Season 1/Episode 7: College Applications Big 5 Series: Part 2, Standardized Tests

Standardized testing is the second stop on our college application safari. This series of five episodes is focused on the primary elements of a college application and geared towards students who are applying to college in the fall.

These “Big 5” application components are what colleges use to assess a student's application as they make admissions decisions. Not every college will use all 5 elements and in an age of testing ambiguities, it’s important to understand your options for standardized testing and for sharing your scores with colleges. 

We begin with a look at the history of college admission testing, and the hows and whys of their use in the application review process. College testing options are more flexible than they have ever been and there is a lot you should think about in terms of choosing, preparing for, and using testing in your own admissions process.

Our perspectives here are not as test-prep experts, but are based firmly in the application advising that we do with our students. How to pick the best test, considerations for timing and test-preparation, and how to determine whether you will use test scores, or not, in your application. 

This week's tips focus on helping you to better understand the alphabet soup of standardized tests. We orient you to the test requirement language used by colleges and we discuss the slowly growing number of schools that are moving from the test-optional days of COVID, back to requiring test scores of all applicants. Finally, we dip into how to determine if you should share your scores and what your options are for reporting your test scores.

Season 1/Episode 6: College Applications Big 5 Series, Part 1 Your Transcript

Join us for the first in our series on the “big five” elements in college applications - a college application safari of sorts.

These are the application components that colleges use to assess a student's application as they make admissions decisions. Not every college will use all 5 elements, and, ironically, while we firmly believe that every student is more than a transcript, the transcript remains the most important component of a student's college application at all colleges. Holistic review of applications refers not only to all elements of your application, but to the multiple factors inherent in interpreting a transcript!

We begin with a look at the variation of high school transcripts across the US, which generally look different than your report cards.  We touch briefly on weighted and unweighted GPAs, the rigor of your academic courses, grade trends, and the tools, like a high school profile, that admissions readers use to build context for the courses and grades that are on YOUR transcript. 

Our episode tips focus on helping you to better understand your transcript and how your high school describes the curriculum that has been available to you. We want you to learn more about your high school’s GPA scale, rank in class policies, and to think about course planning over four years, but most importantly in junior and senior year. We also touch on classes, perhaps from a summer program or an online program, that may or may not be official pieces of your high school transcript. 

Lastly, we address the growing trend of self-reported transcripts in the admissions process and what to expect if a college you apply to asks for your academic history in this way.

Season 1/Episode 5: Making The Most Of College Visits

June marks the beginning of summer vacation, which is often the only time during the year that students and families can visit college campuses. Generally, colleges begin their summer tour schedules early in the month, so it's a good time to talk about making the most of college visits. It may be important to planning your schedule to note that most colleges do not offer Saturday tours in the summer, but will pick those up again during the academic year.

In this episode for both parents and students, we talk about the differences between initial criteria-building visits (perhaps those done earlier in high school) and those visits that you may do in the summer or fall of senior year as you make your final list decisions. We discuss the importance of being exposed to a number of different voices through not only tours, but information sessions, visits to the dining hall or academic departments, and casual conversations with students on campus.

Learn about some of our favorite pro tips to take a better measure of the campus environment and make the most of your time on campus and in the surrounding area. We’ll share some of our favorite questions for students to help you understand the academic rigor and experience, as well as our thoughts on campus dining, residential life and off-campus living. Lastly, we encourage families to build in some fun and suggest ways to reflect on your visits.

Spend some time with us before you head out on your next college tour!

Season 1/Episode 4: Summer Dreaming: Planning A Productive High School Summer

In our episode on Summer Dreaming we share thoughts and tips on how high school students can get the most out of summer. In this student-focused episode, we discuss options for summer jobs, volunteering and academic focus.

Most importantly, we want students listening to think about making these choices for their life, versus making choices for a college application. Exploring genuine interests is always a better route than trying to determine what any particular college “wants”. The strongest college applications come from students who are able to reflect on what they've done and why they've chosen to do it, and why it's meaningful to them.

Season 1/Episode 3: Our Crystal Ball: Shifts in Higher Education

More than predictions…In this episode we are looking at the latest trends in higher education and the evolution of what going to college in the U.S. means to families. We discuss a range of topics including shifts in learning environments, the costs of college and what  parents and students expect in terms of college outcomes. 

In the second half of our episode we discuss the impacts of federal funding cuts and the downsizing of the Department of Education. What are the questions to ask when you visit campuses and how will this shifting landscape possibly impact your college choices and experience.

Season 1/Episode 2: Parenting & Your College-Bound Teenager

More than driving your child to a college tour…we are talking to parents in this episode about your interactions with your teenager around the sometimes exciting, sometimes treacherous topic of applying to college. We start out with a discussion about where kids and parents are, metaphorically, during these pre-college years. What's going on in your heads? What are some of the issues and challenges for both teenagers and their parents?

In the second part of the episode, we offer concrete tips for parents as they help guide the logistics, reflection, and emotion of this process with the teenagers in their lives.

Season 1/Episode 1: How to Begin Your College Search

We begin this podcast journey telling you a bit about ourselves and the  experiences we have had as college admissions advisors, coming from both the college side and our work with families. In the first half of each episode we will provide an overview of a topic related to high school, the college search, admissions or higher education. As lifelong learners, we'll also start each episode off with a brief segment on topics we are exploring and learning about. We will have some fun with a trivia quiz for each other each episode, and then finish with tips and strategies to apply to your own college search.

How and where to begin a college search? It’s one of the most common questions that we get as college advisors; so let’s dig in!

More Than A Transcript Trailer

Join us for college admissions and higher education insights as well as tips and strategies for your college search and application process. With episodes published twice a month, we will explore everything between the beginning of high school through college graduation on the road to a transformative college experience!