College Admissions Consulting Race Conscious Admissions; University of Florida; Loan Repayment Written by Ian Brook Fisheron October 4th, 2023 I began my career in admissions by walking backwards as a student intern, giving guided tours, interviewing students, and reading applications for my alma mater, Reed College. After graduating, I began full-time work in admissions, reading thousands of applications primarily from the Western United States, especially Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. (I got to eat the best food on my travel!) In my last three years at Reed, I directed admissions for the entire continent of Asia and served as the director of marketing and communications for the admission office, honing our official voice for web, print, and social media. This helped me to develop a sharp eye for what works (and what doesn’t) in college essays. While Reed is not known (at all!) for sports, I was able to find my competitive outlet with the ultimate Frisbee team as a player and, when I graduated, a coach. After nine wonderful years at Reed, I left Portland to pursue a M.A. at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. When I graduated and joined College Coach, I was living in Palo Alto, California, an experience that helped me learn so much about the UC and CSU system and high school programs all around the Bay Area. In the end, I missed the rain too much, and moved back to Portland in the summer of 2016. Learn More About Ian getting in, race-neutral admissions, student loan repayment, We first addressed the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action in undergraduate admissions in our July 13 podcast episode. This week, college admissions counselor Kyra Tyler returns with the additional perspective of three months having passed since that episode. Host Ian Fisher then welcomes college admissions expert Aysha Wong to fill us in on the University of Florida, where she previously worked as an admissions officer, and later gets an update on the Federal Student Loan Repayment policy from college finance and student loan consultant Michelle Clifton. To listen to other episodes, visit Getting In: A College Coach Conversation on VoiceAmerica or search for us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, please leave us a rating or review! We appreciate your feedback. Related Resources Read | Posted on July 9th, 2025 Why College Students Should Consider Renter's Insurance: Protecting Your Belongings on Campus and Beyond Read | Posted on June 4th, 2025 Legal Documents Your Child Needs to Sign Before Heading to College Read | Posted on May 20th, 2025 What is Demonstrated Interest?