In this episode you will hear: (01:56) Question from a listener: Number 1 Julia and Mark answer a question from a mom who has a son at an independent school and she wants to know whether to hire an outside college counselor when the school her son attends is discouraging, making a hire-2 of 2 (01:15:40) Interview Greg Zaiser-VP of Enrollment at Elon University-Understanding Demonstrated Interest-1 of 2 Part 1-Preview v Greg shares his backstory and you will see, he really knows Elon well v Greg ...
Jul 17, 2025•1 hr 41 min•Season 8Ep. 553
In this episode you will hear: Mark describes why he thinks the decision for the University of Michigan toad a binding Early Decision option for the class of 2026 is such a significant decision that will inevitably impact other universities. Chris Teare is interviewed on a range of topics related to college admissions. Preview of part 2 of 4 o International Baccalaureate program o His admission experience at Drew and what he learned o Demonstrated Interest o Merit Money o Net Price Calculators a...
Jul 14, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 552
In this episode you will hear: (05:04) Question from a listener: Number 1 Julia and Mark answer a question from a mom who has a son at an independent school and she wants to know whether to hire an outside college counselor when the school her son attends is discouraging making a hire (30:31) Question from a listener Number 2 Lisa and Lynda answer a question about which online tools to use for college research. (37:14) Interview Lisa interviews Adrienne Amador-Oddi-The VP of Queens University-Ch...
Jul 10, 2025•59 min•Season 8Ep. 551
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares a big fear that many teens have when it comes to the college admissions process. Mark shares the bombshell announcement from Indiana University. Mark shares the final segment of his breakdown of holistic admissions. Chris Tear is interviewed on a range of topics related to college admissions. Preview of part 1 of 4 v Chris Teare gives his backstory v Chris tells a great story about Ted Fiske that really emphasizes the importance of fit v Chris talks abo...
Jul 07, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 8Ep. 550
In this episode you will hear: (02:07) Question from a listener: Number 1 Julia and Mark answer a question from Emily from Seattle about ACT/SAT scores. (39:08) Question from a listener Number 2 Kevin and Mark discuss a question from Kevin from Arizona about getting an undergraduate degree in China (59:06) Interview Jennifer Mandel from Milwaukee shares her experience of having a student attending a large business school is different from having a student attend a medium size business school Col...
Jul 03, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Season 8Ep. 549
In this episode you will hear: Mark gives a tip about interviews and a tip about the Personal Statement Lynda interviews J Hall, a college Dean in Oklahoma City and the author of the book, “College Unpacked” Preview of part 4 of 4 v J gives his advice for students, parents and college counselors v J goes on the hot seat and J and Lynda end up discussing a lot of books and movies Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via S...
Jun 30, 2025•47 min•Season 8Ep. 548
In this episode you will hear: Question from a listener: Number 1 Julia and Mark answer a question from Sapna and Sivan, two high school students about what is the proper way to use the Additional Information Section of the Common App Question from a listener Number 2 Jennifer Mandel joins Mark to answer a question from Diana from Idaho, and she wants to know if a student has to attend a T-20 college to get a job on Wall Street. Interview Jennifer Mandel from Milwaukee shares her experience of h...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 547
In this episode you will hear: Mark explains what holistic admissions is, how it works and some of the areas of holistic admissions that are often misunderstood Part 2 of 3 Mark shares a few insights from the counseling room on what to do if your financial situation definitely changes. Lynda interviews J Hall, a college Dean in Oklahoma City and the author of the book, “College Unpacked” Preview of part 3 of 4 v J Hall gives some academic advice for students transitioning to college v J talks ab...
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 8Ep. 546
In this episode you will hear: (03:02) Question from a listener: Number 1 Hillary and Mark answer a question from Dale from Virginia. Dale wants to know how the demographic cliff will impact admission decisions (16:40) Question from a listener Number 2 Lisa and Lynda answer a question from a mom from California who wants to know if Columbia University should be avoided because of the protests going on at the campus. (21:46) Interview Jennifer Mandel from Milwaukee shares her experience of having...
Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 8Ep. 545
In this episode you will hear: Mark explains what holistic admissions is, how it works and some of the areas of holistic admissions that are often misunderstood. Lynda interviews J Hall, a college Dean in Oklahoma City and the author of the book, “College Unpacked” - Part 2 Preview v J Hall continues giving tips to parents when they drop off their student at college v J Hall and Lynda talk about the big shopping run, and they give some tips of what to get when shopping v J Hall and Lynda discuss...
Jun 16, 2025•55 min•Season 8Ep. 544
In this episode you will hear: (02:04) Question from a listener: Number 1 Susan and Mark answer a question from a listener who wants to know what her student can do to prepare for a career in architecture (19:26) Interview 1-Mark Stucker interviews Jennifer Mandel from Milwaukee Jennifer Mandel from Milwaukee shares her experience of how joining the right clubs can lead to career opportunities. ² Jen, gives her backstory as a parent of really four business majors, as an educator and as a social ...
Jun 12, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 8Ep. 543
In this episode you will hear: Mark answers a question from a student from Texas and she wants to know why I have soured on BS/MD programs. Lynda interviews J Hall, a college Dean in Oklahoma City and the author of the book, “College Unpacked” Preview v J gives his backstory and like me, he came to college related advising from Christian ministry v J explains why he wrote the book, “College Unpacked and he explains what the heartbeat of the book” v J tells us what the biggest things are that ris...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 542
In this episode you will hear: (02:02) Question from a listener: Number 1 Hillary joins me to discuss a question from a student named Saul from New Hampshire, Saul wants to know, he has heard that some schools use likes and shares to test demonstrated interest and he wants to know if this is correct? (11:05) Question 2 If a student uses a fee waiver, does it stigmatize the student and hurt their chances of admission at Need-Aware colleges? A mom from Maryland asks this question and Julia joins m...
Jun 05, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 541
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares a letter from a listener with extensive medical school admissions experience. Mark shares a lesson from the counseling room about knowing what your career is going to be when you are still a teenager. Mark shares what rising seniors should be doing now. Mark shares some Personal Statement tips. Mark interviews John Pollard, Dean of the Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, Understanding Franke Honors College, Part 2 of 2 Preview ² John con...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 27 min•Season 8Ep. 540
In this episode you will hear: (02:50) Question from a listener: Number 1 Julia joins me to answer a question from Cortnie from Connecticut and she wants to know if it is true that sometimes a college blacklists a high school they are not happy with. (19:04) Question 2 Carter, a student from VA asks a question and we also have a question from an anonymous listener, both questions have to do with preparation for med school. Susan joins me to answer these questions, Part 2 of 2 (41:32) Interview #...
May 29, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Season 8Ep. 539
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares a story from a meeting he had with a mom in Orange County, CA. Mark talks about the dispute Harvard University is currently facing. Mark interviews John Pollard, Dean of the Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, Understanding Franke Honors College, Part 1 of 2 Preview ² Friends, you are going to see why Honors colleges and public John explains how Franke is distinctive from other Honors colleges ² John talks about the Honors Village ² John...
May 26, 2025•48 min•Season 8Ep. 538
In this episode you will hear: (02:24) Question from a listener: Julia joins me to answer a question from a dad from North Carolina who wants to know if there is a way of figuring out class rank or a proxy for it when it is not explicitly listed. (16:20) Second Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary answer a question from a listener who has heard that students should not mention their race in their Personal Statement (24:41) 3rd and 4th questions are both about preparation for med school Car...
May 22, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 537
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares four things from his Texas trip he thinks will be of interest to our listeners. . Mark shares why he does not think high schools should rank students. Mark interviews John Pollard, Dean of Admissions of Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. John gives an overview of Honors Colleges in the United States. Preview o John gives an overview of the national landscape when it comes to Honors Colleges o John explains some outstanding strengths tha...
May 19, 2025•55 min•Season 8Ep. 536
In this episode you will hear: (01:45) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary answer a question from a listener who wants to know how AI is being used in admissions (17:33) Second Question from a listener: Barry from New Jersey wants to know more about dual enrollment, and especially how dual enrollment classes are interpreted by colleges for a physical applicant (42:20) Interview: Mark Stucker and Nate Haveman, VP of enrollment of Hope College Preview of Part 3 of 4 v Nate tells us about wh...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 535
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares two things from his Texas trip he thinks will be of interest to our listeners. . Mark shares how he answers the question, “What Can I Do To Support My Student With The College Admissions Process” Mark interviews John Pollard, Dean of Admissions of Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, Topic, Understanding the University of Arizona Preview of Part 2 of 2 · John talks about the strength of the engineering program · John talks about the stren...
May 12, 2025•55 min•Season 8Ep. 534
In this episode you will hear: (01:36) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary continue giving tips for college fairs but then they discuss how it lands when a student doesn’t have any service hours. (17:33) Interview: Mark Stucker and Nate Haveman, VP of enrollment of Hope College Preview of Part 2 of 4 v Nate and I talk about why college costs so much these days v Nate goes back to Hope Forward and goes into more in depth explaining things like, how are students selected for Hope Forward an...
May 08, 2025•49 min•Season 8Ep. 533
In this episode you will hear: Mark gives out awards in 25 different categories to the 11 colleges he visited in Texas in his 3 weeks he spent in Texas in April. Mark interviews John Pollard, Dean of Admissions of Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, Topic, Understanding the University of Arizona Preview of Part 1 of 2 · John gives his backstory · John shares what changes he has seen at the University of Arizona · John shares the changes at the campus of U of A? · John talks about...
May 05, 2025•46 min•Season 8Ep. 532
In this episode you will hear: (02:30) In The News Vince Garcia and Mark Stucker discuss observations from admission decisions from this year’s class. Part 3 of 3 (16:55) Question from a listener: Mark and Susan answer a question from a listener who wants advice for student who is content getting B’s (50:00) Interview: Mark Stucker and Nate Haveman, VP of enrollment of Hope College Preview of Part 1 of 4 v Nate gives his backstory v Nate explains how Hope is different from other colleges v Nate ...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Season 8Ep. 531
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares many ways colleges make their admit rates look lower than they are. He shows families a few ways to know if a college is doing this. . Lisa interviews Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of the Disengaged Teen Preview of Part 4 ² Rebecca gives us three different insights when it comes to how to appropriately handle technology in your teens life ² Jenny adds the importance of talking with your teen about technology ² Jenny talks about developing...
Apr 28, 2025•48 min•Season 8Ep. 530
In this episode you will hear: (01:55) In The News Vince Garcia and Mark Stucker discuss observations from admission decisions from this year’s class. Part 2 of 3 (18:27) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary answer a question from a listener about how her student can demonstrate interest effectively (39:37) Interview: Mark Stucker and David Blobaum, The Co-Founder of Summit Test Prep Debate whether selective colleges should make the SAT or the ACT mandatory-Part 3 of 3 Preview of Part 3 of...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 38 min•Season 8Ep. 529
Mark shares a new survey he will be doing with YCBK listeners; he shares two recommended resources for studendts Mark then shares a project a parents can do to really help their student out a lot with the college process that he isn’t hearing anyone else talking about . Lisa interviews Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of the Disengaged Teen Preview of Part 3 ² Jennifer starts by talking about what you can do if you have a student who is stuck in resister mode ² Rebecca talks about wh...
Apr 21, 2025•56 min•Season 8Ep. 528
In this episode you will hear: (02:12) In The News Vince Garcia and Mark Stucker discuss observations from admission decisions from this year’s class. (23:34) Question from a listener: Mark and Susan answer a question from an anonymous listener who has a number of questions about selecting an engineering program (56:18) Interview: Mark Stucker and David Blobaum, The Co-Founder of Summit Test Prep Debate whether selective colleges should make the SAT or the ACT mandatory-Part 2 of 3 Preview of Pa...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Season 8Ep. 527
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares insights from two conversations he had with two admission officers at the SACAC conference Mark then shares how a student can get access to the custom prompts that many colleges require in June or early July, instead of in August when the colleges release their Common Apps. . Lisa interviews Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of the Disengaged Teen Preview of Part 2 ² Lisa Jenny and Rebecca continue to talk about the price we are paying as a s...
Apr 14, 2025•51 min•Season 8Ep. 526
In this episode you will hear: (02:32) In The News Andy Strickler shares some of the changes admissions offices are making due to financial pressures. Part 3 of 3 (16:28) Question from a listener: Mark and Hillary answers questions from listeners about if a student applies for aid and doesn’t submit the CSS PROFILE, should that student not be admitted? (42:05) Interview: Mark Stucker and David Blobaum, The Co-Founder of Summit Test Prep Debate whether selective colleges should make the SAT or th...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 43 min•Season 8Ep. 525
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares how the SAT offering the new September SAT offers up some opportunities in their test prep calendar. This does not mean to imply everyone should take the SAT, but most of our listeners will take the SAT, so here is some advice. Mark shares the importance of having a balanced list, and he shares two sad stories that happened this year to students who did not have a balanced list. Stuck shares the 32 hardest to get into public universities and he does it ...
Apr 07, 2025•55 min•Season 8Ep. 524
