To kick off the season, Brennan and Rick are joined by returning champion, Juan Espinoza (Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech), to dive into how Virginia Tech has adopted artificial intelligence to help with the essay reading process, how that has affected their timeline, and his advice to students approaching the essay writing process this fall. LINKS The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Juan Espinoza Humans And AI Collaborate To Review College Admission E...
Rick and Brennan are back from summer vacation and ready for the FOURTH(!) season of The Truth About College Admission Podcast. Today, the pair recap their summers, preview a format update to the episodes this season, and reflect on a word they're thinking about for the upcoming admissions cycle. LINKS Brennan's Substack: The Application Trail The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark Production: Jack Purdy
In our Season 3 bonus episode, Rick and Brennan visit the College Parent Central podcast with Elizabeth Hamblet and Vicki Nelson to talk about communication during the college search, realistic expectations, how schools evaluate prospective students, how college is an opportunity, and focusing on long term relationships with family. See the video version here Hosts: Elizabeth Hamblet, Vicki Nelson Guests: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark Production (TACA cut): Jack Purdy
In the Season 3 finale of The Truth About College Admission, Rick and Brennan go over their favorite episodes from the season, what news items in higher education have caught their eyes lately, and what this summer they will be keeping tabs on as we head into the 2025-2026 college admission cycle. Links: Loper Scoir The Truth About College Admission Newsletter June Essay webinar with Shereem Herndon-Brown and Allison Slater Tate The Truth About Navigating the Admission Process - Dr. Ramon B...
Brennan and Rick are joined by returning guests Diane Campbell and Allison Slater Tate to run through their impressions of the last academic year and what the summer should look like for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. LINKS The Truth About Artificial Intelligence and Applying to College Diane Campbell Bio The Truth About Admission at the Holidays Allison Slater Tate The Truth About Mindful Communication Between Families and Their Students Georgia Tech Admission Blog on...
Brennan and Rick are joined by a fantastic duo, Karen Bartlett (Associate Director of International Admissions at Middlebury College) and Sara Riggs (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Georgia Tech) to highlight what international students bring to American college campuses, what the enrollment trends have shown in the last decade, and how international students can find community at American colleges. LINKS: Loper Open Doors Report Common Data Set "The Two Most Important Let...
Brennan and Rick have an epic pod this week joined by Melodie Baker (Founder & Executive Director of ImpactSTATS Inc.) and Akil Bello (Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at FairTest) for a massive deep dive into Melodie's research into what the current role of calculus in college admissions is, how it's used as a date point at selective colleges, and then talk on College Board's role in pre-calculus. Links: Impact Stats Akil Bello's website Merit: Myths and Money - Bello The Tr...
Rick and Brennan are joined by Heath Einstein, the Vice Provost of Enrollment Management at Texas Christian University, to go over what a deferral means in the admissions process, what students should do in response to the decision and while they wait for the next decision to come, and the mentality to take on when your top school sends a deferral decision. Links: Deferred Admission - Georgia Tech Heath Einstein Named Vice Provost for Enrollment Management - TCU Truth About College Admissions...
Brennan and Rick are joined by Sacha Thieme, Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of Admissions at Indiana University, to talk about best practices for visiting colleges, the preparation that is useful before going for a campus visit, and what college visits can do as for high schoolers evolving their thinking in the college search process. Links: Ask The Same Questions, again and again… - Clark Throw a Dart, Drop a Pin - Truth About College Admissions Workbook Don’t Waste Your Col...
Rick and Brennan are back from holidays and are here with their hopes for 2025 in college admissions, what they're looking out for in the industry, and their timely tips for the January portion of the admissions calendar. Links: Admission Leaders Share Resolutions For College Applicants - Forbes Immunity to Change - Kegan and Lahey College Uncovered - NPR "Ask The Same Questions" - Clark Truth About College Admissions Newsletter Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark Production: Jack Purdy
Rick and Brennan close out the 2024 calendar year to discuss their favorite guests and what they drew from those conversations. Then, a review of the big issues in college admission that stuck out to them in 2024 with a look ahead to what they're hopeful to see in 2025. Hopefully no more holiday deadlines for applications! Links: Fewer race-based scholarships and a new culture of fear follow the end of affirmative action - The Hechinger Report Ask Lisa Podcast: Getting into College with Rick...
In one of our favorite episodes yet, Dan Lugo, current President of Queens University of Charlotte and future President at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, joins Brennan and Rick to talk about his unique admissions journey, how a college president can impact a campus positively, and how parents can best approach helping their child seek the transformative experience college can provide. Links: The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Postelection Uncertainty Looms Large For Presidents -...
Rick and Brennan are joined by Dianne Campbell, the Director of College Counseling at Liberty Common High School, where they talk about how to manage the conversations that are bound to come up for kids going through the college admissions process over the next month, how to frame the conversation in a healthy way for kids, and if necessary, ways to deflect the conversation to draw out stories from the adults in the room about their experiences. Links: The Truth about College Admission Newsl...
Rick is joined by Adam Miller from the beautiful Whitman College to give a rundown of the kinds of responses students may get for their early action/decision applications and what do to in each situation, whether it be admitted, deferred, or denied, or even alternative scenarios that may arise. Links: The Truth about College Admission Newsletter Host: Rick Clark Guest: Adam Miller Production: Jack Purdy
Brennan and Rick are joined by Liz Chreron, CEO of the Coalition for College Access and proud Boston College graduate, to go over what application review looks like, why it's done the way it's done, how it's done, and how to best approach this time of the admissions cycle for parents and students. Links: Coalition for College website The Truth About College Admission Newsletter Hosts: Rick Clark, Brennan Barnard Guest: Liz Cheron Production: Jack Purdy
Dan Porterfield, author and President + CEO of the Aspen Institute, joins Rick and Brennan to dive into the value of college from different perspectives (family, individual, societal, financial), some stories from Dan's time as a college president, and advice as to how to approach being at college and how to support people currently in college. Links: Mindset Matters - Dan Porterfield The Parents Aren't Alright - The Daily On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health C...
Brennan and Rick are joined by the Associate Provost and Director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC, Jackie Copeland, to talk through a primer of the FAFSA (both what it is and why to fill it out), the cost of college (and why it is so high), and the crucial roles that parents can fill for their kids navigating college for the first time. LINKS: How it feels to be a college student whose parents can’t let go - Slate Education Department Delays FAFSA Launch for Most Student...
For the first interview of season 3, Rick and Brennan are joined by Juan Espinoza, the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech to discuss his admission journey from applying to schools to becoming Vice Provost, how the mission of Virginia Tech drives his work, and what he is excited about how AI can positively influence the admissions process. Links referenced in the episode: CGN’s AVA: Bringing 24/7 "Enhanced Expert AI" Guidance to College and Career Planning and Success - Y...
We're back! Season three of The Truth about College Admission is here as we recap our summers and look ahead to what this season of the podcast will bring us. Subscribe to our newsletter! Books and essays mentioned in this episode: Brave New Words: How Ai Will Revolutionize Education (And Why That's A Good Thing) - Salman Khan Mindset Matters: The Power Of College To Activate Lifelong Growth - Dan Porterfield I’m a College President and I Hope My Campus Is Even More Political This Year - N...
Brennan and Rick are joined by Sam Bernstein and Eric Menna, the cofounders of Loper, to talk through how their college admission journeys influenced the creation of Loper, how the app provides assistance during the college search process, and what data from users has shown in giving a more complete picture of needs and wants for students figuring out their next steps in higher education. LINKS: Loper The College Admission Blind Taste Test - Forbes The Truth About College Admission Newslett...