On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga covers three timely and informative topics: how to make demonstrated interest work for you in the college application process, the best way to communicate with colleges, and appealing the financial aid awards that high school seniors are starting to receive.

Once an international student has decided upon their set of undergraduate studies in the U.S., there’s often a lot of planning that goes into making their stateside academic journey a success. But the academic calendar isn’t the only aspect of U.S. collegiate life that needs plotting. Don’t find yourself unwittingly caught off guard by the academic breaks your American peers might more easily fulfill at a moment’s notice by virtue of their proximity to home. Some university breaks aren’t long enough for a complicated international trek to see family and might, instead, require some thoughtful alternatives. Here’s a quick primer on the breaks an international student might encounter while studying in the U.S. and a few quick ideas for taking full advantage of them.

What is a Third Culture Kid?

Are you a dual citizen? Do you live in a country outside of your citizenship? Do you dream in multiple languages? Do some of your friends look at you funny when you call soccer “football” or talk about “maths” class?

If you answered yes to more than one of the questions above, you might be a third culture kid.

Happy New Year! Whether you’re a parent or student, a freshman or senior, January presents an opportunity for a fresh start. We polled our team of seasoned admissions and financial aid professionals for their resolution ideas to help you make 2019 a healthy, productive, rewarding year. Be sure to check out our podcast, Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, for even more tips.

Welcome to 2019! If one of your goals this year is to stay more up to date on the ever-changing world of college admissions, today is the perfect opportunity to catch up on our podcast, Getting In: A College Coach Conversation. Each week, we welcome guest experts, answer listener questions, spotlight colleges, and discuss all things admission and financial aid. Kick off the new year by listening to our most popular episodes of 2018.

Guest Post By Marie Schwartz, CEO, TeenLife Media

If you’ve even thought about taking a gap year, you can already hear the objections from your parents in your head. Maybe it goes something like this:

“What?!? You going to spend senior year filling out college applications, gathering financial information, tracking down scholarships, writing essays, sweating test prep, and then you’re not going to go???”

Take a breath. This is going to be OK. 

One of the hardest things for students—for people!—to do is separate the quality of their process from the randomness or disappointment of challenging outcomes. This is why Deal or No Deal always drove me nuts: You didn’t make the right choice because the next case was worth $.01; it was either the right choice in the moment or it wasn’t! All we can ever do is the best we can with the information we have available to us; we can’t justify bad decisions by good outcomes, just as we can’t condemn good decisions that resulted in bad outcomes.

A common question we are asked as college admissions consultants is, “How do you address a disability in your college application?”  Or, to step back a bit, “Should you address a disability at all?”  Former MIT and Caltech admissions officer, Zaragoza Guerra, tackles this complicated question in the latest installment of our video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert.

Colleges love to see applicants take part in community service, but many families and students are left perplexed as to just what that entails. Today we take on the most frequently asked questions we get about giving back.

Your high school counselor is encouraging you to take the SAT. But your neighbor (whose son got into Harvard, by the way…) says the ACT is the way to go. So, what’s the real deal? Which test do colleges really prefer? Find out in the latest installment of our video series, We Can Explain.