In this week’s episode…

In the News (2:00): Why Universities are Phasing out Luxury Dorms by Jeffrey Selingo of The Atlantic.

This article was written on August 21st, 2017. (Length 10:15)

In this week’s book discussion we are in Chapter 40 of 171 Answers (12:35): We are in Chapter 4 of 171 Answers Mark is breaking down the history and the distinguishing features of the SAT standardized test.

Anika asks Mark great questions about the SAT Test. Mark explains how the SAT has dratically altered itself over the years. Mark shares how the threat of competition from the ACT has forced the SAT to make changes and become a test that is drastically different than it once was. (Length 6:35)

This week’s question (19:10) comes from Jill in Colorado and Jill wants to know if contributing more to a 401K or pre-tax retirement plan would help a family qualify for more financial aid.

Mark likes this question because the way retirement accumulated resources and retirement contributions are handled is a subject that is quite confusing to a lot of people. Mark answers the question and he explains why this is a trick subject that confuses so many parents, guardians and counselors. (Length 6:50)

This week’s interview is with Brennan Barnard (26:00) is Part 2 of 3 with Brennan Barnard. Brennan is a prolific writer, writing for the Washington Post, Forbes and the Huffington post, but Brennan also serves as the Director of College Counseling at the Derryfield school in New Hampshire.

Mark and Brennan worked for months on coming up with a list of 20 common mistakes that parents make in the college process and they share seven of those mistakes in part 1 of 3 of this interview. In part 2 of this interview Mark and Brennan discuss five more mistakes, these mistakes all involve, “Not validating your child’s self-worth” (Length 19:20)

Mark’s recommended resource of the week (39:40) is the admission blog: applerouth.com/experts. The blog features the writing of Dr. Jed Applerouth and it provides detailed and accurate insights into standardized testing and other admission issues.