2448 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMore wisdom from Arlene Cash from 5 decades of admission experienceIn this episode you will hear: Mark lets the listeners know about a new feature called spikepike.com/YCBK where listeners can leave verbal messages for us. The messages can be suggestions, compliments or questions that we will play the actual voice of our listener on Thursday episodes beginning in late December. Mark explains why Biden paused student loan payments after saying he wouldn’t pause them again Mark discusses why North Carolina A & T was just fined over 2 million dollars. Mark discusses Stanford university’s expansion Mark explains why you won’t be hearing the term “Room & Board” as often as yo...2022-11-2848 min
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow to know if a college is really test-optionalIn this episode you will hear: (07:15) Mark and Dave discuss an article, “One state offers lessons in how to cope with the college enrollment crisis”. The article is by Jon Marcus of the Hechinger Report and it was written on 8/28/2022. Mark and Dave discuss all of the steps the University of Maine took to turn around their bleak enrollment situation. Dave and Mark discuss what other colleges can learn from the actions that the University of Maine took. (35:06) Mark and Lisa discuss 8 signs to look at when trying to determine if a college values test scores, even if they purport to be...2022-11-241h 27
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsCollege students face costlier rent & food even as tuition soarsIn this episode you will hear: (27:22) Mark and Julia discuss an August 17th, 2022 article in Bloomberg by and entitled, “College students face costlier rent and food, even as tuition soars” Julia and Mark get personal, as Julia shares her own struggles when she was in grad school, and Mark shares his daughter, and her friends struggles with making ends meet in grad school. (53:48) Mark discusses with Lisa several of the reasons why a college will admit a student with a lower GPA and a lower test score over a kid with a higher GPA and a higher test score. Part 2 of 3 ...2022-10-201h 45
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsUnder big demand, UC aims to grow by 33,000 studentsIn this episode you will hear: Mark and Vince discuss two different articles that appeared in the LA Times that address the number of students at the nine University of California schools. Both articles were written by Teresa Watanabe. The first article Mark and Vince discuss is that UC’s break a record for the most California students that have been admitted but they intentionally have cutback on the number of of out of state students. Mark and Vince talk about why the UC’s are talking less out of state students; is this a good or bad thing? This artic...2022-09-081h 53
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsIs it ethical for an admissions office to withhold admit ratesIn this episode you will hear: (30:20) In this segment of “In the News” Mark and Dave discuss an April 4th, 2022 article by Jim Jump that appeared in “Inside Higher Ed” entitled, “Is it ethical to withhold the data (admit rates)”. Dave does a great summary of the article and Mark points out his five take-aways from the article and then Mark and Dave have a spirited discussion about the article. (48:32) Question from a listener- Mark starts out by sharing another thing he thinks would surprise you if you were to be an admissions officer. It is bonus content week for Mark and he shar...2022-05-192h 19
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHow Amherst came to value community college transfersIn this episode you will hear: (16:05) In this segment of “In the News” Mark and Dave discuss a March 23rd, 2022 article by that appeared in “Inside Higher Ed” entitled, “How Amherst College Became a Champion for Community College Transfer Students”. Dave does a great summary of the article and Mark points out his seven take-aways from the article and then Mark and Dave have a spirited discussion about the article. (39:45) Question from a listener- Mark starts out by sharing another thing he thinks would surprise you if you were to be an admissions officer. Next he asks Lisa a follow up question from...2022-05-121h 44
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDid Columbia game US News college rankingsIn this episode you will hear: (15:20) Mark and Dave discuss a Washington Post March 23rd, 2022 article by Wisconsin math professor Jordan Ellenberg, entitled, “Did Columbia game US News college rankings”. The article describes the research math professor at Columbia, Michael Thaddeus has done to expose how the data Columbia presented to US News was erroneous to such a level that it cannot be seen as an innocent mistake. He describes how Columbia moved from 18th to 2nd in the USNWR rankings. Mark and Dave discuss why this data fabrication happens all too often but they save most of their fire for e...2022-04-281h 55
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMerit aid for Early Decision applicants is murkyIn this episode you will hear: (15:58) In this week’s “In the news” segment, Mark and Dave discuss a January 12th, 2022 article, by Ron Lieber that appeared in the New Times. The article is entitled, “College Merit Aid (or the Lack Thereof) makes Early Decision even murkier. Lieber has many legitimate concerns with the lack of transparency colleges have about when it comes to letting families know how much they will have to pay. Mark shares what he believes are the strongest arguments Lieber has, and he also shares a few points where he disagrees with Lieber. (39:54) It is Bonus content week...2022-04-142h 02
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDo recommendation letters discriminate?In this episode you will hear: (13:40) In this week’s “In the news” segment, Mark and Dave discuss a Feb 22nd, 2022 article, by Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed, “Are recommendation letters a Form of Discrimmination”? https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/02/22/colleges-consider-whether-recommendations-are-fair (37:00) Mark continues with a bonus content section. Mark shares with Lisa what he believes would surprise our listeners if they were to be a college admissions officer. Part 3 of 3 (01:16:10) Our interview is with two MIT admission officers (Chris Peterson and Kellen Manning) who also have other roles at MIT. Chris aka Petey and Kellen provide great insights into “what can a s...2022-03-241h 58
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 215: Judge orders UC Berkeley: Admit less kidsIn this episode you will hear: (12:32) In this week’s “In the news” segment, Dave has the week off to celebrate his birthday, but Vince Garcia and Mark discuss a Feb 14th, 2022 article, by Frances Dinkelspiel of Berkleyside, “UC Berkeley must slash new enrollment by one third unless high court intervenes. Vince and Mark discuss why the court ruled against Berkeley. They look at whether the problems caused by Berkeley having too many students are real? They also speculate where is this going and what implications does this ruling have? https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/02/14/uc-berkeley-enrollment-drop-court-of-appeal-ruling (49:24) Mark starts a bonus content section that wi...2022-03-102h 04
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 214: Embellished essays & fake patentsIn this episode you will hear: (16:40) In this week’s “In the news” segment, we discuss a Jan 13th, 2022 article, “How college applicants embellish essays with sob stories and fake patents. The article is by Isabel Vincent and it appeared in the New York Post. Mark and Dave discuss why this is happening and what if anything can be done about it. They also discuss other areas in the application where fraud is occurring. https://nypost.com/2022/01/13/how-college-applicants-embellish-admission-essays/ (31:39) Lisa and Mark answer a question from Shelly from California: How do I know which colleges should I visit? (01:01:44) Our interview is with Mark Sa...2022-03-032h 01
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 213: A deep dive into the NEW SAT testIn this episode you will hear: (11:15) In this week’s “In the news” segment, we discuss Ben Paris Jan 31st, 2022 article, “A Test prep persons anaylsis of the new SAT” Mark and Dave have a detailed discussion of all of the changes in this new SAT, and then they share their opinions about whether these changes are good or bad for students. (34:46) Lisa and Mark continue their discussion of the new SAT by answering a question several listeners sent in asking how the test-optional movement will be impacted by the New SAT. (01:03:50) Our interview is with Mark Salibury, the Founder of tuitionfit.o...2022-02-241h 53
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsYCBK 209: Admission double standardIn this episode you will hear: (19:34) In this week’s “In the news” segment, a August 19th, 2021 article in Forbes, by Brennan Barnard “the admission double standard” Mark and Dave discuss how it is not uncommon for the admission officers to expect something of students that they do not apply to themselves. Dave and Mark discuss why this happens and what you can do about it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brennanbarnard/2021/08/19/the-college-admission-double-standard/?sh=67f4234a45e6 (40:44) Mark and Lisa answer two questions, one from a student in Wisconsin an and one from a parent from Illinois: Question 1 How do I know what to do...2022-01-271h 41
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsColleges spend billions on marketingIn this episode you will hear: (08:20) In this week’s “In the news” segment, a November 1st, 2021 article in the Hechinger Report, by Jon Marcus “From Google ads to NFL sponsorships: Colleges spends billions at marketing themselves to attract students” Mark and Dave discuss how much they are spending, where they are spending their money and why they are spending so much money. They also discuss whether this is a prudent or imprudent use of their resources. https://hechingerreport.org/with-competition-up-enrollment-down-colleges-are-spending-billions-on-marketing-and-advertising/ (34:26) Mark and Lisa discuss a question that three listeners sent in to us: Why would Connecticut College tell a student with a...2022-01-201h 42
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsHumanities majors drop 8 years in a rowIn this episode you will hear: (16:05) In this week’s “In the news” segment, a November 22nd, 2021 article in the Hechinger Report, by jill Barshay “The number of college graduates in the humanities drops for the eighth consecutive year” Mark and Dave discuss why this is happening and what are the implications of this. https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-the-number-of-college-graduates-in-the-humanities-drops-for-the-eighth-consecutive-year/ (38:56) Mark and Lisa discuss a question that three listeners sent in to us: Why would Connecticut College tell a student with a 1320 on the SAT, that they will admit the student if they withdraw their test score. Mark and Lisa debate whether Conn College c...2022-01-131h 46
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe new 3-year degree (Part 2)In this episode you will hear: (12:25) In this week’s “In the news” segment, a November 9th, 2021 article by Emma Whitford of “Inside Higher Ed”, “A New push to create a 3-year degree option”. Mark and Dave discuss a new 3-year degree. Is this a good idea or not? Which students are likely to take advantage of this? Mark and Dave discuss this and so much more. Part 2 of 2 (20:18) Mark was asked in our questionnaire what trends he is observing for the future concerning college admissions, Mark and Lisa discuss 15 different observations Mark has made about where he sees admissions trending over the ne...2021-12-301h 48
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsA new push to create a 3-year degreeIn this episode you will hear: (32:03) In this week’s “In the news” segment, a November 9th, 2021 article by Emma Whitford of “Inside Higher Ed”, “A New push to create a 3-year degree option”. Mark and Dave discuss a new 3-year degree. Is this a good idea or not? Which students are likely to take advantage of this? Mark and Dave discuss this and so much more. Part 1 of 2 (41:25) Mark was asked in our questionnaire what trends he is observing for the future concerning college admissions, Mark and Lisa discuss 15 different observations Mark has made about where he sees admissions trending over the n...2021-12-231h 45
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews15 College Admission TrendsIn this episode you will hear: (14:14) In this week’s “In the news segment, an October 3rd, 2021 article by Ron Daniels of “The Atlantic”, “Universities are Shunning Their Responsibility to Democracy” This scholarly article is written by the current president of Johns Hopkins university. Mark and Dave take this esoteric article and discuss how can our listeners apply the truths Daniels articulates to their own lives. Part 2 of 2 (20:40) Mark was asked in our questionnaire what trends he is observing for the future concerning college admissions, Mark and Lisa discuss 15 different observations Mark has made about where he sees admissions trending over the next 5-1...2021-12-171h 22
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsUniversities can’t dodge ethicsIn this episode you will hear: (13:18) In this week’s “In the news segment, an October 3rd, 2021 article by Ron Daniels of “The Atlantic”, “Universities are Shunning Their Responsibility to Democracy” This scholarly article is written by the current president of Johns Hopkins university. Mark and Dave discuss the salient points from this article in what will be part 1 of 2 (29:26) Mark was asked in our questionnaire what trends he is observing for the future concerning college admissions, Mark and Lisa discuss 14 different observations Mark has made in Part 1 of 4. They discuss the first three trends in Part 1 (01:01:10) Mark interviews two financial aid exp...2021-12-091h 42
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsDo applicants lie about their raceIn this episode you will hear: (07:36) In this week’s “In the news segment, an October 25th, 2021 article by Scott Jaschik of “Inside Higher Ed”, “Do applicants lie about their race?” The website intelligent asked 1250 white adults whether they lied about their race when they applied to college. Mark and Dave discuss the results of the survey. Dave and Mark also give their opinion on the content and substance of the article. (29:46) Dr. Lisa Rouff takes the lead in her discussion with Mark about the pitfalls of perfectionism and how it impacts students. Part 2 of 2 (46:51) Mark interviews Matt McGann, the Dean of Admissions...2021-12-021h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsGetting rid of legacy admissionsIn this episode you will hear: (12:32) In this week’s “In the news segment, an October 4th, 2021 article by Scott Jaschik of “Inside Higher Ed”, “Can young alumni get colleges to drop legacy admissions” Dave and Mark and a very special first time guest join them for this discussion. To celebrate episode 200 this special guest also joins Mark and Dave for a second article by Melissa Korn of the Wall Street Journal entitled: “Amherst Drops admissions advantage for children of alumni” We previously discussed legacy admissions on episodes 121 and 180. Here is the article I referenced in the podcast that appeared in the Atlantic by t...2021-11-251h 18
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe media is not your friendIn this episode you will hear: (07:52) In this week’s “In the news segment, an October 4th, 2021 article by Allison Tate of “USA Today”, “How important is it to take AP Classes for College Admissions” Dave and Mark answer several questions including: 1) What are AP classes? 2) How important are AP test scores? 3) How many AP courses should a student take? 4) Are all AP classes equal? 5) Do colleges see AP courses and dual enrollment courses as being equal? Plus more (31:36) Mark and Lisa answer the following three questions from listeners: Question 1) Why does the Common App ask what is the occupation of the parents? I...2021-11-181h 50
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe media is not your friendIn this episode you will hear: (09:54) In this week’s “In the news segment, a September 20th article by Patrick O’Connor of the Counselors’ Corner blog, “The media is not a college applicant's best friend” This blog article looks at how what stories the media focuses on out of touch with where most college applicants are at. Mark and Dave discuss why the media focuses on the wrong stories and how their fixation is not in the best interest of college applicants. (26:09) Mark and Lisa answer the following two questions from listeners: Question 1) My son has lost interest in a specific college b...2021-11-111h 36
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsAdmissions Survey in a Wild YearIn this episode you will hear: (07:50) In this week’s “In the news segment, a September 20th article by Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed, “Admissions Survey in a Wild Year” This article looks at the results of a survey that over 200 colleges completed that looks at how covid impacted admissions in 2020. Dave shares some of the key findings from the survey and then Mark and Dave discuss two very interesting takeaways from the survey (27:32) Mark and Lisa and Sylvia answer three questions that listeners who completed our questionnaire wrote on the questionnaire: Question 1) You talk about all the great resources like...2021-11-041h 31
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsMark & Dave debate why grad rates are lowIn this episode you will hear: (06:23) In this week’s “In the news segment, an October 10th article by Jon Marcus of the Hechinger Report, “Most college students don’t graduate in 4 years so the government counts 6 as success” (23:56) Mark and Lisa talked to 12-15 students at the following three campuses on September 13th and 14th, 2021: Meredith, NC State and Duke. In this segment, they talk about the following: Where do they find these students? What questions do they ask? How often do they get the cold shoulder? What responses do they get from students? Why are they excited about this practice...2021-10-281h 26
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe Olympics explains Admissions-Part 1In this episode you will hear: (16:25) In this week’s “In the news segment, an August 11th article by Rick Clark, (Director of Undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech) from the Georgia Tech admissions blog entitled, “How the Olympics explains college admissions”. This is Part 1 of 2 on this topic. (32:53) A listener named Kendra from Maryland asked our hosts to please address teenage suicide given the rash of suicides on college campuses. We wanted to take advantage of Dr. Lisa Rouff’s expertise, so she takes the lead and looks at the causes of teenage suicide, gender differences in suicide, and how covid has impact...2021-10-212h 02
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsAdvice from College Admission DeansIn this episode you will hear: (10:35) In this week’s “In the news segment, a September 26, 2019 Washington Post article by Valerie Strauss article entitled, “The truth about college admissions — from college admissions deans. In this article, Strauss assembles a group of quotes that Brennan Barnard (another Washington Post contributor) assembled from Admission Deans. These quotes represent the dean's best doses of wisdom for students. Mark and Dave discuss one quote from Brennan and three quotes from the Dean in this episode. Mark and Dave plan on returning to this article to discuss more of their quotes in future episodes. (38:56) Dr. Lisa Rouff...2021-10-142h 12
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsThe case for a college exit examIn this episode you will hear: (10:26) In this week’s “In the news segment, an August 11, 2021 Wall Street Journal article by Douglas Belkin, “The case for a college exit exam”. The article looks at the pros and the cons of having such an exam. It features the main person pushing for this exam. Mark and Dave debate the pros and cons of having such an exam. (23:45) Mark and Lisa tackle three questions this week. Look for Mark and Lisa to do this more often as they are trying to get caught up when there are at least 30 questions that have been submitt...2021-09-301h 43
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsA generation of men give up on collegeIn this episode you will hear: (13:45) In this week’s “In the news segment, a September 6th, 2021 Wall Street Journal article by Douglas Belkin looks at the data indisputably proving that colleges are increasingly becoming more female and less male. The article also explores some of the reasons why this is happening. Mark and Dave began this conversation about six weeks ago and they promised a part 2 within eight weeks. Mark and Dave discuss nine reasons why colleges are not appealing to men these days. Mark and Dave had planned on discussing an article by Phillip Cook and Glenn Sacks, entit...2021-09-161h 47
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews2U buys Edx to expand online coursesIn this episode you will hear: (13:45) In this week’s “In the news segment, a June 29th, 2021 Harvard Crimson article by Nate Herpich looks at why 2U bought Edx for 800 million dollars, what changes does 2U plan on making, and how will the money from the sale be used. Mark and Dave explain who Edx and 2U are. They discuss many of the frequently asked questions that this article tackles. Online courses are growing and this purchase of Edx by 2U will not only help bridge the gap between well-resourced and under-resourced students but it will allow Edx to stay cutting...2021-09-091h 54
Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsWhy apps are way up at HBCUsIn this episode you will hear: (09:58) In this week’s “In the news segment, a Feb 2nd, 2021 Inside Higher Ed article by Greta Anderson looks at a research study that explains why so many students are applying to HBCU’s these days. Mark discusses this article with someone very special to the YCBK podcast family. Dave is off this week as he takes his daughter back to Yale. Dave had gone 82 weeks in a row without missing an episode. Mark and our surprise co-host discuss whether they agree with the findings in this article. (33:42) Mark and Lisa answer the following question f...2021-09-022h 01