In this week’s episode you will hear

In the News (8:17) : In this week’s news segment, an article from Education Next “Yes, It Really Is Harder to Get into Highly Selective Colleges Today” by Michael Petrilli. The conventional wisdom is that it’s now much harder to be accepted into highly selective colleges and universities than it was a generation ago. According to the median SAT scores of most of the 100 top national universities and 50 top liberal arts colleges (as determined by the 2020 US News and World Report college rankings) – by measure – scores for the most selective institutions have risen significantly over the past generation. Meaning, it really is harder to get into such schools today than thirty years ago. Mark and Dave discuss this and they talk about what are the implications of this. (Length 25 minutes)

Chapter 167 of 171 Answers (33:23) : how to tap into a college’s most valuable resources. Mark and Anika discuss many invaluable resources that can help students to graduate and have a great college experience, but often go neglected and even ignored.

(Length 14 minutes)

This week’s question (47:19) asks about need-blind vs. need-aware admissions and if Mark truly believes if schools are need-blind as they claim.

Mark divides the college universe into three groups based on the claims they make about need-based aid and meeting need. Mark then discusses whether the colleges in each grouping live up to their claims. (Length 36 minutes)

This week’s interview (1:23:42) with Julia Hutchinson a high school senior from Wisconsin – A creative approach to learning what the students are like at the colleges on your list (Part 2 of 3).

If you want to know how to really understand how schools on your college list are different, this is an interview you will really benefit from listening to. (Length 10 minutes)

Mark’s recommended resource of the week (1:33:08) https://www.thecollegetour.com This is a new Amazon Prime TV show that takes 60 minutes per episode to tour various college campuses. You get introduced to about ten students who attend the college and you get to really learn a lot about each college. You also get to see the campus, just like on a real college tour. (Length 9 minutes)

College Spotlight: N/A

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”.