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602: Roles and Identities Part 2 (for Counselors and Educators): A Framework for Understanding How Your Roles Shape Your Work

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To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring.  If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. 

In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of this mini-series where Ethan walked through some practical exercises for students and parents based on the Roles and Identities framework. 

But what about counselors? We who spend our days (and often nights) answering emails, phone calls, texting and generally caretaking in 100 different ways…  Today’s episode is the second of two where Ethan will share some exercises that counselors can use to recognize patterns they may fall into at times and how they might practice more self-care and show up more fully for their students. Ethan explores: 

  • How can counselors make sure we fill our own cups (and not just our coffee cups)? 

  • How can we make sure we’re even more spacious and resourced… so that we’re able to give back from a full cup, and with a full heart?

  • And more. 

We hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

  • 0:08 - What is the Roles & Identities Framework? 

  • 5:34 - Exercise #1 : The Roles & Identities List 

  • 11:39 - Exercise #2: The “shadow” version

  • 21:30 - Exercise #3: The “foil” to your role 

  • 23:20 - Closing thoughts 

Resources

 

601: Roles and Identities Part 1 (for Students and Parents): A Framework for Exploring Who You’ve Been, Who You Are, and Who You’re Becoming

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SHOW NOTES

To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring.  If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. 

Today’s episode is the first of two where Ethan will dive into a few short, practical exercises for students and parents that can help them figure out things like how they’d like to focus their time as they go through this process. He gets into, among other things: 

  • The philosophy behind the Roles and Identities framework

  • Some hands-on exercises that students can do — whether in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade — that can help them, for example, plan summer/EC activities, or even map out their college application. 

  • A simple but powerful exercise for parents thinking about who they want to be in this process—since let’s be honest it isn’t the students who are learning about themselves here. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 where Ethan will share some exercises that counselors can use to recognize patterns they may fall into at times and how they might practice more self-care and show up more fully for their students. 

We hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

  • 3:36 - What is the Roles & Identities Framework? 

  • 6:57 - Exercise #1 (for both students and parents): The Roles & Identities List 

  • 8:59 - Exercise #2 (for students): Using the Roles & Identities list to plan your summer or extracurricular activities

  • 11:30 - Using The Values list to expand on your roles and identities

  • 13:23 - Which parts of you will you show in your college application?

  • 18:21 - Exercise #3 (for parents): Who do you want to be in this process? 

  • 27:50 - Closing thoughts

Resources

 

514: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Student Perspective

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Welcome to the final episode to our special three-part series on mental health disclosures in college applications. In Episode 3, Ethan’s guest is Emi Nietfeld, author of Acceptance (Penguin Press '22), a critically-acclaimed memoir of her high school journey through foster care, homelessness, and the troubled teen industry to attend college at Harvard. In this frank conversation, Emi opens up about, among other things: 

  • How the notion of disclosing (or not disclosing) may actually be somewhat problematic

  • The difference between writing about challenges in general… and writing about them for the purposes of the college application

  • The role she believes high school counselors can play in supporting students with mental health challenges during the college application process

  • Takeaways for college admissions officers evaluating applications that include mental health disclosures

  • And more

A former software engineer, Emi Nietfeld is a full-time writer on mental health, inequality, and higher education. She’s passionate about mental health, helping young people navigate their careers, and the connection between engineering and creativity. Her essays have appeared in New York Magazine. The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and other publications. 

We hope you enjoy the conversation. 

Play-by-Play

  • 2:14 - Emi shares her background and story 

  • 3:50 - What advice would Emi give to students about whether or not to disclose?

  • 9:20 - Emi’s story, as told in her book, Acceptance?

  • 11:55 - What was the college application process like for Emi?

  • 14:24 - How did Emi’s college essay change from the first to final draft?

  • 19:49 - Where else in the application are there opportunities to disclose?

  • 23:38 - What did the rest of Emi’s application look like?

  • 30:00 - How has writing helped Emi process her experiences?

  • 33:17 - How can high school counselors help their students navigate this process?

  • 36:11 - What advice would Emi give to college admission readers?

  • 42:29 - How has Emi’s life been different since writing Acceptance? 

  • 46:40 - What are Emi’s hopes for the future of mental health disclosures in college applications?

Resources

 

508: What Colleges Want (Part 7B): Recommendation Letter Crash Courses for Counselors and Teachers

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Today’s episode is all about writing letters of recommendation for teachers and counselors. Continuing our series on What Colleges Want, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Hanah Lim (CEG’s Director of Workshops and a former high school English teacher), where they provide their tips, tricks, and hacks to help you write more efficient and effective letters for your students.

Tom and Hanah discuss:

  • How long should letters be and what format works best? 

  • How do letters differ between counselors and teachers? 

  • What details might be helpful to include, and what should be avoided? 

  • How can teachers and counselors efficiently gather more information about their students to include in the letter?

We hope you enjoy the episode!

In case you missed it: Students and families, be sure to check out last week’s episode with Ayesha King to learn about what goes into a letter of recommendation, how they are evaluated by colleges, and who students should consider asking. 

Hanah Lim is the Director of Workshops at College Essay Guy and a former public high school English teacher. She oversees College Essay Guy's essay and application workshop team and organizes speaking events and college application and essay workshops for students at schools and organizations in the US and around the world. She has presented college essay workshops to thousands of students across diverse settings, including community-based organizations, public, international, and independent schools. She also worked as a college consultant for students in Bangkok, Thailand, directed SAT prep centers in Irvine, California and worked with non-profit groups and as an AVID teacher and coordinator to help close the achievement gap. She holds a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Education from California State University of Long Beach.  Hanah finds joy in watching musicals, visiting Disney parks with her husband, and playing with her two cats.

Play-by-play

  • 2:19 - Hanah and Tom share their school contexts for writing their letters of recommendation

  • 5:40 - How much weight do letters of recommendation hold in admission? 

  • 10:25 - What is the best practice for the length of a letter of recommendation for college? 

  • 10:57 - How should it be formatted? 

  • 14:03 - Should a letter be customized for each college?

  • 15:38 - What else is submitted with the student’s application from the high school?

    • 16:19 - What is covered in the school profile? 

    • 19:44 - What is covered in the counselor’s letter?

    • 25:25 - What is covered in the teacher's letter?

  • 30:46 - How does the Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious admission affect letters of recommendation?

  • 36:29 - What generally might be not as helpful to include in the letter?

  • 40:38 - Hanah shares her process for writing letters of recommendation

  • 49:18 - Tom shares his process for writing letters of recommendation

  • 59:01 -  How to incorporate a student’s essay brainstorming work

  • 1:01:37 - How could generative AI be utilized in the recommendation writing process?

  • 1:07:08 - Closing thoughts

ResourceS

  • Continued Learning

 

507: What Colleges Want (Part 7A): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Students and Families

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This week, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Ayesha King (Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles) to talk about letters of recommendation. They get into:

  • What goes into a letter of recommendation?

  • How are they evaluated by colleges?

  • Who should students consider asking, and how do they ask?

  • What can students and families do to ensure that their letters are the best they can be?

  • What are FERPA rights and why should you waive them?

Ayesha King (she/her) has over twelve years of experience in admissions at the secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels, developing her values of social justice, equity and access. She is currently the Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles (LILA), a French International school, where she is stretching her skills working with students considering post-secondary options all over the world. She holds her Bachelors degree from the University of Redlands and her Masters degree from California Lutheran University. Ayesha loves spending time with her two boys and two dogs, visiting Disneyland, and talking about pop culture.

This is the next episode in our series on What Colleges Want. Stay tuned for our upcoming episode about writing letters of recommendation for teachers and counselors. Tom will be joined by Hanah Lim (CEG’s Director of Workshops and a former high school English teacher), where they provide their tips, tricks, and hacks to help you write more efficient and effective letters for your students.

We hope you enjoy the conversation! 

Play-by-play

  • 2:49 - How important are letters of recommendation to admissions officers? 

  • 5:55 - Why might it be called a “Letter of Advocacy” instead?

  • 7:19 - When would a letter of recommendation make a big impact on a student’s application?

  • 13:38 - Should students also share this important context if it’s already in their recommendation letter?

  • 15:35 - How can students determine how many letters to request?

  • 19:49 - What is being said in these letters?

  • 26:38 - Which teachers are typically the best to ask for a recommendation letter?

  • 29:51 - Why should students consider asking a teacher from a class they struggled in?

  • 30:47 - What can students do to help their teachers & counselors write the best letter possible?

  • 36:06 - What information should students share with their recommenders?

  • 39:20 - How should students ask for a letter once they have determined who to ask?

  • 44:41 - Do students ever see their letters of recommendation? 

  • 48:24 - Closing advice for parents & students

ResourceS

 

504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

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On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 4 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about the personal statement. According to the latest State of College Admission report – after grades, course rigor, and positive character traits (see previous episodes), the college essay is what colleges care about most. Tom and Ethan get into:

  • What is the purpose of the personal statement? 

  • How do you find a topic, especially if you’re not writing about challenges?  

  • Why do I recommend students NOT choose a common extracurricular activity as their main college essay topic? 

  • How do you stand out? 

  • And how do you know when you’re done?

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Play-by-play

  • 1:38 - What is the purpose of the personal statement in the college admission process?

  • 2:53 - How might students use this statement for multiple schools? 

  • 3:48 - Should students talk about challenges they’ve faced in a personal statement? 

  • 6:47 - Should students talk about their major or career goals?

  • 8:33 - Where is the best place to discuss extracurricular activities? 

  • 10:20 - Should students explain red flags in their personal statement?

  • 11:26 - How can students brainstorm potential topics for their personal statement?

  • 17:56 - What is the structure of a personal statement?

  • 21:11 - How can students stand out?

  • 28:57 - Case Study: What does the process look like from brainstorming to final draft?

  • 35:39 - How does a student know when their essay is done?

  • 38:27 - Is there a place for artificial intelligence in the college essay?

  • 41:47 - have personal statements shifted since the Supreme Court ruling on Race-Conscious Admissions?

  • 44:04 - Why does the personal statement process matter?

  • 49:14 - Closing thoughts

ResourceS

 

503: What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?

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In today’s two-part episode, we’re delving into one of the potentially more confusing aspects of what colleges want — “positive character attributes” — which 65.8% of colleges give considerable or moderate importance. 

In part 1, I’m joined by Tom Bear (VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Bob Massa (former chief admissions/enrollment officer at Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Drew University) to discuss:

  • What are these positive character attributes? 

  • Why are they important to colleges? 

  • How do colleges decide which qualities to seek and how to evaluate for them? 

  • How do students show these qualities in their application? 

Part 2 is with Trisha Ross Anderson, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common Project, and we get into:

  • How Making Caring Common helps colleges figure out what they are looking for 

  • How some colleges are working to increase access and equity in admissions

  • Advice to parents as they navigate this process with their students

Tom Bear has been working in college enrollment since 1987 at a variety of institutions, including as VP for Enrollment at University of Evansville, Senior Director of Enrollment at Notre Dame and now as the VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He joined the Character Collaborative in 2017, served as Board Chair and will chair NACAC’s Character Focus Initiative.

Bob Massa got his Doctorate in Higher Education from Columbia, served as the chief admissions/enrollment officer at Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Drew University and Co- founded the Character Collaborative in 2016. Although he has retired from full-time work after 45 years of campus-based work, he is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s online masters program in enrollment management.

Trisha Ross Anderson has served on research teams at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for the past 13 years. She’s worked with the Making Caring Common (MCC) Project to help write reports including one called Turning the Tide that focuses on reform of the college admission process. She leads MCC’s college admissions initiatives with Richard Weissbourd and currently serves on NACAC’s Character Focus Initiative Advisory Council. 

Play-by-play

  • 0:00 - Meet Tom Bear and Bob Massa (Part 1)

  • 2:12 - What do colleges mean by “positive character attributes”? 

  • 3:55 - What are some examples of these “positive character attributes”?  

  • 4:58 - Why is it important for students, parents, and counselors to think about these qualities?

  • 7:16 - How do colleges decide what qualities they’re looking for?

  • 12:04 - How do colleges evaluate students for these qualities?

  • 13:09 - Example of a rubric on extraordinary commitment to others

  • 19:10 - Why don’t colleges share their rubrics for what they’re looking for?

  • 21:18 - What can students do to better understand what a particular school is looking for?

  • 24:08 - How do colleges evaluate “character” in an applicant? 

  • 29:58 - What is the high school profile and how is it used in a student’s evaluation?

  • 31:20 - Why is it important to think about positive character attributes now?

  • 35:56 - How can students demonstrate these qualities in their college applications? 

  • 40:00 - What can parents do to help their students in this process? 

  • 42:01 - Meet Trisha Ross Anderson (Part 2)

  • 43:09 - What is the Making Caring Common (MCC) project?

  • 44:37 - How is MCC working with colleges? 

  • 46:17 - Why is it difficult to create a rubric for these qualities?

  • 48:16 - How is MCC helping colleges decide on what they are looking for? 

  • 52:45 - How is MCC helping colleges to increase equity and access in the college admissions process?

  • 57:33 - Advice for parents on navigating this process with their students

  • 1:01:31 - Closing thoughts 

ResourceS

Ideas from Ethan for finding what you care about + finding content for your application: 

MCC / CommonApp Question Screenshot:


 

414: A Crash Course in Paying for College & Common Affordability Myths

On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Amanda Miller, who got her start in financial aid through Davidson College’s Advising Corps in 2014. A few thousand students, several resources, and dozens of financial aid presentations later, Amanda hasn’t lost her love of explaining the ins-and-outs of financial aid to folks who just want to figure out how to pay for college. She’s an independent financial aid specialist and college adviser who also serves as the financial aid go-to lady for the Matchlighters program and someone we consider to be a part of the extended College Essay Guy family. 

413: Intellectual Curiosity + College Admissions: What It Is, Why It Matters to Colleges, and How to Show It

In today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Susan Tree (a college counseling and admissions legend with 40+ years of experience) chat about “intellectual curiosity”: a quality that many colleges actively look for in students, yet is a little more ambiguous and nuanced compared to mapping out a high school course plan.

412: Applying to College as a First-Generation or Low-Income Student: The Matchlighters Scholars Program Experience

Hey all, today’s episode is a special one. We had one of our rockstar essay coaches, Shira Harris, sit down with two of her former Matchlighter students, Melina Veliz and Sayem Kamal, to discuss their experiences navigating the college application process as First Generation Low Income Students.

411: Finding Your Why, What a Liberal Arts Education Really Is, and How to Figure out What You Actually Want

On Season 1 of the podcast, Ethan had a great conversation with Maria Furtado, then Executive Director of the Colleges That Change Lives organization (also known as “CTCL”). It’s a lovely chat and to date one of our most downloaded episodes. On today’s episode Ethan had the pleasure of sitting down with her successor, Ann Marano

410: Regional Spotlights: Attending College in The South w/ Renee Ferrerio

In today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) hosts the first installment of a new series called Regional Spotlights, which will bring on college counseling experts who have deep history or knowledge of the exciting college options (and the cultural nuances) from a particular geographic region. We’re kicking off this series in a big way (pun intended) with Colleges in The South. Our Southern specialist and special guest today is CEG’s very own Renee Ferrerrio, Director of College Counseling at The O’Neal School.