On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga turned her attention to California, with a double segment on the University of California system. She finished the show with a finance segment on the ever-popular topic of negotiating scholarship offers from colleges.

“Should I take AP or Honors courses?” This is a tough question to answer and I don’t think there is any definitive answer to it. At the last school I worked at, Swarthmore College, it was almost always better to take the harder courses. We wanted to see students who challenged themselves and took classes that were geared toward preparing a student well for challenging college courses. Taking AP, IB, or Cambridge courses were a good way to show us that. However, Indiana University Bloomington would have a different answer. They wanted to see the highest GPA a student could attain, even if that meant taking a less hefty course load.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, long lost Beth Heaton was back in the host seat and began by helping parents strike the right level of involvement in their student’s college search process. The second half of the show was a double segment on all things National Merit Scholarship Competition.

Over the next couple of months, high school seniors will be receiving lots of college admissions decisions—some good news, some bad news, and some… waitlists?  It’s hard to know what to make of a waitlist decision.  Can a student increase her chances of moving her application from the waitlist into the admitted students’ pile?  Or should she just move on with her college decision—and her life—with the acceptances she has now?

Ian Fisher stepped in to host last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Conversation to address three important (and sometimes difficult) topics for families. If you are worried about whether college is the immediate right next step for your child, need help planning college visits, or are facing a financial aid award that just isn’t cutting it… this is the episode for you!

I can vividly remember sitting at my desk in the fall of my senior year of high school and being so nervous I could barely breathe. I’d been on dozens of college tours, spoken with countless students, and interviewed endlessly. But I still hadn’t found “the one.” I hadn’t experienced that “eureka” moment. You know, the one where you’re walking around a campus and just know it’s where you’re going to spend your college years. Some of my friends had described it as a sunbeam of light falling straight down onto their head while listening to angels sing and birds chirp.

The latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, hosted by Sally Ganga, is chock full of useful information!

Jeanne Mahan, College Finance Consultant, joined Sally in the first segment to discuss a very timely topic—comparing financial awards across colleges. Because colleges’ financial aid offers aren’t apple-to-apples comparisons, they can be very confusing to read and evaluate; but as your financial aid packages begin to trickle in, it’s important to pay close attention to key pieces of information.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Sally Ganga welcomed guests to explore the college transfer process and opportunities for private scholarships.

Is An Alumni Interview Required?

I’m the father of a Chicago senior who was contacted by an alum to interview for Columbia. My daughter tends to become quiet in unfamiliar situations and won’t interview well. Is there any way she can politely decline without going into all the details?  She’s already written about her shyness in her college essay.

—Can She Get Out of This?

Beyond daydreams of lounging on a beach perhaps, most high school students are not contemplating their summer plans in the dead of winter, but believe it or not, now is the time for high schoolers to start considering what they may want out of their summer experience. Many college-based summer programs are now accepting applications and have application deadlines before the end of winter.