In this episode, Lisa discusses:

• Using the clues from colleges to guide your family and manage expectations.
• Understanding the differences in the two categories of colleges: liberal arts colleges and universities.
• The role major-specific admissions plays at the two kinds of colleges.
• The three categories of admissions by major that are found at universities and how it affects your teen being admitted.

Key Takeaways:

• Liberal arts colleges focus on a solid undergraduate education and typically have smaller enrollment. Most are private and have few graduate degrees.
• 73% of college students are attending public state universities.
• Universities are looking for alignment between the applicant and what they’re looking to major in (even if they don’t admit students directly to a major).
• Colleges and universities are looking for well-rounded classes. They expect students to have some level of career interest going into college.

“I want to emphasize to my listeners the need for early planning and informed decision-making while our kids are still at home under our roof because once they step foot on campus, the colleges are not communicating with the parents…Your student has to fully engage and take advantage of the resources on campus. And I’ve found that the quality of resources vary from needs improvement to really fantastic.” – Lisa Marker Robbins

Episode References:

• #123 College Institutional Priorities: Understanding Who Gets In with Aly Beaumont
• #057 College Admission by Major with Andy Borst
• Other Podcast Episodes: https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/podcast/
• Live Masterclass: https://courses.flourishcoachingco.com/nostress
• The College Admissions Process Podcast: https://www.collegeadmissionstalk.com/

Ensure Your Teen's Success: Learn the Untold Truth About College Major-Specific Admissions:

Gain exclusive insights into admissions by major at all 50 state flagship universities. Our comprehensive research reveals which colleges require students to apply to a specific major, where it's easy to change majors, and where your teen's options may be limited.

https://flourishcoachingco.com/majors

Get Lisa's Free on-demand video: How-to guide for your teen to choose the right major, college, & career...(without painting themselves into a corner, missing crucial deadlines, or risking choices you both regret).

https://flourishcoachingco.com/video

Connect with Lisa:
Website: https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flourishcoachingco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flourishcoachingco/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourish-coaching-co

In this episode, Lisa and Heather discuss:

• The behind-the-scenes of how admissions processes work at large universities.
• What it means when the college says they do a “holistic review” and how your teen will be evaluated.
• Why your student should give context to any weaknesses on their application
• The importance of aligning your student’s activities with their intended major.
• Ways to maximize your teen’s chance for success by utilizing the entire application.

Key Takeaways:

• Your student should focus on their college applications in the summer before their senior year. Waiting until fall can be more chaotic and stressful once school is back in session.
• The responsibility is on your student to give everything they needed on the application. Admissions readers don’t typically have the time to look up or ask for additional information or clarification.
• Most admissions readers at large research universities will spend fewer than 10 minutes on your teen’s application.
• Your student should take advantage of the Additional Information section to give context for any questions about their application. This is not another essay section and should be answered clearly and concisely.

“Most of the time, I do think the application captures what it needs to capture. If there is something - a gap, or a red flag, or a dip, or something crucial to understanding who you are as a student, that is not captured anywhere else - [the Additional Information is] where that can come into play.” – Heather Parry

About Heather Parry: Prior to starting Parry College Counseling, Heather worked in admissions and recruiting for a range of universities and graduate programs, including Western University of Health Sciences and the University of Washington, among others. Over the years, Heather has read thousands of freshman, transfer, and international applications; interviewed hundreds of students for admission; and networked with admissions counselors and professionals across the country.

Episode References:

• Blueprint to Understanding Admissions by Major: flourishcoachingco.com/majors
• #057 College Admission by major with Andy Borst

Get Lisa's Free on-demand video: How-to guide for your teen to choose the right major, college, & career...(without painting themselves into a corner, missing crucial deadlines, or risking choices you both regret).

https://flourishcoachingco.com/video

Connect with Heather:

Website: http://www.parrycc.com/

Connect with Lisa:
Website: https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flourishcoachingco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flourishcoachingco/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourish-coaching-co

In this episode, Lisa and Aly discuss:

• Common institutional priorities of colleges that drive admissions decisions for your teen.
• Factors colleges consider beyond GPAs, test scores, extracurricular activities, and more (all outside of your student’s control).
• Why where to apply and when to apply affect if your teen gets admitted.
• What impacted majors are and how they can affect your student.
• Clues colleges give about their institutional priorities and how you can find them.

Key Takeaways:

• Colleges are more concerned about creating a graduating class as a whole than about your student specifically.
• Students learn better when they are learning with people who are not exactly like them.
• An impacted major at one college is not the same at another. You can utilize sites like College Navigator to understand how many students are graduating in a particular major.
• It’s not the size of the school, it’s what your student does there that makes it feel bigger or smaller.
• Being more selective does not make a school better; it just makes them more selective.

“This is a highly charged process these days. It's very emotional for families. It's very stressful for families. It's not a personal process. The reality is, this isn't really about you. This is really about what colleges need to create this diversified class.” – Aly Beaumont

About Aly Beaumont: Aly is the founder of Admissions Village, a family-focused, affordable, one-on-one college guidance consultancy. Aly and the Admissions Village team are deeply committed to making the college admissions process less stressful, and their success with this objective can be measured by both the growing number of referrals they receive as well as the repeat business of family siblings. Aly is also a founder and advisor to The College T, a website developed during the pandemic that connected high school students with college students and recent graduates so that first-hand information and experiences could be shared.

Aly is a graduate of Tufts University, where she majored in history with a concentration in modern women and African American history. She was also captain of the equestrian team. She lives in Wilton, CT, with her husband, Perry, and their two dogs, Buddy and Buzz. They have three sons in their 20s who graduated from Santa Clara, The University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and Keyon College. Aly is a Professional member of IECA and she has her certificate as an Independent Educational Consultant from the University of California Irvine.

Episode References:

• Video Resource: College Major Enrollment: How to Check Numbers Before You Choose: flourishcoachingco.com/blog/college-major-enrollment-how-to-check-numbers-before-you-choose
• Aly’s Blog: It’s Not You, It’s Them admissionsvillage.com/blog/it-is-not-you-its-them
• College Navigator: nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator
• #098 How Your Teen Can Benefit from an Honors Coll

Connect with Lisa:
Website: https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flourishcoachingco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flourishcoachingco/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourish-coaching-co