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Practical, up-to-date interviews with experts in college admissions, financial aid, personal statements, test prep and more. Ethan Sawyer (aka College Essay Guy), interviews deans of admission, financial aid experts, and veterans of the admissions field to extract, then distill their advice into practical steps for students and those guiding them through the process. From creating an awesome college list to appealing a financial aid letter, Ethan skips the general advice and gets right to th ...
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507: What Colleges Want (Part 7A): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Students and Families
52:08
52:08
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This week, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Ayesha King (Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles) to talk about letters of recommendation. They get into: What goes into a letter of recommendation? How are they evaluated by colleges? Who should students consider asking, and how do they ask? What c…
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506: What Colleges Want (Part 6): Demonstrated Interest: What Is it, Why Is it Important, and How Do You Show it? with Dean of Enrollment Christine Bowman
58:30
58:30
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On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Christine Bowman, Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern University. In part 6 in our series on What Colleges Want, Ethan and Christine get into: What is demonstrated interest and how do colleges track it? How important is demonstrated interest to a student’s chance of getting in? How might students find o…
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505: What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)
50:53
50:53
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50:53
On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 5 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about some of the other written parts of the application—the activities list, additional information section, and supplemental essays. Tom and Ethan get into: How can students write a gre…
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504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)
51:18
51:18
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51:18
On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 4 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about the personal statement. According to the latest State of College Admission report – after grades, course rigor, and positive character traits (see previous episodes), the college es…
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503: What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?
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1:02:26
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In today’s two-part episode, we’re delving into one of the potentially more confusing aspects of what colleges want — “positive character attributes” — which 65.8% of colleges give considerable or moderate importance. In part 1, I’m joined by Tom Bear (VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Bob Massa (former chief admissions/…
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502: What Colleges Want (Part 2): A Deep Dive into GPA, Course Selection, and Making the Most of the Academic Opportunities Available to You
1:01:20
1:01:20
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On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Nitzya Cuevas-Macias (Director of College Programs at Downtown College Prep) cover: How do students decide which classes to take—and what questions should they ask when deciding? Key recommendations for selecting English, math, science, social studies, language, and elective courses The…
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501: What Colleges Want (Part 1): A Deep Dive into the Factors Colleges Deem Important & State of College Admissions Report
51:41
51:41
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Show Notes On today's episode, Ethan sits down with David Hawkins, Chief Education and Policy Officer at National Association of College Admission Counselors (aka NACAC), and they get discuss, among other things: What are the most important factors colleges consider? What significant changes has he seen in the college admission landscape in the pas…
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414: A Crash Course in Paying for College & Common Affordability Myths
56:05
56:05
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On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Amanda Miller, who got her start in financial aid through the College Advising Corps at Davidson College in 2014. A few thousand students, several resources, and dozens of financial aid presentations later, Amanda’s an independent financial aid specialist and college adviser who also serves as the financial ai…
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413: Intellectual Curiosity + College Admissions: What It Is, Why It Matters to Colleges, and How to Show It
47:54
47:54
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In today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Susan Tree (a college counseling and admissions legend with 40+ years of experience) chat about “intellectual curiosity”: a quality that many colleges actively look for in students, yet is a little more ambiguous and nuanced compared to mapping out a high school course plan. This is par…
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412: Applying to College as a First-Generation or Low-Income Student: The Matchlighters Scholars Program Experience
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Hey all, today’s episode is a special one. We had one of our rockstar essay coaches, Shira Harris, sit down with two of her former Matchlighter students, Milena Veliz and Sayem Kamal, to discuss their experiences navigating the college application process as First Generation Low Income Students. At the time of the recording, Milena was an incoming …
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411: Finding Your Why, What a Liberal Arts Education Really Is, and How to Figure out What You Actually Want
56:17
56:17
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56:17
On Season 1 of the podcast, Ethan had a great conversation with Maria Furtado, then Executive Director of the Colleges That Change Lives organization (also known as “CTCL”). It’s a lovely chat and to date one of our most downloaded episodes. On today’s episode Ethan had the pleasure of sitting down with her successor, Ann Marano, and they get into:…
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410: Regional Spotlights: Attending College in The South w/ Renee Ferrerio
1:17:32
1:17:32
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On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) hosts the first installment of a new series called Regional Spotlights, which will bring on college counseling experts who have deep history or knowledge of the exciting college options from (and cultural nuances of) a particular geographic region. We’re kicking off this series with College…
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409: A Crash Course in College Athletic Recruiting w/ Katie Andersen
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58:23
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My guest is Katie Andersen, a former NCAA Division 1 Women’s Soccer player at Duke University, who now advises student-athletes through her organization, College Fit OC. She’s also the co-founder of The Student-Athlete Advisors, which focuses on educating and mentoring educational consultants who advise college-bound student-athletes. Our conversat…
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408: 10 Critical Things Trans Youth (and Their Counselors and Caregivers) Should Know in High School and When Applying to College w/ Shannon and Sam Bergeron
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On this episode I had the honor of sitting down with Sam and Shannon Bergeron. Sam is a transgender man who transitioned in high school (in Texas) and who now works in college admissions at his alma mater, Hampshire College. Shannon is Founder of Core College Consulting, where she specializes in using a whole child college counseling™ approach. She…
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407: Behind the Scenes of an Admission Office + Supplemental Essay Deep Dive w/ Rick Diaz
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On today’s episode I got to sit down with Rick Diaz, the Regional Director of Admission for Southern Methodist University (SMU) and someone I’ve known for more than 15 years. We have a pretty wide ranging discussion that covers: A behind-the-scenes look at how SMU reads applications and how they shape a class—and what that even means Then we dive i…
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406: Why You Don’t Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand Out—and What You Can Do Instead w/ Tina Yong
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In this episode I sat down with TED speaker Tina Yong to talk about why students don’t have to write about trauma in a college essay to stand out—and what they can do instead. We discussed, among other things: Tina’s experience as an immigrant/racialized person feeling the pressure to turn her personal story into a personal statement with a linear,…
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405: 7 Cosas Que Las Familias Latinas Deben Saber Sobre Cómo Prepararse Para la Universidad / 7 Things Latinx Families Need to Know About Preparing for College w/ Lorenzo Gamboa
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48:32
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Today is a special episode in that it’s bilingual—the first part is in Spanish, the second part in English. My guest is Lorenzo Gamboa (Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Outreach at Santa Clara University) and we’re discussing some of the things he believes Latinx families should know as they prepare for college. Hoy es un episodio especial porq…
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404: Race-Conscious Admission Was Struck Down—What Does This Mean and What Can Students and College Counselors Do? w/ Jay Rosner
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In this episode we’re talking about the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down race-conscious admission and what the implications might be for colleges, students applying to those colleges, and the counselors who advise them. And what better person to talk about it with than Jay Rosner, whose entire career has been devoted to the intersecti…
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403: AP, IB, Honors, Oh My! How Admissions Officers View Your High School Courses, Rigor, and School Context w/Susan Tree
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51:18
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In today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Susan Tree (a college counseling and admissions legend with 40+ years of experience) chat about all things related to the academic part of a student’s college application— which, at many selective colleges, is seen as the “foot in the door” of their selection process. This is part 1 of …
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401: NACAC CEO Angel Pérez—Self-care for counselors, leaders, and professionals in helping roles
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56:56
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On this episode I chat with Angel Perez to discuss his personal journey with burnout, self-care, and therapy, and I even share some of my own personal journey — and we connect on what it might mean to find more ease, purpose, and joy in our own lives. This is part 1 of a series I’ll be doing on self-care this year. You’ll notice Angel mentions a mo…
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402: How to Create a (Sustainable, Nourishing, Energizing, Intentional) Morning Ritual with Sage Simpson
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46:55
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If you’re ever wondering, how did Ethan land on those words, “ease, purpose, and joy,” well to be honest — it came from a brainstorming conversation with today's podcast guest, Sage Howard. Sage is a meditation & yoga teacher and wellness coach whom I have known for more than 15 years, and who fully embodies ease, purpose, and joy. On this episode …
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301: Behind the Scenes of an Admission Counselor's Life w/ Kati Sweany
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This episode I'm with with Kati Sweaney, Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Reed College. It's the first in a series of interviews with current and former college admissions officers where we go behind the scenes to let you know how things work. In this episode we get into: The life of an admission officer, including what their travel season is …
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302: Part 1: Behind the Scenes of an Admission Office w/ Tom Campbell
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My guest this time is Tom Campbell — who at the time of this recording was Assistant Dean Of Admissions at Pomona College. Tom was formerly the Assistant Director Of Admissions at College of the Holy Cross, his alma mater, and also serves as a Group Leader, Essay Specialist and Faculty Member at the very awesome College Horizons. This is another ep…
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303: Part 2: Behind the Scenes of an Admission Office w/ Tom Campbell
1:06:33
1:06:33
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Tom Campbell is back for another episode in our series that goes behind the scenes of an admissions office to let you know what happens when you click submit on your application—where does it go? Who reads it? What are they thinking? How do they make decisions? At the time of this recording, Tom Campbell was Assistant Dean Of Admissions at Pomona C…
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215: 17 Things Students of Color (+ Their Counselors and Parents) Should Know When Applying to College
49:22
49:22
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In this episode we cover, among other things: Ways that students of Color can advocate for themselves while in high school How to research Historically Black Colleges and Universities Ways to learn more about fit at colleges that are not minority-serving Where to find more financial aid after you’ve been accepted How parents can get involved to adv…
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