Rick and Brennan are back from holidays and are here with their hopes for 2025 in college admissions, what they're looking out for in the industry, and their timely tips for the January portion of the admissions calendar.

Links:
Admission Leaders Share Resolutions For College Applicants - Forbes
Immunity to Change - Kegan and Lahey
College Uncovered - NPR
"Ask The Same Questions" - Clark
Truth About College Admissions Newsletter

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Production: Jack Purdy

Rick and Brennan close out the 2024 calendar year to discuss their favorite guests and what they drew from those conversations. Then, a review of the big issues in college admission that stuck out to them in 2024 with a look ahead to what they're hopeful to see in 2025. Hopefully no more holiday deadlines for applications!

Links:
Fewer race-based scholarships and a new culture of fear follow the end of affirmative action - The Hechinger Report
Ask Lisa Podcast: Getting into College with Rick Clark - Damour
The Truth About Family and College Admission - The Truth About College Admission w/Lisa Damour
The Truth About Admission and Parenting - The Truth About College Admission w/Lisa Heffernan
Scoir Halftime Report

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Production: Jack Purdy

In one of our favorite episodes yet, Dan Lugo, current President of Queens University of Charlotte and future President at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, joins Brennan and Rick to talk about his unique admissions journey, how a college president can impact a campus positively, and how parents can best approach helping their child seek the transformative experience college can provide.

Links:
The Truth About College Admission Newsletter
Postelection Uncertainty Looms Large For Presidents - Inside Higher Ed

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Guest: Dan Lugo
Production: Jack Purdy

Rick and Brennan are joined by Dianne Campbell, the Director of College Counseling at Liberty Common High School, where they talk about how to manage the conversations that are bound to come up for kids going through the college admissions process over the next month, how to frame the conversation in a healthy way for kids, and if necessary, ways to deflect the conversation to draw out stories from the adults in the room about their experiences.

Links:
The Truth about College Admission Newsletter
A College Admission Holiday: The Friends And Family Guide - Forbes
College Admission Indigestion: An Applicant's Guide to Nausea Free Holidays - Huff Post
5 Parent Tips For When College Admission Decisions Land - Forbes
Parenting The Disappointed College Applicant - Forbes
Dealing With College Admission Disappointment - Forbes
Handling College Admission Decisions: A Sidecar Parent’s Guide - Forbes

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Guest: Dianne Campbell
Production: Jack Purdy

Rick is joined by Adam Miller from the beautiful Whitman College to give a rundown of the kinds of responses students may get for their early action/decision applications and what do to in each situation, whether it be admitted, deferred, or denied, or even alternative scenarios that may arise.

Links:
The Truth about College Admission Newsletter

Host: Rick Clark
Guest: Adam Miller
Production: Jack Purdy

Brennan and Rick are joined by Liz Chreron, CEO of the Coalition for College Access and proud Boston College graduate, to go over what application review looks like, why it's done the way it's done, how it's done, and how to best approach this time of the admissions cycle for parents and students.

Links:
Coalition for College website
The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Hosts: Rick Clark, Brennan Barnard
Guest: Liz Cheron
Production: Jack Purdy

Dan Porterfield, author and President + CEO of the Aspen Institute, joins Rick and Brennan to dive into the value of college from different perspectives (family, individual, societal, financial), some stories from Dan's time as a college president, and advice as to how to approach being at college and how to support people currently in college.

Links:
Mindset Matters - Dan Porterfield
The Parents Aren't Alright - The Daily
On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges - Making Caring Common Project
Mission Matters - Rick Clark
"Georgia Tech and AMSC Collaboration to Boost STEM Pipeline"

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter sign up

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Guest: Dan Porterfield
Production: Jack Purdy

Brennan and Rick are joined by the Associate Provost and Director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC, Jackie Copeland, to talk through a primer of the FAFSA (both what it is and why to fill it out), the cost of college (and why it is so high), and the crucial roles that parents can fill for their kids navigating college for the first time.

LINKS:
How it feels to be a college student whose parents can’t let go - Slate
Education Department Delays FAFSA Launch for Most Students - Inside Higher Ed
U.S DoE Net Price Calculator
myintuition.org College Cost Calculator
The Cliff, the Pandemic and the Hurricane - Inside Higher Ed

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter signup

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Guest: Jackie Copeland
Production: Jack Purdy

For the first interview of season 3, Rick and Brennan are joined by Juan Espinoza, the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech to discuss his admission journey from applying to schools to becoming Vice Provost, how the mission of Virginia Tech drives his work, and what he is excited about how AI can positively influence the admissions process.

Links referenced in the episode:
CGN’s AVA: Bringing 24/7 "Enhanced Expert AI" Guidance to College and Career Planning and Success - Yahoo Finance
College Admission: An AI Revolution - Forbes
Colleges are using AI in admissions. How can they do it right? - WBUR
Morehouse College’s TJ Snowden on Institutional Priorities - The Truth about College Admission

Truth About College Admissions Newsletter signup

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Guest: Juan Espinoza
Production: Jack Purdy

We're back! Season three of The Truth about College Admission is here as we recap our summers and look ahead to what this season of the podcast will bring us.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Books and essays mentioned in this episode:
Brave New Words: How Ai Will Revolutionize Education (And Why That's A Good Thing) - Salman Khan
Mindset Matters: The Power Of College To Activate Lifelong Growth - Dan Porterfield
I’m a College President and I Hope My Campus Is Even More Political This Year - New York Times
Third Place University - Chris Burke
Smile Because It Happened - Dr. Beth Cabrera

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark
Production: Jack Purdy

To close season 2, we have a role reversal with producer Jack Purdy interviewing Rick and Brennan to talk about learnings from this season's guests, their work outside the podcast, some thoughts on AI afterApple's big WWDC announcements, and what to expect for season 3.

THE TRUTH ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSION HOMEPAGE -- to learn more about our books, speaking engagements, podcast, and other resources

Grown and Flown Admission -- free trial offer

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark, Jack Purdy
Production: Jack Purdy