Using College Admissions Statistics to Your Advantage

There are a dozen websites I regularly recommend to college-bound students and their parents, including the College Board’s BigFuture for college searches, FairTest.org for a list of colleges that don’t require the SAT/ACT, and the Princeton Review for student descriptions of campus life. But there’s another source of information for families to learn about the fascinating world of college admissions. It’s called the Common Data Set (CDS). And although this collection of data requires a bit more digging to unearth, once inside CDS, you will find a veritable treasure trove of information, chock full of minute details and big picture data you never knew existed.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Sally Ganga unpacks how to pick courses for your first semester of college, everything you need to know about SAT Subject Tests, and financial aid at the Ivies.

It may be hard to believe, but it’s mid-July already, and for high school seniors, that means it’s time to start work on college applications. With that in mind, host Elizabeth Heaton provides a jam-packed hour of tips and insight. In this episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, Beth helps listeners understand a great way that they can use social media in their applications, discusses financial aid options for students looking at community colleges, and provides some tips for getting started on the Common Application.

Guest Post by Kristen Beyers, Fortuna Admissions

She exuded a sense of urgency, this college senior seeking my counsel on applying to Stanford Graduate School of Business’ deferred admissions program. She had done her research around women’s social entrepreneurship in the global economy, understood her unique value proposition, and was compelled in pursuit of this passion and singularly focused on having an impact now. She was clear why the MBA was essential to accelerating her ambitions—from GSB specifically—and she didn’t want to wait the expected five-plus years to realize her professional dream. This client also happened to be an academic rock star with impressive leadership exploits.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, Elizabeth Heaton is back to cover everything you need to know about bargain hunting for dorm supplies, looking for universities in the UK, and welcoming your students back home after having been away at college.

Sure, you’ve got the grades and test scores, but so do lots of other students—and most of them get rejected from Ivy League universities. What, then, is the secret recipe to gain Ivy League acceptance? College Coach consultant, and former Babson and Holy Cross admissions officer, Kimberly Asselta explains in this installment of the video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton looks to our northern neighbor to discuss studying in Canada and answers many listener questions.

On this week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga talks about STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) programs, beginning post-secondary education at two-year institutions, and how to teach your soon-to-be-college-student to set up a budget.

Families have many questions about the college admissions process: SAT or ACT? When should I visit colleges? How should I spend my summer? At some point, families also start wondering about the people behind the whole process. Who are these mysterious humans who make admissions decisions? I talked to my colleagues to find out how they got into the field and why they were drawn to the work.

On this week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Ian Fisher talks all things summer. From test prep for rising seniors to self-reflection exercises for future ninth graders, he’s got you covered for ways to keep students occupied during the off-season. He also delves into the world of loan forbearance with a guest college finance educator.