College Admissions Consulting Large Universities, High School Profiles, & Financial Aid Verification Written by Julia Joneson February 24th, 2016 I have been working in education with students for more than 20 years. I spent many years working in the admissions office at Brandeis University, where I was involved in virtually all aspects of the admissions process. As a senior member of the admissions committee, I was a key decision maker on applications, and I met and recruited students around the country and from major cities including Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Nashville. I also served as director of a one-thousand member national network of alumni recruiters and interviewers. Prior to joining College Coach, I continued my work with high school students and their families as director of admissions at a private day and boarding school in Massachusetts. Learn More About Julia college admissions process, fafsa, financial aid, getting in, On last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Ian Fisher shared some insight on the college process from the perspective of a large, public university, helped listeners better understand the process of financial aid verification, and shed some light on how colleges evaluate the high school that your child attends. College Admissions, Georgia Style Wondering about how large, public universities make their admissions decisions? Kelly Bird, Senior Assistant Director of Admission at the University of Georgia, joined the show to explain how UGA evaluated the 23,000 applications they received this year. The conversation covered all aspects of application review at UGA, including how the Early Action process differs from Regular Decision, and what the admissions committee looks for, from both a numeric and holistic perspective. Kelly and Ian provided some great insights, including a discussion on how a student’s choice of major does not affect the admissions decision. How does a student’s High School impact college admissions? In the second segment, Karen Spencer joined Ian to answer two very popular questions: How does my high school factor into the college admissions decision and, if the choice is available to me, how do I choose what high school to attend? While there are definitely those ‘high-powered’ and very well-known high schools out there, the truth is that there are a lot of challenging high schools, in almost every city and neighborhood around the country. Karen shed some light on how college admissions officers use the high school profile to understand the high school, and read the student’s transcript in the appropriate context. For those students who do have a choice about what high school to attend, Karen provided some insight into how go about making that decision. Not surprisingly, as with the college search process, the best way to choose is by evaluating fit, rather than rankings. Understanding Financial Aid Verification In the final segment, financial aid expert Beth Feinberg-Keenan stopped by to explain the part of the financial aid process known as “Financial Aid Verification.” In this segment, Beth was able to clarify why certain applicants are selected for verification, shared lots of great advice on what documentation families need to provide, and how best to manage the process. Don’t miss tomorrow’s live episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, when host Beth Heaton returns for a discussion on Naviance, tuition reciprocity agreements, and answers to listener questions. Recent Episodes of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation: How Do They Decide?: Admissions at Large State Schools The Student Perspective and Responses to Listener Questions Parents: Please Don't Be More Memorable than your Students! Related Resources Read | Posted on March 27th, 2024 A Deep Dive on Union College Read | Posted on March 20th, 2024 Should I Attend Admitted Student Day; Listener Q&A Read | Posted on March 13th, 2024 Standardized Tests; Choosing Your College; Financial Aid Appeals