College Admissions Consulting Types of Institutions: Liberal Arts & Polytechnic; Loud Budgeting Written by Ian Brook Fisheron May 1st, 2024 I began my career in admissions by walking backwards as a student intern, giving guided tours, interviewing students, and reading applications for my alma mater, Reed College. After graduating, I began full-time work in admissions, reading thousands of applications primarily from the Western United States, especially Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. (I got to eat the best food on my travel!) In my last three years at Reed, I directed admissions for the entire continent of Asia and served as the director of marketing and communications for the admission office, honing our official voice for web, print, and social media. This helped me to develop a sharp eye for what works (and what doesn’t) in college essays. While Reed is not known (at all!) for sports, I was able to find my competitive outlet with the ultimate Frisbee team as a player and, when I graduated, a coach. After nine wonderful years at Reed, I left Portland to pursue a M.A. at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. When I graduated and joined College Coach, I was living in Palo Alto, California, an experience that helped me learn so much about the UC and CSU system and high school programs all around the Bay Area. In the end, I missed the rain too much, and moved back to Portland in the summer of 2016. Learn More About Ian getting in, liberal arts, budgeting, polytechnic institute, Confused by some of the terms you hear that describe colleges? Host Ian Fisher and his guests, College Coach admissions counselors Serena Frisina, formerly of Lewis & Clark University, and Zaragoza Guerra, formerly of Cal Tech and MIT, will be diving into what is meant by the descriptors “a liberal arts education” and “a polytechnic institute.” You may be surprised by the explanation. And do you know what loud budgeting is? Michelle Smoley, College Coach finance expert, explains. To listen to other episodes, visit Getting In: A College Coach Conversation on VoiceAmerica or search for us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, please leave us a rating or review! We appreciate your feedback. Related Resources Read | Posted on December 4th, 2024 Best Gifts for the Student in Your Life Read | Posted on November 26th, 2024 What Are the Different Types of Architecture Programs? Read | Posted on November 22nd, 2024 Top 7 Reasons to Use College Coaching