In this week’s episode you will hear

In the News (6:32): An article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Welcome to the Wild West: The Competition for College Applicants Just Intensified”, by Eric Hoover. Admissions officers and college counselors that attended the National Association for College Admission Counseling’ 75th annual conference just voted to delete three major portions of their ethics code:

Colleges are no longer barred from offering incentives, such as special housing or better financial-aid packages, to students who apply under early decision.

Colleges can now recruit students even after they submit a deposit to another institution.

Colleges can solicit transfer applications from a previous applicant even if they have not inquired about transferring. (Length 18:07)

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Welcome-to-the-Wild/247253Students should know the pros and cons of living both on and off campus.

Chapter 91 of 171 Answers (24:39): We are in chapter 91 of 171 Answers and Mark shares what is now known as the Coalition for College application.

We discuss why the Coalition emerged, which colleges’ use it and what has been the reception of the Coalition by the broader community. The Coalition now has over 150 colleges in 34 states and DC and it has unquestionably become the number one competitor to the Common Application. (Length 16:58)

This week’s question (41:37) is from Hillary in Colorado Springs, CO.

She is the mom of a charter school student who attends a school where they don’t have traditional AP and IB courses and she wants to know if, and how, admissions officers will interpret the classes as being equivalent to AP and IB. Hillary also wants to know what else her daughter can do to level the playing field so her school is respected, even if it may not be a household name. (Length 15:36)

This week’s interview (57:36) Mark continues his interview with Peter Van Buskirk, Founder of Best College Fit, and Former VP of Enrollment at Franklin and Marshall, in “Understanding how colleges act as businesses in ways that are not in your best interest”- Part 2.

In this segment we discuss college rankings, Spring admits and college wait lists. (Length 20 minutes)

  Mark’s recommended resource of the week (1:07:45) Mark’s recommended resource of the week is Thomas Frank’s 11 minute review of the best three task management apps. These apps can really help students to stay organized: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpzhO1EyA2U

  College Spotlight for the week (01:18:16): The College Spotlight is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aka MIT

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

If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!

Anika and I are excited to give our listeners a chance to play a role in shaping what topics we discuss, and what guests we have on our podcast. You can let your voice be heard by completing this survey. Just put the following link in your browser and give us your honest feedback. Anika and I would like to thank you in advance.