YCBK 411: Tips to Get the Most out of a College Fair

In this episode you will hear: (04:52) Matt Bonser, the Director of Admissions at Colorado College and a Gap year expert answers 20 questions about Gap Years in this 75-minute discussion. (Part 3 of 3) ² Should a student reapply to the selective school they didn't get in the next year, after taking a Gap year? Matt tells us when this can work. ² Matt gives his thoughts of a student who takes a gap year in high school ² Matt talks about Verto, a third-party provider of study abroad experiences and he tells us what he likes about Verto, and why CC is now a partner with Verto ² I ask Matt to give his feedback on two concerns that I frequently hear from parents about Gap Years. ² Matt shares what he learned about the college process by going through it as a parent this year (25:48) Mark answers a Speakpipe question from Laura from DC where he shares tips for college fairs. (46:25) Mark interviews Nora and Hannah, two college coaches with ScholarMatch, the CBO that matches college coaches with First Gen, under-resourced students. . They explain who ScholarMatch is and how YCBK listeners can become a volunteer college coach with ScholarMatch, even if they do not have any college counseling experience. Part 3 of 3 § Hannah discusses how a coach builds rapport with a student virtually. § Hannah lets us know if there is any specialized training to help coaches understand the unique challenges First-Gen and under-resourced families face. § Hannah and Nora go into more depth about the demographics of the ScholarMatch students from a racial, ethnic and geographic background § Nora and Hannah talk about whether college coaches get training on the University of California application. § Hannah shares what are the frustrating parts of the coaching work § Nora talks about what ScholarMatch recommends when a student is non-responsive to outreach from the college coach § Nora talks about where an interested potential coach can go to get more information if this interview didn't answer all of their questions. § Nora shares, when will someone who applies to be a coach, will find out they are accepted as a college coach § I make a personal commitment to ScholarMatch § Nora and Hannah go on the hotseat in the lightning round (01:15:20) College Spotlight, Saint Andrews University, Scotland, with International Specialist, Kevin Newton Part 2/2 (01:01:15) Recommended Resource- T The New York Times Replica Edition (pressreader.com) Do it yourself college rankings and ScholarMatch and here are the dates for ScholarMatch information sessions: March 14, 4-5:00 p.m. (PST) March 26, 10-11:00 a.m. (PST) Here is a link to the ScholarMatch volunteer form: Volunteer Contact Form (airtable.com) 6 areas to think through when you have quality college pptions but you do not know which college to enroll in Brennan Barnard article about Susan Tree: giving tree, forbes brennan Barnard - Search (bing.com) Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. 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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/