No guest this week. Instead, I share 5 questions we ask to help build college lists and some key resources to help you find the answers. 1. What do you want to study? https://www.youscience.com/ 2. What are you looking for in a college? College Match 3. What colleges offer what you're looking for? https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ 4. What colleges fit your academic profile? (no link - College Name Common Data Set) 5. What is college going to cost? https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

John Irish is verifiably one of the top 5 educators in the country. That's not just me saying it. College Board selected him as one of 3 teachers to help rewrite the AP US History exam, and he was selected as the co-chair of that committee. He reads for the AP exam every year and spends his summers traveling around the southern US teaching other APUSH teacher how to teach the subject. I was lucky enough to get him to sit down with me, mostly because he was avoiding grading papers.

I had the chance to sit down with Aaron Golumbfskie, Education Director at Prep Matters based near Washington, D.C. Sometimes referred to as "the godfather of test prep", Aaron shares his unique perspective about helping students navigate the college admissions process.

I got the chance to sit down with Anam Iqbal and Karla Hernandez from the University of Texas at Arlington to talk about how the admissions process is unique to them and their mission. They shared the programs that make UTA special and insights into how they can help students and celebrated the university's recent designation as a Tier 1 research university in Texas. Find out more about UT-Arlington: https://www.uta.edu/ Contact Anam: [email protected]  Contact Karla: [email protected]

Mike Bergin, founder and President of Chariot Learning, is a recognized leader in the field of test preparation. Among his many  endeavors, Mike is one of the founding members of the National Test Prep Association, an organization dedicated to establishing best practices and credibility for test prep professionals. He is also the co-host of a fantastic podcast called "Tests and the Rest". https://www.chariotlearning.com/ https://nationaltestprep.org/ https://gettestbright.com/tests-and-the-rest/

Gary Stocker is the founder and CEO of College Viability, an app parents can use to evaluate the financial viability of a university they are considering. It's not something most parents think about, and we discuss why it can be such an important consideration when selecting a school to attend. Find out more at their website: https://collegeviability.com/ Contact Gary at [email protected]

We often talk to parents of students with good grades but low test scores - the "Good Student/Bad Tester" problem. What causes this? More importantly, what can you do to solve it? Here are some links referenced in the podcast: Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/ SAT Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sat/ ACT Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ACT/ SATACT Subreddit (Probably the most helpful): https://www.reddit.com/r/SATACTprep/

We're taking a break from interviews for the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to share some tips on things parents can watch for here at the start of the school year to help keep their students on track. I discuss 2 specific things that seem to come up in the Fall semester each year and how you can help your student they make these mistakes.

Justin Doty, Dean of Admissions at Trinity University, sat down with me to talk about what is without a doubt one the top universities in the state of Texas. We discussed Trinity's admission process as well as how it has adapted to expand beyond its reputation as a liberal arts university.

Griffin graduated from THE Ohio State University in May of 2021 and started his first job with 49Financial this Fall. He shares how he chose his major and his university as well as his strategy for finding his first job.