In an era of smart phones and technology always at our fingertips, social media is a deeply ingrained part of the daily lives of most teens (and often their parents!). As students prepare to apply to college, many families ask me about the role of social media in college admissions, specifically the college research, application, and selection process. Here are a few things to consider:

Wouldn’t it be great to get a free instant daily update from College Coach whenever you want it? Now, you can, simply by saying “Alexa, read my Flash Briefings” to your Amazon Echo device. Introducing the College Coach Alexa skill! Enable the College Coach skill using your Alexa account, and whenever you say “Alexa, read my Flash Briefings” to your Amazon Echo device, you’ll hear the latest and greatest in college admissions and finance news in two minutes or less. Let Alexa help you keep in touch with College Coach and never miss an insider tip from our college experts.

Help—we can’t agree on a college! You won’t be the first student and parent not to be on the same page when it comes to college choice, and we’re pretty sure you won’t be the last. Tune in for our advice on how to navigate what can be a challenging decision. We’ll also look into the latest trends in micro scholarships, and, in Office Hours, we’re discussing AP exams and their role in the college admissions process.

Last week, I was sitting in a movie theater watching Personal Statement, a documentary film about a group of students attending resource-challenged schools in Brooklyn—schools where each counselor was responsible for guiding over 600 students through the college admissions process. Top students in each school were called forth, not only to navigate their own college applications, but to provide guidance for other students who needed the help. Think about it: first-generation college students, students who had absolutely no familiarity with the world of admissions, were called upon to explain the process to their peers. There are students in our society who are not only pulling themselves up from their bootstraps, they’re manufacturing their own boots, too—boots for themselves and boots for their peers.

I know it’s only February, but, believe it or not, it’s time for high school students to start thinking about how they’re going to spend their summer vacations. If hoping to participate in a competitive summer program, know that application and scholarship deadlines may pop up any day now. Before submitting any applications, be sure to consider your goals for the summer. Do you wish to pursue a summer program in order to explore a particular academic or extracurricular interest? Or do you think a summer program will help you get into college? When weighing your summer options, be sure to check out the latest installment of our video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert, in which former Drexel and Swarthmore admissions officer, Kennon Dick, outlines summer programs’ role in the college admissions process.

The Thanksgiving holiday is almost upon us, so while families are getting ready to enjoy the holiday (and the holiday meal!), host Elizabeth Heaton has a full feast of information for students and parents in the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation. In addition to a double helping of admissions and financial aid questions, Beth also helps parents and students who may be thinking about transferring colleges after their first few months away.

Airing on November 1^st, the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation congratulates those seniors who submitted applications for an early round deadline! Pressing “submit” on that first application is almost as exciting as receiving the first offer of admission! Host Elizabeth Heaton and her guests cover the following topics in their conversation this week: reducing stress and mindfulness during the application process, using life insurance as a college savings vehicle, and how to handle disciplinary infractions on your applications.

‘Tis the college application season, and on the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Beth Heaton treats her listeners to a top five list of college application mistakes and the answers to a myriad of college admission and finance questions posed by our podcast listeners. 

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, Ian Fisher welcomes a student guest to talk about her college search, and is later joined by members of the College Coach team to talk Early Decision and paying the tuition bill. In the middle of all of that, Ian squeezes in a spotlight on Colorado College.

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.