Digest
This podcast episode features updates on college admissions and planning. Mark, a college counselor, shares personal news and a listener tip about meeting professors during college visits. He announces a Princeton Review book giveaway and details his upcoming Texas college visits. Further announcements include a keynote speech and upcoming interviews with admissions officers. The episode delves into significant Common App changes, including a shorter additional information section and a revised "Challenges and Circumstances" essay prompt. Forbes' College Financial Grades are explained, highlighting their methodology and limitations. A substantial portion of the podcast features part four of an interview with Kathleen Delasky, focusing on parent involvement in college admissions, alternative educational pathways like Year Up and the skills genome, and the need for a "great college reset" in higher education.
Outlines

00:00:00
College Admissions Updates & Planning: Personal Updates and Listener Tips
Introduces the podcast and hosts; shares personal updates and a listener tip on meeting professors during college visits; announces a Princeton Review book giveaway and upcoming Texas trip.

00:07:42
College Planning Announcements and Common App Changes
Announces a keynote speech and future interviews; discusses significant Common App updates, including changes to the additional information section and the "Challenges and Circumstances" question.

00:26:47
College Financial Health and Alternative Educational Pathways
Explains Forbes' College Financial Grades and their limitations; discusses alternative educational pathways and their growing importance.

00:40:39
Interview with Kathleen Delasky: Reimagining College
Part four of an interview with Kathleen Delasky, focusing on parent involvement, alternative educational pathways (Year Up program, skills genome, badging movement), and the need for a "great college reset."
Keywords
Common App
Updates to the Common Application, including a shorter additional information section and revised "Challenges and Circumstances" essay prompt.
College Financial Health
Assessment of college financial stability using metrics like endowment size, tuition dependence, and debt levels; Forbes' College Financial Grades are discussed.
Alternative Educational Pathways
Educational options beyond traditional four-year colleges, such as apprenticeships, vocational training, and community colleges.
Skills Genome
A comprehensive map of skills needed for various jobs, aiding students in aligning education with employment needs.
Parent Involvement in College Admissions
The role parents play in guiding their children through the college application process.
College Visits
Strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of college visits, including meeting with professors.
College Admissions Interviews
Upcoming podcast interviews with admissions officers and experts.
Kathleen Delasky
Interview with an expert on reimagining college and alternative educational pathways.
Q&A
What are the most significant changes to the Common App this year, and how can students best utilize them?
The Common App reduced the additional information section to 300 words and revised the "Challenges and Circumstances" question. Students should use the "Challenges and Circumstances" section strategically to showcase resilience and avoid redundancy with their personal essay.
How does Forbes assess college financial health, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of their methodology?
Forbes uses nine factors, weighting endowment assets, primary reserves, and tuition dependence most heavily. It's a useful tool for evaluating private colleges but is limited by its focus on specific metrics and exclusion of public institutions.
What are alternative educational pathways, and why are they gaining importance?
Alternative pathways include apprenticeships, vocational training, and community colleges. They offer diverse routes to career success, especially valuable in a rapidly changing job market.
Show Notes
In this episode you will hear: Mark discusses new changes to the Common App, and then he gives he describes Forbes College Financial Grades, a tool you cn use to know which colleges are stable financially and which colleges are struggling financially? Mark interviews Kathleen deLaski, Founder of the Education Design Lab Preview of Part 4 ² Kathleen and I discuss the correlation between parent involvement and high achievement ² Kathleen tells our listeners what the Year Up program is ² Kathleen tells us what a skills genome is ² Kathleen tells us what the badging movement is ² Kathleen talks about what she calls the edu-training ecosystem ² Kathleen says colleges need to be re-imagined and she explains what she calls, "the great college reset" ² Kathleen talks about students are strategically using Coursera to hack their way to a good job Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. Unfortunately, we will NOT answer questions on the podcast anymore that are emailed in. If you want us to answer a question on the podcast, please use speakpipe.com/YCBK. We feel hearing from our listeners in their own voices adds to the community feel of our podcast. You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup. We will include many of the hot topics being discussed on college campuses. Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/ Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed. Twitter message is also the preferred way to ask questions for our podcast: https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast 1. To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ 2. Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link 3. Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it 4. Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans 5. Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps 6. Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point 7. You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK. Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple's search feature so others can find our podcast. If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful! If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live. Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/recommended-books/ Check out the college websites Mark recommends: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/recommended-websites/ If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCauBgityVXVHRQUjvlIRfYrMWWdHarB9DMQGYL0472bNxrw/viewform If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa or Lynda, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com or Lynda at Lynda@schoolmatch4u.com. All we ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session; here is link to their services with transparent pricing: https://schoolmatch4u.com/services/compare-packages/