College Admissions Consulting The Best Advice When Researching Colleges | College Coach Blog Written by Ian Brook Fisheron January 28th, 2016 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 college lists, getting in, researching colleges, One of the best things about hosting a weekly radio show is that we have the opportunity to connect with a much broader and more diverse audience than we would otherwise. In last week’s show, we used that opportunity to bring listener questions to the air, providing our advice for how to manage some challenging situations. From finance questions regarding scholarship deadlines and student loans to admissions questions about foreign language requirements and first-generation student status, our experts peppered the airwaves with some really terrific content for families of high school-aged students. In addition to Q&A, host Beth Heaton welcomed Lauren Randle to the show to discuss college research. How do you develop your college list? Where do you go to get the most accurate information about colleges? What are the best guidebooks and what ought to be taken with a grain of salt? Frankly, I find this part of the college search process to be among the most challenging aspects of applying to college and there’s a direct correlation between a student’s research effort and his or her happiness with her final list of colleges at the end of the spring. So give the show a listen, and pop back into the archives if you want to get a feel for any of our past content. You can download us straight from the VoiceAmerica website, or from iTunes. And if you choose the latter, give us a rating while you’re at it. We appreciate it. We’ll see you next week for more from Getting In: A College Coach Conversation. Recent Episodes of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation: Researching Colleges and Listener Questions Not a Joiner?: Extracurricular Activity Ideas for the Kid Who Hates Clubs The Coalition App: What You Need to Know Now Related Resources Read | Posted on April 16th, 2024 Understanding Direct Admission: A Pathway to Success Read | Posted on April 10th, 2024 Acceptance by Emi Nietfeld; Why You Should Fill out the FAFSA Read | Posted on April 9th, 2024 Community Colleges with Campus Housing
