Podcast Episodes

Introduction : Mark provides an update on four admission related hot topics that are in the news: More states banning legacy admissions, which ones are also considering this How is Affirmative Action and mandatory test score requirements impacting the racial and ethnic diversity at MIT We discuss the survey results on a new study that [...]

In this week's episode you will hear In the News (2:13): Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how does athletic recruiting work for students who are applying to selective colleges. 2 of 9 (Length 18 minutes) This week’s question (20:35): Julia joins Mark to discuss how is it possible for [...]

Introduction: 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 Vince gives an in-depth preview of Sara’s background Sarah talks about her experience at Bowdoin, Brandeis, [...]

In this week's episode you will hear In the News (13:50): Mark and Andy Stricker (Dean of Admissions at Connecticut College) discuss how pre-reads work for athletic recruits applying to selective colleges. (Length 18 minutes) This week’s question (31:20): Susan joins Mark to answer a question from Jana from Oklahoma, How do we know if [...]

Introduction : 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 [...]

In this week's episode you will hear Question Number 1 (6:00): Mark and Lisa answer a question from a student: If my sister turned down a highly selective school, will that be held against me? (Length 5 minutes) Question Number 2 (11:35): Susan joins Mark to answer a question, How does Landscape help admission officers [...]

Introduction : 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 [...]

In this week's episode you will hear In the News (2:36): Mark and Julia answer several question from Assaf from Rochester. He has several questions about Honors College’s (Length 21 minutes) This week’s question (23:45): Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a few questions from an anonymous mom [...]

Introduction : 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 [...]

In this week's episode you will hear In the News (3:35): Mark and Julia answer a question about how colleges evaluate the rigor of under-resourced high schools that do not have many AP courses (Length 25 minutes) This week’s question (28:44): Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and Mark) and we discuss a [...]

Introduction : Mark shares the new changes that were announced this week Mark and Julia interview Jay Rosner on the Inherent Flaws with the ACT and the SAT-Part 1 of 4 Part 1 Preview : Julia does an intro of Jay Rosner and then Jay goes into more depth about his background Jay explains the [...]

In this week's episode you will hear In the News (2:25): 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 (Length 10 minutes) This week’s question (12:40): Our roundtable is back (Hillary, Susan, Julia, Vince and [...]