Congrats to all those seniors who have made their decision and deposited at the college they will attend next fall. Now what? We have what you need to know about what comes next. In our ongoing medical school series, we’re covering all the pre-med application options for high school students, from BS/MD, BS.DO, early assurance, and straight up pre-med. Finally, we’re discussing all the work options for traditional college students, from work study to student employment to internships.

by Lisa Albro, former admissions officer at Goucher College

While applying to a traditional four-year college generally involves writing essays and providing teacher and counselor recommendations and grades, there are several more layers to a military academy application.

by Emily Toffelmire, former admissions officer at University of Southern California

Just a fraction of the universities and colleges in the country have made formal announcements about their COVID vaccine policies for students, but some clear trends are emerging. According to Inside Higher Ed, “many institutions mandating the immunizations for students fit a certain profile: more often private than public, selective, located in a Democratic-leaning state.”

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

In my college counseling practice, I’ve worked with a few students over the years who are excited to attend college but may not be ready for college…yet. At times, these students consider a gap year, which is a break in their academic progression from high school to college that allows them to travel, work, or volunteer. However, sometimes these students don’t want an academic break, yet they also aren’t quite ready for the next college step either. That’s where the post-graduate (PG) year comes in. A PG year is offered by many private boarding schools as an extra year of high school, a 13^th year, where the student can continue to grow in a way that might help them move towards their college goals productively.

Wanting a break before starting college or looking for something interesting to do before applying? Rebecca Barr of Education First joins this episode of our podcast to discuss gap year options through EF. We also have advice on what to be doing now if you hope to be recruited athlete and project management tips for parents helping their students apply to college.

by Lauren DiProspero, former admissions officer at Columbia University

To become a doctor, you must graduate from medical school. To practice medicine, you must be licensed. To become licensed, you must complete a residency program. Given this requirement, I am sure that many people assume that residency is simply the next step in a medical student’s journey, and maybe they even assume residency is a guarantee. That is, unfortunately, not the case.

by Kimberly Asselta, former admissions officer at Babson College

I was not the captain of my high school cheerleading team. I vividly remember the day my coach read the names of the 1993-1994 team captains. I was devastated when my name wasn’t called. My dreams of wearing that gold “C” on my uniform and being seen as a team leader came tumbling down. That was “way back in the 1900s” as my two middle school sons like to remind me, and I’m totally over it. Really. As I look back on my time in high school with the wisdom that over twenty years of life and work experience brings, I can recognize that the “C” on my sweater didn’t define me or my leadership ability. I learned a lot from that experience, but that’s for a different blog post!

by Elizabeth Heaton, former admissions officer at University of Pennsylvania

What a crazy year! Students fully remote or attending high school in-person part-time via a hybrid model. Courses graded pass/fail. Standardized tests unavailable in many locations. Sports and other extracurricular activities postponed or cancelled. This was a difficult school year—and year—by anyone’s standards. For the class of 2021, those difficulties extended further to college admissions.

Excited to welcome New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Selingo to the show to discuss his latest, Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions. We discuss everything from the impact of marketing and rankings on college admissions over the past 30+ years to the concept of “buyers” and “sellers” and how those distinctions can and should impact students’ college application decisions. He also shared what he’s hearing from enrollment managers this year and his thoughts on the COVID-dictated changes he thinks might stick.

Interested in majoring in business as an undergraduate? We’ll share information on coursework and activities that might help your application stand out. We’re also answering your college admissions and finance questions in our listener Q&A.