Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews

Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews

Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission InterviewsAdmission Interviews Our mission is to "make college knowledge available to all." Each Thursday, the "Your College-Bound Kid" podcast will discuss a hot college topic in the news; we will answer a question or two that listeners send in, we will interview a "thought leader" in the world of college admissions, and do a "deep-dive," we call Spotlights on a College. Every Monday, we have a second episode to discuss a "hot topic" and interview a "thought leader" in the admissions or college life world. YCBK combines "in-depth knowledge" with a light, easy-to-listen conversational style. We have eight co-hosts, six college counselors, and two current admissions officers, including an Admissions Dean

Episodes

YCBK 539: Do Colleges Blacklist High School’s That They Do Not Like

May 29, 2025 • 89 mins
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 s...
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YCBK 538: Students Are Facing Peer Pressure to Attend College With Low Acceptance Rates

May 26, 2025 • 48 mins
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 Admissions of 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 d...
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YCBK 537: Advice for Students Who Are Thinking About Going to Med School

May 22, 2025 • 71 mins
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 Stateme...
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YCBK 536: Reasons Why High Schools Should Not Rank Students by Grade Point Average

May 19, 2025 • 55 mins
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 ...
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YCBK 535: How Are Admissions Offices Using AI to Evaluate Students

May 15, 2025 • 66 mins
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,  V...
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YCBK 534: What Can I Do To Support My Student With The College Admissions Process

May 12, 2025 • 54 mins
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...
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YCBK 533: What Do Colleges Think When A Student Doesn’t Have Any Service Hours

May 8, 2025 • 48 mins
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 mor...
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YCBK 532: Awards Are Given Out To Texas Universities in 25 Different Categories

May 5, 2025 • 46 mins
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 U...
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YCBK 531: What is your advice for a student who is content getting B’s

May 1, 2025 • 89 mins
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 g...
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YCBK 530: Ways in Which Colleges Make Their Acceptance Rates Look Lower Than They Really Are

April 28, 2025 • 47 mins
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 importa...
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YCBK 529: An interview with Jim Bock, Dean and VP at Swarthmore College-3 of 3

April 24, 2025 • 98 mins
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 co...
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YCBK 528: A Way For A Parent To Help With College That No One Is Talking About

April 21, 2025 • 56 mins
    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 d...
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YCBK 527: What You Need To Know About Majoring in Engineering

April 17, 2025 • 110 mins
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 sele...
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YCBK 526: How To Get Access to the College-Specific Custom Prompts Before Aug 1st

April 14, 2025 • 50 mins
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...
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YCBK 525: A Debate About Whether ACT/SAT Scores Should Be Mandatory

April 10, 2025 • 102 mins
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-Founde...
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YCBK 524: What Are The Hardest 32 Public Colleges To Get Admitted To

April 7, 2025 • 55 mins
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...
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YCBK 523: Changes In How Admissions Decisions Are Being Made Due to Financial Pressures

April 3, 2025 • 72 mins
In this episode you will hear:   (02:05) In The News Andy Strickler shares some of the changes admissions offices are making due to financial pressures.   (16:34) Question from a listener:  Mark and Hillary talk about the things you should not do when attending a college fair.   (41:12) Interview: What employers look for when making hiring decisions, Dawn Williamson, Chief Revenue officer of Media Solutions for Comcas...
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YCBK 522: What Should 9th, 10th and 11th Graders, and their Parents Be Doing Now

March 31, 2025 • 54 mins
In this episode you will hear:   Mark Stucker shares when a student and parent should complete the portions of the college application process that are the most time consuming.   Mark interviews Rob Franek, Editor and Chief of the Princeton Review on the Latest “College Hopes and Worries” Survey Preview of Part 2 v  Rob talks about the responses from the student survey to the question, how far from home do you want to go for col...
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YCBK 521: The Do’s and the Don’ts When Attending a College Fair

March 27, 2025 • 82 mins
In this episode you will hear:   (05:44) In The News Andy Strickler breaks a lot of news in this 3-part discussion, part 1 looks at how college’s are handling the backlash against DEI initiatives   (28:30) Question from a listener:  Mark and Hillary talk about the things you should do when attending a college fair.    (48:50) Interview: What employers look for when making hiring decisions, Dawn Williamson, Chief Reve...
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YCBK 520: What Has Students & Parents Worried When It Comes To College

March 24, 2025 • 47 mins
In this episode you will hear:   Mark Stucker shares what parts of the college application process are the most time-consuming. Mark interviews Rob Franek, Editor and Chief of the Princeton Review on the Latest “College Hopes and Worries” Survey Preview of Part 1 ²  Rob shares how the survey was done ²  Rob tells us what students and parents found to be the hardest part of the college admissions process ²  Rob shares what the ...
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