College Admissions Consulting Humanities Degrees, Demonstrated Interest, and Help with the FAFSA Written by Lauren DiProsperoon September 20th, 2018 I began my undergraduate admissions career at Stanford University where I helped coordinate diversity events and outreach. This ignited a passion for higher education which led me to Columbia University where, after earning my masters, I began recruiting and reviewing the applications of students applying to Columbia College from all around the country including the northeast, mid-west, Texas and California. I also reviewed the applications of international students from countries across Asia as well as Canada and Mexico. During my time at Columbia, I was Director of Admissions at Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons where I oversaw the entire medical school admissions process, including recruitment, application review, interview days, and admitted student events. From there I became the Director of Enrollment Management at the University of San Francisco where I oversaw a team that supported both undergraduate and graduate admissions. In that role I recruited in Southern California and reviewed applications from multiple domestic territories for the undergraduate admissions team. Most recently, I was the senior director at Stanford Medicine, where I again oversaw the entire medical school admissions process. Learn More About Lauren choosing a major, demonstrated interest, fafsa, financial aid, On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Ian Fisher welcomes a special guest to discuss what you can do with a humanities degree. During Office Hours, he talks with colleagues to better understand what demonstrated interest means and goes on to cover where to get help filling out the FAFSA. Humanities Degrees Ian welcomes Olivia Maki to talk about her decision to major in Art History at Reed College and how what she learned translates into her professional life. Given her major, you may assume she works in a museum or art gallery. Spoiler alert: she does not. So what valuable skills did she learn from her humanities degree? Tune in to find out! Demonstrated Interest You may have heard of this term but aren’t sure what it means. Kyra Tyler joins Ian to talk through what demonstrated interest is and why colleges it matters to colleges. She provides insight into which colleges are most likely to consider a student’s demonstrated interest in their admissions process. Ian and Kyra also discuss ways students can maximize demonstrating their interest while avoiding annoying the admissions officer. Help with the FAFSA For listeners who have a senior applying to college, the FAFSA application is opening on October 1. Families often find this form daunting, so Ian speaks with Jan Combs to better understand the variety of supports available to families. The FAFSA website has a lot of great features that include support videos, FAQ, a chat function, and more. Jan also shares some in-person state and local options available to families during the fall. Although this is a student form, it does require both student and parent information, so Jan encourages families to sit down and fill the form out together. Don’t miss our next episode where host Elizabeth Heaton will talk about the top five mistakes students make on college applications and discuss college finance and admissions questions during Office Hours. Related Resources Read | Posted on April 29th, 2025 Navigating the Ethical Use of AI Tools in College Admissions Read | Posted on April 22nd, 2025 Demystifying Liberal Arts: What They Are and Aren't Read | Posted on March 11th, 2025 Does a Teen Need to File a Tax Return?
