To kick off the season, Brennan and Rick are joined by returning champion, Juan Espinoza (Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech), to dive into how Virginia Tech has adopted artificial intelligence to help with the essay reading process, how that has affected their timeline, and his advice to students approaching the essay writing process this fall.

LINKS

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Juan Espinoza

Humans And AI Collaborate To Review College Admission Essays - Forbes

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Guest: Juan Espinoza

Production: Jack Purdy

Rick and Brennan are back from summer vacation and ready for the FOURTH(!) season of The Truth About College Admission Podcast. Today, the pair recap their summers, preview a format update to the episodes this season, and reflect on a word they're thinking about for the upcoming admissions cycle.

LINKS

Brennan's Substack: The Application Trail

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Production: Jack Purdy

In our Season 3 bonus episode, Rick and Brennan visit the College Parent Central podcast with Elizabeth Hamblet and Vicki Nelson to talk about communication during the college search, realistic expectations, how schools evaluate prospective students, how college is an opportunity, and focusing on long term relationships with family.

See the video version here

Hosts: Elizabeth Hamblet, Vicki Nelson

Guests: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Production (TACA cut): Jack Purdy

In the Season 3 finale of The Truth About College Admission, Rick and Brennan go over their favorite episodes from the season, what news items in higher education have caught their eyes lately, and what this summer they will be keeping tabs on as we head into the 2025-2026 college admission cycle.

Links:

Loper

Scoir

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

June Essay webinar with Shereem Herndon-Brown and Allison Slater Tate

The Truth About Navigating the Admission Process - Dr. Ramon Blakley

The Truth About Value - Dan Porterfield

The Truth About International Admission - Sara Riggs and Karen Bartlett

"International Students By The Numbers" - Inside Higher Ed

"A Call for College Application Innovation" - Inside Higher Ed

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Production: Jack Purdy

Brennan and Rick are joined by returning guests Diane Campbell and Allison Slater Tate to run through their impressions of the last academic year and what the summer should look like for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

LINKS

The Truth About Artificial Intelligence and Applying to College

Diane Campbell Bio

The Truth About Admission at the Holidays

Allison Slater Tate

The Truth About Mindful Communication Between Families and Their Students

Georgia Tech Admission Blog on summer

Loper App

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Guests: Diane Campbell, Allison Slater Tate

Production: Jack Purdy

Brennan and Rick are joined by a fantastic duo, Karen Bartlett (Associate Director of International Admissions at Middlebury College) and Sara Riggs (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Georgia Tech) to highlight what international students bring to American college campuses, what the enrollment trends have shown in the last decade, and how international students can find community at American colleges.

LINKS:

Loper

Open Doors Report

Common Data Set

"The Two Most Important Letters in College Admission" - Clark

The Truth About Institutional Priorities - TJ Snowden

Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Guests: Karen Bartlett, Sara Riggs

Production: Jack Purdy

Brennan and Rick are joined by Eva Blanco Masias, the VP for Enrollment Management at Santa Clara University, for a deep dive into why schools use waitlists and their purpose on the admissions front, how schools pick from a waitlist, and what to do as a student currently on a waitlist.

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Guest: Eva Blanco Maisas

Production: Jack Purdy

Brennan and Rick are joined by Sam Bernstein and Eric Menna, the cofounders of Loper, to talk through how their college admission journeys influenced the creation of Loper, how the app provides assistance during the college search process, and what data from users has shown in giving a more complete picture of needs and wants for students figuring out their next steps in higher education.

LINKS:

Loper

The College Admission Blind Taste Test - Forbes

The Truth About College Admission Newsletter

Hosts: Brennan Barnard, Rick Clark

Guests: Sam Bernstein, Eric Menna

Production: Jack Purdy