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.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga covers how to compare financial aid award letters, Division 3 athletics and admissions, and summer planning.

Ian Fisher hosts the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, covering a diverse range of topics, including summer planning for artists, the impact of your college payments on this year’s taxes, and what high school seniors should be focused on now that college applications are in.

Sally Ganga is in the host seat for the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, tackling early admission round trends, summer volunteer programs, and scholarship negotiation.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton celebrates the historic third anniversary of our podcast by talking with her guests about summer opportunities for athletes and sports enthusiasts, appealing a financial aid award, and the complex and often mysterious outcomes of the Early Action admission process.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton continued our new series on summer opportunities for high school students. This installment was dedicated to opportunities for the high school writer. In addition, Beth invited guests to talk about the differences between 529 college savings and prepaid tuition plans, and to explore the admission process at Fordham University. Listen to the complete show on VoiceAmerica or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Ian Fisher helped listeners brave the cold, with an hour packed with resources and information—for parents looking to help their students better manage their finances, for high school students looking for summer opportunities in STEM fields, and for seniors finishing up their college applications.

Guest Post By Judith Silverman Hodara, Fortuna Admissions and former Head of Admissions at The Wharton School

Do you have to spend your summers on Wall Street if you’re interested in pursuing an MBA or a future career in business?

Certainly not.

On the most recent episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga covered a variety of topics targeted to a range of listeners: for college students, the importance of college advising in containing college costs; for middle and high schoolers, a discussion about the plethora of summer programming available (and why students should take advantage of it); and for high school seniors, what to do now if they have been deferred from their Early Decision or Early Action school-of-choice.

“So, what have you been reading this summer that has been interesting?” I ask the unsuspecting 12 year old nephew sitting in the passenger seat of my mini-van. I often start sentences with, “I just read an article that said…” and my kids start to roll their pre-teen eyes. But in the mini-van, my nephew has entered my lair and my younger children perk up from the back seat waiting for his answer. No matter who gets in my car this summer, what that person is reading (or wants to read) is very likely going to be one of the major points of conversation. Over the years, I have found that it works especially well with middle school children to get the conversation going.