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While much of the scholarship dollars available to students comes courtesy of merit aid awarded by colleges to the best applicants in their pools, a handful of selective scholarships require an application process. We’ll explore the requirements for Morehead Cain and talk about other selective scholarships in today’s podcast. On the finance side, we’re talking through the buy now, pay later programs that are seemingly sweeping the world—and getting some college students into trouble.

The college search process can be daunting for all students, but LGTBQ+ students may find it particularly challenging as they search for spaces where they will feel comfortable and safe. In honor of Pride month, we’re talking through how these students can best approach this part of applying to college. In Office Hours, we’re answering listeners’ college finance and admissions questions.

As you prepare to pay for college, you may be finally tapping your college savings accounts. We have advice about how to best approach this. The Common App recently released a report on the 2021-2022 admissions cycle. We’ve pored over the findings and will share highlights with you. Finally we’re looking at what it’s like to be at a college with a Christian name—and not be Christian.

Rising seniors already know that this summer is an important time to get ahead on their application work. One important component of that is finalizing your list and noting important submission deadlines. And understanding those options is key to your success. With that in mind, we’ll discuss early decision one and two, early action, restricted early action, priority, regular decision, and rolling decision. For those with tuition bills due, we have advice for securing financing for the upcoming year. And in Office Hours, we’re all about starting your activity list for the Common Application.

It’s Pride Month, and we’re covering LGBTQ+ scholarships in celebration. We’re also talking about student research—why you might do this and what it can look like. Finally, in office hours we’re reviewing how to decide if using an independent counselor is the right path for you.

Students these days are frequently involved in as many activities outside of the classroom as classes they’re taking inside it. A social worker and teen parent joins today’s show to discuss how cutting back can help improve mental health. In Office Hours, we’re answering listeners’ college finance and admissions questions.

No summer plans? No problem! There are so many interesting things students can do with their summers that don’t need to be planned way in advance. Tune in to learn more. Interest rates are rising, and we’re discussing what that might mean for college financing and savings. Finally, we have advice re: asking for letters of recommendation, including who, when, and how to ask.

Now that the dust has settled on regular decision 2022, we’re sharing the results and trends we’re seeing. We’re also exploring things to think about if you’re trying to decide whether to move out of the dorm to an off-campus apartment next year.

Babson, Olin, and Wellesley Colleges may seem like three very different colleges sharing only a similar location. But they’ve come together for an interesting collaborative program impacting students at each of the schools. Their three admissions deans join today’s podcast to share more about it.

Did you receive one of the dreaded “not a no but not a yes” waitlist offers? There are some strategies you can employ, and we’ll share them on the show today. It’s also tax season, and we have some tax-advantaged ways for you to save for college. Finally, one of our own seniors joins the show to share his college search, application, and decision process.

It’s late April, and most seniors are getting ready to make their final choice and deposit at the college they’ll attend next fall. We’re covering all the next steps they need to be thinking about. Many students with top choice colleges feel like they should attend a summer program at that college. We’re also talking through the value of attending a college that participates in a consortium of some kind, from the Five Colleges in Massachusetts to the Claremont Schools in California.

Student athlete hoping for a scholarship? In honor of National Student Athlete Day on April 6, we have everything you need to know about athletic scholarships for college. In another story from our team, Vanessa Garrido will share her story of applying to college as the first generation daughter of immigrants. And for those students with access to Naviance through their high school, we’re offering tips on how to use it to its fullest potential.

For all the seniors celebrating their acceptances and making their final selection, there are a few unhappy with their results and contemplating a different path. If you are thinking about taking a gap year and reapplying, we have some suggestions for evaluating your options and deciding how best to move forward with this process. High school students choosing courses for the coming school year may be wondering if they should add AP or IB coursework to their schedules. We have thoughts! And finally, it’s never too late to start saving for college, and we’ll share how to get started.

Students have been warned about cleaning up their social media presence, but many don’t realize that some sites can be beneficial to high school and college students. Andrew Cohen, senior enterprise account executive for the education vertical at LinkedIn joins the show today to share how high school and college-bound students can best utilize and leverage LinkedIn during the college admissions process. In Office Hours, we’re answering your college finance and admissions questions.

Many families will take out loans to help pay for college. We’re exploring the good, bad, and ugly of parents borrowing money to fund this big expense. We’re also discussing sports academies and how to determine if this is the right choice for your student athlete. In Office Hours, we have tips on getting started on a preliminary college list.

Many students with top choice colleges feel like they should attend a summer program at that college. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of that decision and share our bottom line on this. We will also cover admitted student events: why you might want to attend and what to do while you’re there. We’re also unpacking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF for short) and how to determine if you qualify, how to take advantage of the program, and how to avoid making mistakes that could disqualify you for PSLF.

Regular decision results are coming out, and we can help! We have advice about how to decide and what to do if you are waitlisted. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re discussing what makes a someone a good candidate for a women’s college. In Office Hours, we’re answering your college finance and admissions questions.

New York Times columnist Ron Lieber published The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make in early 2021. Our team is sharing their thoughts on the book in this episode.

What does it mean when your college of choice accepts you and then asks you to spend your first year in another country? We’ll share more about starting college abroad, from why these programs exist to what to expect to whether or not you can ask for a more traditional start on campus. In our final Financial Aid Awareness Month segment, we’re sharing more about what a financial aid officer actually does and how they can help you. Finally, with spring (and COVID on the wane), it’s college visit season! We have planning tips.

Test optional policies driven by limited access to testing during the pandemic have made that part of the process more confusing, especially at colleges that rely heavily on grades and testing alone when making admissions decisions. Chris Lucier, former VP at University of Vermont and University of Delaware, joins the show to share his insight into the impact of test optional policies on applicants to public universities. In our second segment for Financial Aid Awareness month, we’re sharing how financial aid eligibility is determined and helping you decipher your financial aid award. We’ll also be discussing recently announced changes to the SAT.