Humanities Degrees, Demonstrated Interest, and Help with the FAFSA

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Ian Fisher welcomes a special guest to discuss what you can do with a humanities degree. During Office Hours, he talks with colleagues to better understand what demonstrated interest means and goes on to cover where to get help filling out the FAFSA. Humanities Degrees Ian welcomes Olivia Maki to talk about her decision to major in Art History at Reed College and how what she learned translates into her professional life. Given her major, you may assume she works in a museum or art gallery. Spoiler alert: she does not. So what valuable skills did she learn from her humanities degree? Tune in to find out! Demonstrated Interest You may have heard of this term but aren’t sure what it means. Kyra Tyler joins Ian to talk through what demonstrated interest is and why colleges it matters to colleges. She provides insight into which colleges are most likely to consider a student’s demonstrated interest in their admissions process. Ian and Kyra also discuss ways students can maximize demonstrating their interest while avoiding annoying the admissions officer. Help with the FAFSA For listeners who have a senior applying to college, the FAFSA application is opening on October 1. Families often find this form daunting, so Ian speaks with Jan Combs to better understand the variety of supports available to families. The FAFSA website has a lot of great features that include support videos, FAQ, a chat function, and more. Jan also shares some in-person state and local options available to families during the fall. Although this is a student form, it does require both student and parent information, so Jan encourages families to sit down and fill the form out together. Don’t miss our next episode where host Elizabeth Heaton will talk about the top five mistakes students make on college applications and discuss college finance and admissions questions during Office Hours.