Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In middle school Anton fell in love with Stem Cells. He knew he wanted to go to college and pursue this more. Unfortunately, he did not have the means to pay for college. On this podcast Anton shares his undergraduate journey from High School, to Community College of Philadelphia and now Cheyney University, High School Interests, Research & Internships over 7 years, Majoring in Biology and Advice for High Schoolers. Check Out: The College Appli...
Jul 02, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 401
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Chase is a 2024 Coke Scholar. In this Podcast, Mark talks about his passion for filmmaking and student-run film festival SWIFF, Winning the Coca-Cola Scholarship, his college search process, and his advice to High Schoolers. #CokeScholars Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors In particular, we discuss the...
Jun 27, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 400
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Chase is a 2024 Coke Scholar. In this Podcast, Suraj talks about his passion for STEM and Innovation, ISMER Research, Winning the Coca-Cola Scholarship, his college search process, and his advice to high schoolers. #CokeScholars Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors In particular, we discuss the following...
Jun 25, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 399
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Every year the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards a select set of High School Seniors the Coca Cola Scholarship. Chase is a 2024 Coke Scholar. In this Podcast, Chase talks about his initiatives on Educational Inequities Eco Brothers, Winning the Coca-Cola Scholarship, his college search process, and his advice to high schoolers. #CokeScholars Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors In particular, we discuss the follow...
Jun 21, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 398
Sign Up to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Phil started coaching kids at Colorado Academy sometime after college. He deferred his admission to Law School to do this. But Phil found himself enjoying coaching. He enjoyed working with kids. Today, 3 decades later, Phil is the Director of College Counseling at St. Mary’s Academy. Phil joins us on our podcast to talk about his background, St Mary’s Academy, Counseling Approach, Challenges, Success Stories, and his Advice for High School students. ...
Jun 18, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 397
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In High School, Emily was a theater kid. She was into music. She was in a number of clubs ranging from National Honor Society to Science Olympiad. Her favorite subjects were STEM courses, but she was really confused about what major to pursue in college. But Emily was clear that she wanted to do UG Research, from Day One in college! Emily joins our podcast to share her undergraduate college journey at the Honors College at Drexel University, Infant...
Jun 13, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 396
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Shilpi has a varied set of interests. In High School, Shilpi pushed herself academically taking a heavy load of AP courses, did credit card research as part of AP Capstone. She started a cricket club in her Freshman year which grew to 50 people. In this Podcast, Shilpi talks about her High School Journey, her interest Quilting, Choosing Math as a Major, her college search process, and her advice for high schoolers. In particular, we discuss the fol...
Jun 11, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 395
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter The 2023-24 College Application Season is almost in the books. It is a good time to step back and reflect for the benefit of the next set of high school seniors and parents. And who better to help us than the College Counselors who guided the current graduating seniors through the college process. I talked to over half-dozen High School College Counselors from across the US to put together this episode. Check Out: The College Application Workbooks ...
Jun 01, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 394
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter It is not often that I get to go back and have a follow up conversation with a guest. When I last spoke with Rishika, she had just won the Coke Scholarship, just graduated from High School and was headed to Brown University. Rishika has just completed her sophomore year at Brown. In this episode, Rishika shares her undergraduate experiences at Brown University, Passion for Disability & Design, Research, and Custom Design Major. Check Out: The C...
May 30, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 393
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Brian was a long distance runner in High School. He was the co-president of the Outdoor Adventure Club. In the classroom, he enjoyed STEM courses. He decided to attend CSU Long Beach which offered him the Presidential Scholarship and it was close to home. Brian joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at the Honors Program CSU Long Beach, The Presidential Scholarship, Transition to College, Internship, EE Major, and Advice for H...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 392
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In the 9th Grade while in High School in India, Nia decided that she wanted to pursue college abroad. She was interested in Biology, Math. She was part of Model UN. When it was time to apply for college, Nia approached Education USA for guidance. Nia joins us on our podcast to share her freshman experience at Creighton, Transition to Creighton, Research, Campus Activities, and Advice for International Applicants. Check Out: The College Application ...
May 28, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 391
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Taylor has always loved Science. Particularly Biology & Math. In High School, she discovered Photography, which provided her with a creative outlet. Taylor discovered research through a summer program in high school, something that has shaped her education career so far. Taylor joins our podcast to share her undergraduate experience at Loyola University Chicago, Interest in Viruses and Diseases, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, and Advice for...
May 27, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 390
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Prof. Weldon got his start in research early. As a sophomore in High School, he worked at the National Institutes of Health. He pursued Biology in college leading up to his doctorate. During his post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, Prof Weldon became very interested in Protein Engineering. Prof. Weldon joins us on our podcast to talk about UG Research in Biological Sciences at Towson University, CUR’s role, Impact of Research ...
May 21, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 389
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Tarana’s family love to travel and explore. Touring Sainte Chapelle in Paris, for example, made a lasting impression on young Tarana. In her High School in India, Tarana found herself drawn to the theater and arts. She especially enjoyed the creative aspects like script writing, set production design. When time came for guidance on US colleges, Tarana turned to Education USA. Advisor Deborah Rosario guided & helped her with the college process....
May 18, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 388
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter This April, I had the privilege of doing a series of conversations with undergraduate researchers at NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California. This is the last in a series of 3 episodes based on those conversations. On this Episode we feature 4 Student Researchers on a variety of topics from College Athlete Brand Valuation, Impact US Military base presence in Japan Study, Web Comics and Music Curriculum for the Hard of Hearing. The students are Mikes Le...
May 11, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 387
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter This April, I had the privilege of doing a series of conversations with undergraduate researchers at NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California. This is the Second in a series of 3 episodes based on those conversations. On this Episode we feature 4 Student Researchers on a range of topics from Hospitals to School Boards. The students are Tobi Ojo of Virginia Commonwealth University, Susanna Kim of Johns Hopkins University, Tim Schulz of St. Catherine Univ...
May 09, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 386
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter This April, I had the privilege of doing a series of conversations with undergraduate researchers at NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California. This is the First in a series of 3 episodes based on those conversations. On this Episode we feature 3 Student Researchers. Their research is broadly related to Inequities in society. Our Guests: The students are Lucas Wolk of Moravian University in Pennsylvania, Sriman Thangarajan of American Univ in DC, and Wil...
May 07, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 385
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter In High School. Maura was known for 2 things: Environment Sustainability and an obsession with Japan. She was the president of the Ecology club. She was creative. Good at Science. Math, not so much. So, she felt she wouldn’t be successful as a technical environmental professional. Maura joins our podcast to share her undergraduate college journey at the Honors College at Drexel University, Environmental Sustainability, Co-Ops Experiences, Custom De...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 384
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Christina was involved in a lot of activities in High School. She was at Science Fairs. She was on the Tennis team, quiz bowl. She did choir, theater, acapella, and leadership roles. But Science was her main thing. Christina joins our podcast to share her undergraduate experience at Haverford College, Interest in Research, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, and Advice for High Schoolers. In particular, we discuss the following with her: Overall Hav...
Apr 29, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 383
Sign Up to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter US Colleges cost quite a bit, to put it mildly. For International Students, cost is quite often the primary factor. Given Aparna’s experience guiding Int’l students, we turned to her for a Primer and tips on Financial Aid for International students. On our podcast, Aparna gives us an overview of Financial Aid for Int’l Students, College Cost, Merit Scholarships, Graduate Study Aid, Resources and Tips for Int’l High School students. In particular, we ...
Apr 21, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 382
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Dean Nicola Foote discovered Honors education, when she came to the US after getting her PhD in History from University College London. She found that Honors education allowed students to explore different disciplines in addition to being part of a community. Three years ago, Dean Foote became the Dean of Frederick Honors College University of Pittsburgh. On this Podcast, Dean Foote introduces the Frederick Honors College, BPhil & Experiential ...
Apr 20, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 378
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Growing up, Deniz was interested in Science. He enjoyed AP classes in High School. He was on the robotics team for 8 years, and went to summer STEM camps. When COVID happened Deniz cold emailed a Prof in Dept of Neuroscience in Virginia Tech to do research. Shortly thereafter, Deniz was doing cognitive tests on mice, with touchscreen devices! Deniz joins our podcast to share his University of Virginia undergraduate experience, Interest in Neuroscie...
Apr 20, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 381
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter This admissions season, FAFSA delays have cast a huge shadow. Jodi Foxx of Charlotte Christian and Tom Stepkoski of Westhill High School have different perspectives based on the experiences at their school. In this episode, the two Counselors share the FAFSA Impact on their students, How Colleges have been Responding, the New FAFSA features, and Learnings from this experience. Topics discussed in this episode: FAFSA Delays Impact [] Current Status ...
Apr 08, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 380
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Rayyan was working 30 hour weeks while in High School. Outside of that, Rayyan was more likely to be playing basketball or video games. Then in his senior year he took some “sciency” classes, as he calls it, and did well and liked them! He felt Science might be his thing. Rayyan joins our podcast to share his UC Riverside undergraduate experience, UG Research, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, Pursuing in Bioengineering, and his Advice for High Sc...
Apr 06, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 379
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Swimming took up a lot of Grant’s time in high school. So he had little time to think about his career and beyond. He did get interested in Biology later in high school, and was involved in Biology competitions. Grant joins our podcast to share his UC Irvine undergraduate experience, UG Research in Antibiotics, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, Pursuing in Chemistry, and his Advice for High Schoolers. In particular, we discuss the following with h...
Mar 30, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 377
Sign Up to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter While he was in grad school, Chris Boehm applied for a College Admissions job at Albright College after seeing an ad in the Newspaper.Chris didn’t get that job, but the job description intrigued him. So, he cold emailed the President of the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling. The President invited him for a chat and connected him with 3 College Admissions professionals. One of them was the Director of Admissions at Albright. Th...
Mar 27, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 381
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter College Campus Visits are a crucial part of the College Process. It is a great way to get a feel for College in general, and certainly can help you, if that college is of particular interest to you. Paula Dennis joins our podcast to share her insights into College Campus Visits, The Benefits, How to Plan for them, Senior Shilpi Bardhan on her Fly-in Experiences and Advice for Juniors. In particular, we discuss the following with them: The Importanc...
Mar 18, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 375
Sign Up to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter When Dr. Chakravarthy was deciding what to study in college, she chose Physics because her father wanted her to. Left to herself, she would have pursued Nutrition and Dietetics. Today, decades later, she heads 10X International School, where Experiential Programs allow the High Schoolers to explore and experience different disciplines & ideas, do research, build products, and in the process get a really good idea of what college program or career...
Mar 14, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 374
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter Phillip liked to build things. Like growing popsicle sticks in elementary school. Technology fascinated him. At the same time he loved Humanities. He loved History. When he started applying to Colleges, he hadn’t figured out whether he wanted to take the Liberal Arts route or pursue Engineering. Phillip joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at Olin College, Researching Government databases, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, ...
Mar 08, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 373
Subscribe to Receive Venkat’s Weekly Newsletter This is a special episode of the Podcast “College Matters. Alma Matters.”, featuring UG students from CUR’s Program called Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR) 2024. In this episode, Student Researchers from Five Institutions, Mercer University, McLennan Community College, University of Rochester, Piedmont University, and Towson University, tell their stories. Topics discussed in this episode: Introduction [] Mercer University UG Research [...
Mar 05, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 372
