College Admissions Consulting Making the Final College Decision and Listener Questions Written by Emily Toffelmireon May 3rd, 2018 I came to College Coach after working for many years in college admissions and high school counseling. As a school counselor, I assisted students in the college application process and wrote hundreds of letters of recommendation, while also helping them and their families cope with any emotional, social, and academic concerns throughout the year. I transitioned from the high school setting to the admissions office when I joined the University of Southern California as an assistant director, reading freshmen and transfer applications and collaborating on admission decisions for over 150 majors, including the liberal arts, engineering, business, cinema, and the fine and performing arts. I subsequently took on the role of senior assistant director in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where I coordinated the division's Mork, Stamps, Trustee, Presidential and Dean's merit scholarship selection process, as well as recruitment publications and outreach, and traveled everywhere from Honolulu to Miami presenting to and interviewing hundreds of applicants each year. Learn More About Emily college choice, On this week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Sally Ganga talks about the choosing between admission offers and tackles a number of our listeners’ questions. Making the Big Decision College Coach admissions educator Mary Sue Youn joins Sally to offer tips on how to make the most informed college decision by May 1. She encourages students who are visiting (or revisiting) campuses for admitted student programs to go off the beaten path: sit in on classes, visit the office of activities, and strike up conversations with current students who are not part of that day’s official program. If you can’t make it to campus, use colleges’ websites to go in-depth with your research, whether to look up lists of clubs, the course catalog, or the departmental page for your prospective major. For undecided students, Mary Sue stresses the importance of looking into the advising and mentoring resources provided by each campus. Listener Questions After the break, Sally is joined by college finance educator Kathy Ruby to take on listeners’ finance and admissions questions. Finance When do I submit the FAFSA for my college sophomore? Do we have to pay capital gains taxes on distributions from our 529 plan? When do we actually borrow loans? Do I have to report outside scholarships to the college where I’ll be enrolling? Where can we find outside scholarships late in the game? Admissions Is it okay for an undecided applicant to submit recommendations from two humanities teachers? How do colleges count years of foreign language if you took some of your courses in junior high? What’s the best way to get an early start on the admission process for a student of color? Can I take SAT Subject exams even if I’m not taking the SAT? Is it a bad idea to apply Early Decision to a college if a more competitive peer is also doing so? Should mental health issues be disclosed before or after admission? Want one of your questions answered on air? Submit them here. And tune in to our next episode to learn about more about how to select a major, Ivy League and athletic recruitment, and income-driven repayment plans. Related Resources Read | Posted on April 16th, 2024 Understanding Direct Admission: A Pathway to Success Read | Posted on April 10th, 2024 Acceptance by Emi Nietfeld; Why You Should Fill out the FAFSA Read | Posted on April 9th, 2024 Community Colleges with Campus Housing
