We all know the names: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. The most selective colleges in the country are a challenge for even straight-A students to get into. If you’re aiming for admission to an Ivy League college, or college of similar selectivity, earning good grades is no longer enough. What, then, are the top colleges looking for? College Coach consultant and former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer, Elizabeth Heaton, tells us in this free webinar offered by our test prep partner, Revolution Prep. This program offers a sneak peek behind the curtain of an Ivy League admissions office, explains what’s important in the highly selective college admissions process, and offers tips for you to improve your chances of acceptance to a top school.

Watch Elizabeth’s webinar, “Insider’s Guide to Admissions at the Top 2% of Schools,” here.

On this week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Beth Heaton delves into the inner workings of the financial aid office at Babson College and the admissions office at Goucher College and, in between, she gets some great tips on the best way to use resources in your high school counseling office.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Sally Ganga welcomes three College Coach experts to explore how much might be too much to borrow for college, what steps seniors should take if they have received a waitlist admission decision, and NACAC’s national State of College Admission Report. You can listen to the complete show on the Voice America network or by searching for “Getting in: A College Coach Conversation” wherever you get your podcasts.

All too often, we hear students rave about the moment they first set foot on campus for that gorgeous fall tour. Students were clustered in small groups dotting the quad, enjoying the brisk autumn air, discussing Kant or Boaz. A softball game had broken out on the diamond in front of one of the dorms, and these college kids felt effortlessly casual in the way they interacted with one another. In the dining hall, it was lasagna night—with a side of garlic bread, of course—and the conversations drifted from pop culture to the big game to politics. Wow. “From that moment on, I was in love.”

Not so fast, kiddo.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Ian Fisher talks about internships for high school students and tackles a number of our listeners’ questions.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton continued our new series on summer opportunities for high school students. This installment was dedicated to opportunities for the high school writer. In addition, Beth invited guests to talk about the differences between 529 college savings and prepaid tuition plans, and to explore the admission process at Fordham University. Listen to the complete show on VoiceAmerica or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is the second of a four-part series on the subject of overparenting, this post focusing on your part as a parent in the college admissions process.  Make sure to also check out our recently published  post on how to play an appropriate role in your middle schooler’s life , and stay tuned for upcoming posts on including your child in the college finance process and your role as a parent in the life of your college student.

Admissions, Penn Style

Ever wonder how admission officers at the most selective universities read applications? In the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton launched the second installment in the series looking at how admissions decisions are made at a variety of institutions. To help her discuss admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, Beth welcomed her former Penn colleague, College Coach expert Sai Somboon. Together they discussed how applications are read at Penn, helping listeners understand the process a bit better.

It’s that time of year again: people wearing green and raving about the luck of the Irish, as the celebration of St. Patrick makes everyone nostalgic for the leprechaun and his pot of gold.

The latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation focused on following a day in the life of a college admissions officer and financial planning for all four years of college.