Applying to Georgetown, Summer Reading, and Finding Private Scholarships

On last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Ian Fisher welcomed guests to talk through a range of topics, beginning with a behind-the-scenes look at admission to Georgetown University, and kicking off summer with his other two topics: a discussion of summer reading and how important it can be in the college search and application process, and a then a conversation about searching for scholarships in the summer months. Applying to Georgetown University Ian’s first guest, college admission expert Lauren Randle, is a former senior admission officer at Georgetown University. She shared some very valuable insight about the quirks of applying to Georgetown. For example, students apply to one of four distinct colleges, each with its own core curriculum and character. Understanding this is key to a successful application. Lauren also talked about Georgetown’s requirement of 3 subject tests and how this impacts Early Action applicants, and then she and Ian wrapped up the segment with a detailed conversation about the reading and committee process, which again, is very unique to Georgetown. If Georgetown is on your list, you won’t want to miss this segment! Summer Reading and the College Admissions Process For the next segment, Ian was joined by Kyra Tyler to talk about the joys (yes, really!) of summer reading. They discussed the importance of establishing a reading habit, and how becoming a dedicated reader can help with standardized testing. From there they chatted about how reading can help students prepare for college essay writing and offered some (fun!) memoir suggestions for students to enjoy.  Kyra also had some wise words to share about exercising your writing “muscle” during the summer months by journaling. Scholarships with Summer Due Dates Ian’s last guest was college finance expert Laurie Peltier. Laurie and Ian began by agreeing that researching and applying for private scholarships should be a year-round activity. However, the summertime, when everything else slows down, can be a perfect time for scholarship sleuthing. Ian asked about “raffle” scholarships and scholarship essays and how to write them, and Laurie answered those questions and more, while using a few unique scholarships with summer due dates to illustrate her points. From writing an essay about your most embarrassing moment to a maintaining a blog of your family’s summer travels, there are all kinds of ways to win a scholarship—you just have to be willing to put in the work to find them and apply for them. Don’t forget to join us for the next episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, when host Sally Ganga and her guests from the Point Foundation will be talking about applying to college as an LGBTQ student, as well as addressing college finance listener questions with college finance expert Shannon Vasconcelos.