YCBK 88: Do Colleges Evaluate Your Child’s High School?

In this episode you will hear: (04:51) In this week’s news, an article from Wall Street Journal, “Fed Says Student Debt Has Hurt the U.S. Housing Market”, by Josh Mitchell and Laura Kasisto. Student loans prevented 400,000 young Americans from buying homes, between 2005 to 2014. The amount of student loan debt has either damaged their credit or doesn’t allow them to save for a house down payment, because their income goes toward paying student loan bills. We discuss this article and we ask what our takeaways should be from this.     (18:39) We are in chapter 88 of 171 Answers and we’re discussing whether colleges evaluate the high school that your child attends.   (47:46) This week’s question is from a high school mom who wants to know how bright students -who are not the valedictorians or sports super stars of their schools- can stand out to the most respected colleges and universities. We have a very honest and frank conversation about what are the best options in this instance. We talk about SAT subject tests and institutional priorities.   (01:01:07)Mark continues his interview with one of his former students, Tara Kalinisan, the Assistant Director of Admissions at Smith College, and they are talking through what admissions officers do during the first 6 months of the year.   (01:10:05) Mark’s recommended resource of the week is the list of colleges where Harvard’s current incoming law students received their Bachelor’s list. The list includes many designer degree schools but it also includes many schools that are regarded as highly selective, well-known colleges. Here is the list of those colleges:   (1:24:15) Our College Spotlight for the week is William and Jefferson College (PA)   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: [email protected] 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! We are excited to give our listeners a chance to play a role in shaping what topics we discuss, as well as what guests we have on our podcast. You can let your voice be heard by completing this survey. Just put the following link in your browser and give us your honest feedback. We thank you in advance. Every episode of Your College-Bound Kid will align with a chapter from the book 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admission Questions. To get a copy go to Amazon and click: If you want to place a bulk order, you will save money by purchasing this book at 171answers.com. Every penny goes to The Atlanta Mission, a Christian organization that helps over 1000 homeless residents every day.  If you want to see what future episodes will discuss in the book chapter section,  just go to 171answers.com and then click the red button "See exactly what 171 Answers covers"