Application to Admission

🎙️ Back-to-School, September Style: The Application to Admission Podcast Is Back!The school year is officially underway, and so is the college admission process.In this episode of The Application to Admission Podcast, Tim Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown, founder of Strategic Admission Advice, return without a guestb, but with plenty of timely guidance for students, families, educators, school counselors, and community organizations.They discuss six essential back-to-school priorities, including:Why application, financial aid, testing, and scholarship deadlines matterHow families can build a manageable college application timelineThe importance of building a relationship with your school counselorWhy parents and students need to align on college preferences and financesHow to avoid “portal hell” by staying organizedWhen seniors should finalize college lists, essays, recommendations, and testing plansWhy the college cost conversation must happen before admission decisions arriveHow juniors and underclassmen can begin preparing early—without panicThe message is simple: college admission is a team effort. Families, students, counselors, and educators all have a role to play and communication, organization, and early planning can make the process far less overwhelming.We’re back with more episodes, resources, and a newsletter coming soon. Follow The Application to Admission Podcast and share this episode with a family who needs it!

What's really going on at Howard University and what does it mean for HBCUs, for PWIs, and for every family navigating this process right now? We brought in the person with the receipts.This week we sat down with Dr. Erin Lynch, an internationally recognized higher education leader with degrees from James Madison, Vanderbilt, Tennessee State, and a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and President of QEM Network, a research nonprofit that has served 893 colleges and universities since 1989.And let us tell you, Dr. Lynch does not come to play.She broke down, in plain numbers, exactly why Howard couldn't extend a line of credit to unpaid students before they even stepped on campus Howard spends $1.245 billion a year, brings in about $1.12 billion, and tuition is only 20% of that revenue. Do that math on 500+ students with unpaid balances and you'll understand the pressure colleges are under nationwide.She got real about the myths people carry into HBCU vs. PWI conversations, why underfunding (not effort or talent) is the actual gap, and what she calls the framework every family needs before building a college list: cost, location, major, career in that order.Her closing word to parents? Your job doesn't stop once the acceptance letter comes. If you were on your kid about homework in third grade, you'd better be on them about their housing deposit at eighteen.Her voice is direct, sharp, and exactly what this moment calls for. You will want to hear this one.

What does it actually feel like to go through the college admissions process, choose your school, and thrive once you get there? We brought in someone who lived it — and she is absolutely brilliant.This week, we sat down with Mercedes Patrick, a first-year student at Davidson College — yes, that Davidson, where Steph Curry put it on the map. 🏀And let us tell you Mercedes is the real deal.Coming from a low-income background in Florida, she approached the college search with wisdom well beyond her years: prioritizing affordability, academic rigor, and community. She applied to Spelman, Howard, Tufts, Swarthmore, Furman, and Davidson — and ultimately chose Davidson after visiting campus and receiving a handwritten note from her admissions officer telling her exactly why she belonged there. That's the kind of student Mercedes is: the kind people go out of their way for.She shares what it's like to be pushed and developed at a small, connected liberal arts school. She gets candid about being a student of color navigating PWIs vs. HBCUs. And her closing advice for rising seniors? A genuine mic drop moment about embracing your uniqueness because no one else is you.Her voice is warm, thoughtful, and grounded. You will want your student to hear this episode.📢 Rising Seniors — this is your reminder:The summer will fly by. Now is the time to be working on your essays. Your story is distinctive, authentic, and powerful — but it takes time and preparation to tell it well. That means your personal statement, your supplementals, and knowing what makes you you on the page.The resource you need right now: 📖 Powerful College Admission Essays: A Guide to Telling Your Story — pick up your copy and get to work. The students who start now are the ones who stand out later.🎓 Davidson — small campus, hands-on faculty, no loan-based financial aid, and students like Mercedes. That's the story.Subscribe, share, and help us get this to every family navigating the process. 70+ episodes of great (not just good) information — and this one is one of our best.🔗 Follow us: @ApplicationtoAdmissionPodcast on Instagram🌐 understandthechoices.org#CollegeAdmissions #ApplicationToAdmission #DavidsonCollege #LiberalArtsCollege #CollegeEssays #RisingSeniors #FirstGeneration #BlackFamilies #CollegePlanning #PodcastAlert #PowerfulCollegeAdmissionEssays

In this episode, we sit down with New York Times bestselling author Harlan Cohen seven books, over a million copies in print, and a speaker who has visited more than 400 college campuses. You've seen him on The Today Show, The Washington Post, and all over TikTok. In our world, he's a rock star.And in this episode, he brings the framework that changes everything.Harlan breaks down his SEPFAP model the six major transitions every student must navigate to truly thrive in college: Social, Emotional, Physical, Financial, Academic, and Professional. Most families pour their energy into getting accepted. Harlan's life work is about what happens next.The biggest mistake? Focusing on school rankings and statistics instead of asking what do I actually want, and which of these six areas matters most to my family right now?Harlan's passion for students is undeniable. He's so deep in the trenches helping people that, as he laughs, he barely has time to come up for air. Whether he's on a college campus doing walk-and-talks with random students or writing his next book on the college-to-career transition, this man is relentlessly committed to making sure young people are set up to succeed not just to get in.We also dig into his updated 7th edition of The Naked Roommate and his powerful new initiative at bestfirstyear.com.And yes Shereem boldly predicted the Knicks championship before this episode dropped, and he is absolutely glowing. 🏀🗽🎧 Listen now. Link in comments.

In this powerful episode of Applicaiton to Admission,we sit down with Dr. William R. Brody physician-scientist, entrepreneur, president emeritus of Johns Hopkins University, and coauthor alongside Mike Field of Uncommon Sense: Rethinking Ordinary Problems in Extraordinary Ways.Drawing from decades of experience in medicine, leadership, business, and higher education, Dr. Brody explores the uncomfortable but important truth that academic success alone does not prepare students for the complexity of reallife.Born from his seminar for graduating Johns Hopkins seniors, Uncommon Sense examines what students and families truly need beyond grades and credentials: judgment, adaptability, curiosity, ethical clarity, and the ability to recognize opportunity. In this conversation, we discuss why intelligence is only one part of success, why career planning can sometimes be misleading, and why wise decision-making matters so much in a world without easy answers. Forfamilies navigating the college admission process, this episode is a timely reminder that getting in is not the same as being prepared, and that true success is bigger than prestige.Along the way, we also hear the story of a remarkable leader inspired by visionary leadership at organizations like Bose and Lockheed Martin, while highlighting the greatness of institutions that are too often overlooked, including PurdueUniversity, University of Rhode Island, Ball State University, City College of New York, Grinnell College, and many others. We hope you enjoy this thoughtful and inspiring conversation and leave reminded that leadership, growth, and success are often built in places and through experiences that the world does not always celebrate loudly enough.