College Admissions Consulting Transitioning to College, Finding the Best Value, and Refunds from Colleges Written by Emily Toffelmireon September 13th, 2018 I came to College Coach after working for many years in college admissions and high school counseling. As a school counselor, I assisted students in the college application process and wrote hundreds of letters of recommendation, while also helping them and their families cope with any emotional, social, and academic concerns throughout the year. I transitioned from the high school setting to the admissions office when I joined the University of Southern California as an assistant director, reading freshmen and transfer applications and collaborating on admission decisions for over 150 majors, including the liberal arts, engineering, business, cinema, and the fine and performing arts. I subsequently took on the role of senior assistant director in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where I coordinated the division's Mork, Stamps, Trustee, Presidential and Dean's merit scholarship selection process, as well as recruitment publications and outreach, and traveled everywhere from Honolulu to Miami presenting to and interviewing hundreds of applicants each year. Learn More About Emily choosing the right college, college lists, getting in, transition to college, On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, Elizabeth Heaton discusses successfully transitioning from high school to a university campus and what it means to get a refund from a college. She also announces to listeners an exciting new partnership for College Coach. Transitioning to College Beth is joined by Mark Altman, founder of MindsetGo, which seeks to develop people of all ages into confident, skilled communicators. Mark shares advice with parents on how to best help their new college students connect with others, choose activities wisely, and resolve interpersonal issues. Parents seeking to find a balance—how to support their child and keep an open channel of communication while also fostering independence—will want to listen. College Coach’s New Partnership for Families Next up, Beth welcomes Nick Ducoff, co-founder of Edmit, College Coach’s newest partner. Edmit uses data and a proprietary algorithm to help families figure out the value proposition of colleges. They identify estimated net costs, salary outcomes, and return on investment—using hard facts to guide families through what can often be an emotionally fraught process. Edmit is free to start, with access to data on 2,000 colleges, while paying customers receive highly personalize reports and college recommendations based on the student’s profile and intended major. Most importantly, Beth and Nick announce that College Coach and Edmit are joining forces to present Edmit Premium. The new service pairs the admission expertise and counseling of College Coach with the impressive data analysis of Edmit. To learn more, visit www.edmit.me/collegecoach. Refunds from Colleges Finally, Beth is joined by College Coach finance consultant Stacey MacPhetres to discuss the surprising, but very real, occurrence of receiving a refund from a college. This typically occurs when a family has overpaid funds or over-borrowed loans, and the refunded money goes directly to the student, not the parents. That’s an important detail to remember, and Stacey encourages clear communication between parents and students about how any refunded money should be used (i.e. to pay for textbooks and groceries, rather than a spring break trip or shopping spree). Tune into our next episode when guest host Ian Fisher will discuss what you can do with a humanities degree, how to fill out the FAFSA, and understanding just what the heck demonstrated interest means. 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
