Admissions Beat

Like most professions, college admissions has its own internal language, and that distinctive style of communicating is especially true as an application is read and summarized. In a special "quiz bowl" episode that fuses NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me with Jeopardy!, four veteran college counselors—all former admission officers who've read thousands of applications themselves—match wits to decode and decipher the unique lingo and shorthand that admissions officers use as they read an application. For applicants, AB Quiz Bowl offers an inside peek at the many things an admission officer notices, as well as some tips about how to emphasize the points you most want to highlight in your own application.

Sticker shock is real. Perceptions of college affordability represent one of the biggest concerns that most families navigate as a college search unfolds, with a 2024 survey of US voters revealing that 77% of Americans see college as “unaffordable.” This week, the pod tackles that (mis)perception as Admissions Beat becomes “Financial Aid Beat.” Justin Draeger, SVP for Affordability at Strada Education Foundation in Washington D.C., and one of the nation’s leading advocates for college affordability, joins Lee Coffin and Dino Koff from Dartmouth for a primer on the ins and outs of financial aid. The trio reassures families that higher ed really can be affordable as they offer tips on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and colleges' net price calculators, and they help translate some of the “jargony language” that muddies the financial aid conversation and causes unintended confusion.

Like so many things, a college search often looks—and feels—better in hindsight. Parents are important eyewitnesses to a search as it unfolds and concludes, and they have plenty of stories to tell. Two parents from suburban communities full of high-achieving, ambitious students share thoughts and lessons from their children's respective searches a year ago. From the parental POV, they reflect on managing their own expectations and worries, processing the "silent treatment" from a child while "keeping quiet" themselves as they formed opinions and impressions, navigating the chatter of suburbia as well as the instincts of an independent-minded applicant, and planning to do it all again—with lessons learned—as a second child begins an admissions journey

A college application generates a lot of data. "The transcript is the heart of the application," Emily Roper-Doten of Brandeis notes, "and there's a story in that transcript." And while that story seems straightforward, admissions data is easily misunderstood, as a grade point average, SAT score, and class rank (when available) dance with the rigor of a student's curriculum, the teacher recommendations, and the achievement norms shared on a high school profile. In an updated encore episode from Season Four, the new Brandeis dean joins AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth and Jeremiah Quinlan from Yale for a dive into the high school transcript and the role of standardized testing, optional or required. The trio of deans offers a primer on what the numbers mean, which stats matter and why, and how digits or percentages or letters inform an admissions evaluation. 

Let your life speak. That venerable Quaker saying is great advice for any well-constructed college essay, but so many seniors wrestle with writer's block as the "perfect" essay eludes them. In a rebroadcast of a popular episode from Season 4, two veteran college counselors and AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth offer timely tips on composing an effective college essay in 650 words or fewer. “The essays that I love seem so effortless,” Ronnie McKnight from Atlanta’s Paideia School observes. “It is just an introduction of who you are.” Dean Coffin concurs: “What's the takeaway from what you shared?...And what is it about being a camp counselor, for example, that adds to my understanding of you as an applicant or as a member of the class I'm trying to build?” Adds Sherri Geller from Gann Academy in Massachusetts: “The questions and prompts are…things that 17-year-olds could answer. And if they were given this as an assignment in an English class…and just told to sit and write it without the pressure of thinking, ‘Is this going to affect my college admission decision?’ I think they really wouldn't find it to be that hard.”

From the annual conference of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling in Columbus, Ohio, an all-star cast of 12 deans and college counselors joins AB host Lee Coffin and recurring co-host Jacques Steinberg as they ponder the role of community in a college search and the ways an admissions committee "shapes" its campus vibe from the applicants it considers. "An applicant must suss out the institutional DNA," one counselor advises. Another adds, "and then help us see the person who will sit in the classroom or residence hall...and make the place zippy."

For decades, coming to America for university (or "uni," as it's known in the UK) has been the shared goal of students around the world. Today, that plan is less certain as geopolitical issues raise questions about the wisdom—and even the possibility—of coming to America for undergraduate studies. College advisors from the UK and India join AB host Lee Coffin to ponder the enduring value of an international student body as the classes of the 2030s queue up for their admissions journey.

The national admissions beat is abuzz with fast-breaking stories as the next admissions cycle gets underway. “The fundamentals are the fundamentals,” AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin tells recurring co-host and former New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg. “But some policies are in motion.” The AB duo is joined by Matt DeGreef, longtime college counselor at Middlesex School in Massachusetts and a former admission and financial aid officer at Harvard, for a conversation about how best to consume recent news about higher education as you make and shape your college list. 

In the eighth season premiere, AB host Lee Coffin and his guests map the shift from discovering college options to applying to those choices. As high school seniors embrace the next phase of their college search, the Dartmouth dean is joined by a guidance counselor from Connecticut and the deans from Colorado College and Princeton as they offer tips about refining a college list, pondering whether a “frontrunner” has emerged or not, and developing a plan to manage the preparation of the application itself. “It’s time to embrace uncertainty and trust a good result,” Colorado’s Karen Kristof advises.

In the season seven finale, Dartmouth's Kathryn Bezella discusses lessons gleaned from her first year as an admissions dean with Lee Coffin, who just completed his 30th year in such a role. In a candid conversation about what they each bring to the conference table where decisions are made, the Dartmouth duo muse about the "roller coaster dynamic" of leading a very selective admissions process, mastering its invisible gears, overcoming nerves, and juggling various priorities while preserving and respecting each student's voice in an increasingly high volume of applications.  

For many high school seniors, the college search is an all-consuming process with three clear goals: apply to college, get into college, pick a college. Then, in May, it comes to a hard stop. Now what? Mary Pat McMahon, vice president and vice provost for student affairs at Duke University and AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth map out in both practical and philosophical terms the transition from searching for a college to enrolling in one. Drawing on many years of experience in a variety of academic settings, they share tips on navigating the aftermath of the college admissions process as the proverbial baton gets passed from the admissions office to student affairs.

Meet Luis Aguero, a first-generation college-bound student from San Bernardino, Paraguay. Self-taught in English as well as the unfamiliar ways of the college admissions process in the United States, Luis navigated his admissions process entirely on his own: "I didn't have any information at all, I had to go out of my way to learn about the colleges, to learn about admissions and how it works..." He followed his dream toward an American undergraduate experience with the help of the U.S. State Department's EducationUSA program in Paraguay, a book he found about college admissions, and a certain podcast that appeared in his newsfeed. "There's a lot of talk about holistic admissions, but listening to you made me believe it," he tells Coffin. To anyone without a working knowledge of selective college admissions, Luis offers an accessible playbook for self-advocacy. 

Mindy Kaling joins AB for its 100th episode as the multi-talented Hollywood star and Dartmouth alumna remembers her own college admissions process in which "I wasn't thinking about the correct things." A high-achieving "comedy nerd" who had been weaned on "mountains of flashcards,” Mindy ponders her journey from home to college as she battled procrastination and a lack of confidence and  faced her immigrant family’s high expectations for admissions “success.” Mindy candidly muses about "striving to feel special" as she "chased the feeling of acceptance" as a Latin-loving, theater-focused high school student. She shares the salient lessons of disappointment after her initial college ambitions did not materialize as well as her serendipitous "pivot" towards new opportunities as she moved forward. Whether auditioning for a role, creating a script, or penning a college essay, Mindy underscores the value of "authenticity and freshness" in one's storytelling as she advises future applicants to "be unafraid to be yourself."

AB's third annual open-ended conversation with applicants and parents at Dartmouth's admitted student open house offers insights and tips from those who have just navigated a successful college search. AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin and recurring cohost Jacques Steinberg field wide-ranging comments and questions about admissions-induced procrastination, the value of authenticity in storytelling, and stress management in the face of looming deadlines and decisions. As one student observes, "Trust yourself, because you know yourself best." 

Extracurricular activities, which are essential ingredients of any college application, yield lessons and skillsets that animate a student's story. Reflecting on his own experience in the drama club at Shelton High School in Connecticut, AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin welcomes Gary and Fran Scarpa, the longtime directors of Shelton's drama program, for an unusually personal conversation about what Coffin learned from being actively involved in their productions. "You made me an extrovert," he tells them. The trio reflects on how lessons from the stage—or from a playing field, lab, or church youth group—inform the discovery phase of a college search and provide rich material for the application narrative. Although everyone wants to be a winner, "you don’t aways get the part,” Lee advises applicants. “You’re not all going to be the valedictorian of your class. How do you perform, learn, grow from what you have? Why are you doing what you do when you are not in class? How does it enliven the story of you? Bring that forward.”

Veteran college counselor Doug Burdett, from Brunswick School in Connecticut, joins his longtime colleague and AB host Lee Coffin as they ponder the lessons from their 30-year careers on both sides of the admissions counseling desk. Drawing from those innumerable interactions with students and parents, they muse about the unintended pitfalls that can misdirect a college search just as it gets started. Burdett advises prospective applicants and parents to "focus on community, not the name" as the impulse to "dream big" is balanced against a more pragmatic need to proceed with a sense of what's responsible and realistic. "A terrible list," warns Burdett, "is imbalanced." And if you don’t like an option after exploring it, Burdett says that's "fantastic," because "everything you learn helps test your assumptions about what you like.”

Marcia Hunt, past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the longtime dean of college advising at Florida's Pine Crest School, joins AB host Lee Coffin as he recreates his "Advice to Parents" presentation from Pine Crest's junior kickoff in January. As he shares his tips for successful admissions parenting, Hunt offers context for what he advises as she channels her work with literally thousands of families over the course of her long tenure. She also shares thoughts on how to be a cooperative parent and how to maintain a happy home as a college search kicks into high gear. "Children will listen," Coffin muses as he highlights a memorable passage from Sondheim's poignant musical, Into the Woods. "They do," Marcia concurs.

College admission decisions for the high school class of 2025 have landed, and now it's time for seniors and their parents to assess those outcomes and move towards an enrollment decision by the National Candidate's Reply Date on May 1. Chris Gruber from Davidson College in North Carolina and college counselor Kate Ramsdell from Noble & Greenough School in Massachusetts join AB host Lee Coffin to guide students through April with confidence and a sense of purpose.

Twenty-five years after New York Times education reporter Jacques Steinberg, author of The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College, spent a year observing at close range the selection process at Wesleyan University, Steinberg joined admission officers at Dartmouth for a day inside its selection committee. After his "fly on the wall" day in Hanover, he quizzes Admissions Beat host and Dartmouth dean Lee Coffin about what he saw and heard as applicants from California entered the admissions spotlight. "I would smile when a student would take the time to tell you something that really made them a person, where you could actually almost see and feel having them there. And you all got that message, surfaced it, talked about it. It became part of the discussion," Steinberg tells Coffin, reassuring applicants that the time and care they put into telling their stories to colleges is well worth the effort.

For any college admissions officer, reading and evaluating an application is the work of the work. It is the heart of the admissions process itself, its most essential task. Reading season is the moment when recruitment yields to selection, when assessing merit and potential becomes a blend of reflection and decision as each application is evaluated and a class is shaped. The Dartmouth-based cast of last year's "Learning to Read," AB's most downloaded episode, reunites for a second, heartfelt conversation about their work as admission readers in a most selective admissions environment. The trio offer insights into "what counts" as each moves from file to file, and each reveals the invisible humanity that animates the work of the work.