In this week’s episode you will hear

In the News (5:30): In this week’s news, an Atlantic article “How to Rank College Ranking Sites” by Will Dix.

Dix does an outstanding job of highlighting the fact that there is a huge market for college rankings and he goes on to list and describe 13 ranking sites that families use amongst the various rankings that are available. Dix says he personally believes that all college rankings are inaccurate because you can’t quantity the imponderable, but he knows people are using them so he describes how the various rankings emphasize different things. Students should know the pros and cons of living both on and off campus. (Length 28:59)

Chapter 73 of 171 Answers (34:29): Mark shares his advice for students with disabilities.

We talk about the kind of questions that students with disabilities need to ask when evaluating whether a college can properly serve them. We share where a student and parent should go on a college campus visit if the student has a disability. We also share a list of various disabilities and you will see how many different disabilities exist. A sizable portion of the population have a disability and this discussion is for you, but it is for all of us to better understand what a student with a disability should know. (Length 10:54).

This week’s question (45:23) For our question segment – we are responding to the breaking news around the College Board rolling out what they are calling the Environmental Context Dashboard.

You may have heard this referred to as an “adversity score” or an “adversity index”; this is the label the media has put on this. This is the 4th and final part on the ECD and Mark is addressing the questions that remain unanswered and the controversies that will continue to loom. Mark shares a dozen different topics related to the ECD that are worth watching over the next few years. (Length 17:12)

This week’s interview (62:35): Mark wraps up his interview with Dr. Josie Uribistondo in Preparation for the Personal Statement, Part 3.

Josie and Mark have a great conversation as we compare notes as we talk about the most common errors we each see in our student’s essays. Josie talks about the importance of communicating values and how to show your emotional intelligence in your writing Josie exhorts the listeners to start early on their personal essays Dr. Josie shares various ways to conclude your essay Then Mark puts Josie on the hot seat and I think you will find it interesting and even entertaining. (Length 21 minutes)

Mark’s recommended resource of the week (74:22) Mark’s recommended resource of the week is the Twitter account @InsidehigherEd. If you want to follow the the latest breaking news, opinion, jobs, & resources for all of higher ed, this is a good a source as you will find

We have a second Recommended Resource this week; it is Dr. Josie’s YouTube channel for “Write Your Acceptance: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zAaJurZjlt6pP8LF8o7_g

Don’t forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com

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Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy visit 171answers.com and if you want to see what future episodes will cover just click the red button “See exactly what 171 Answers covers”.