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523: Busting College Admission Myths Using Data: Standardized Tests, Rankings, and the Cost of College with Akil Bello

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SHOW NOTES

In today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Akil Bello to talk about standardized tests, rankings, and the cost of college. They dig into some common misconceptions about college including: 

  • Are most colleges returning to requiring standardized testing scores? 

  • Is it too hard to get into college? 

  • Are highly-ranked colleges better? 

  • Is it true that most colleges now cost more than $100,000 per year to attend? 

  • And more!

Akil Bello is an educator, strategist, researcher, policy consultant, and advocate for equitable access to education. For more than 30 years, he’s worked every job you can imagine related to admission testing and college access from tutor, to test prep company founder to CEO and now works as the Senior Director of Advocacy at Fair Test. When he is not moonlighting reading college applications for a public university, he serves on several advisory boards, writes articles for Forbes, and helps his wife parent their college freshman and HS junior. 

We hope you enjoy!

Play-by-Play

  •  1:56 - Akil shares a bit about his background and identities 

  •  3:57 - What is Fair Test and what does Akil do as Senior Director of Advocacy? 

  •  6:03 - Myth #1: Most colleges are returning to requiring standardized testing scores. 

  • 11:25 - Myth #2: Universities are returning to standardized tests because they help attract students of color?

  • 13:40 - Myth #3: Standardized test scores are a reliable predictor of GPA in college. 

  • 16:18 - Myth #4: It is harder than ever to get into college. 

  • 19:25 - Myth #5: The higher the ranking, the better the school.

  • 27:59 - What are some good questions that students can ask themselves when developing a college list? 

  • 29:52 - Myth #6: College is expensive. 

  • 33:59 - Myth #7: A particular essay, extracurricular, or passion project gets students into college.  

  • 37:34 - What are some good questions that students can ask themselves when considering whether or not to submit a test score?

  • 43:26 - What are some good questions that students can ask themselves if they are considering writing about race in their college essay or application?

  • 46:44 - Akil shares advice to parents and students who are navigating this process

  • 51:28 - Wrap up and closing thoughts 

Resources

 

518: Inside the Application (Part 4): How to Know if You’re “Almost Done” with Your College Application

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Today’s episode is part four of our series Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term.  Cassidy’s application deadlines are coming up, so Ethan and Cassidy check out what she has so far through a process called the “Almost Done” review. They discuss about, among other things:

  • Where do things stand & how’s Cassidy feeling about the application?

  • What values come through in each piece of Cassidy’s writing? 

  • Where do Ethan (and Cassidy) see opportunities for revision to bring more of herself into the application? 

  • And more

Stay tuned, as we’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to find out how her process went and what she ended up hearing back from colleges.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper.” 

We hope you enjoy.


Play-by-Play

2:05 - How’s the writing process going for Cassidy?

  • 2:50 - How much time has Cassidy been putting into her application lately?

  • 4:50 - Does Cassidy consider herself a writer?

  • 5:45 - What is an “Almost Done” review? 

  • 6:39 - What is a Values Scan? 

  • 8:55 - Reviewing Cassidy’s most recent draft of the personal statement 

  • 23:20 - Cassidy shares some of her activities list descriptions

  • 34:35 - Highlights from Cassidy’s additional information section

  • 38:25 - Cassidy’s draft of her “excitement for learning” essay 

  • 48:08 - Cassidy’s draft of her “roommate” essay

  • 53:20 - Cassidy’s draft of her “community” essay

  • 1:03:08 - Cassidy shares her short answer responses (50 words each) 

  • 1:12:55 - Ethan shares closing advice for Cassidy as she prepares to submit 

  • 1:14:20 - Final thoughts

Resources

 

517: Inside the Application (Part 3): Supplemental Essay Deep Dive + Developing the College List w/ Special Guest Renee Ferrerio

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SHOW NOTES

Today’s episode is part three of our series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term.  This episode is a deep dive into the supplemental essays — specific essays that many selective colleges and universities require. In particular, Cassidy and Ethan get into: 

  • How to write the “What would you bring to our campus” essay

  • How to write an essay that focuses on “intellectual vitality” 

  • How to write the “roommate” essay

  • Tips on the short answer questions (50 words or less)

  • And more

Finally, we close the episode out with a special guest appearance from Renee Ferrerio to review Cassidy’s college list. Renee has been working in college admission for three decades. She has a Masters in school counseling, has worked as both a public and independent school counselor, and serves on numerous college advisory boards and committees, including the Common Application Outreach Advisory Board, and many others. 

Stay tuned for future episodes where Ethan and Cassidy continue the conversation. We’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to see how things are going, and you’ll find out how it turned out a few months from now.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper”—more on that in our conversation. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Play-by-Play

  • 1:55 - How’s Cassidy doing on her supplemental essays so far?

  • 4:00 - Ethan reads Cassidy’s “what would you bring to our campus” essay draft

  • 8:48 - Ethan’s feedback on the essay

  • 15:38 - Additional supplemental essay prompts + Ethan’s impressions

  • 19:28 - Using the Roles and Identities Exercise to brainstorm ideas

  • 24:48 - Ethan reads & reviews Cassidy’s draft of her “community” essay

  • 35:41 - Ethan reads and reviews Cassidy’s draft of her “roommate” essay

  • 44:42 - Reviewing Cassiday’s “short answer” prompts (and why they’re like an advent calendar)

  • 53:45 - Introducing Renee Ferrerio (CEG college counselor with 25+ years experience)

  • 59:28 - Discussing impacted majors, Colleges That Change Lives, and suggestions for Cassidy’s college list

Resources

 

516: Inside the Application (Part 2): Developing the Personal Statement, Supplemental Essays, and College List with Cassidy, HS Senior

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SHOW NOTES

Today’s episode is part two of our series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Ethan and Cassidy will be walking step-by-step through the college application process as it unfolds this school year. In episode 2, they get into: 

  • How is Cassidy’s personal statement coming along?

  • What does Cassidy want colleges to know about her?

  • How is Cassidy approaching her supplemental essays?

  • What is Cassidy looking for in a college and how did she develop her list?

  • And more

Stay tuned for future episodes where Ethan and Cassidy continue the conversation! This series is a bit different in that, normally, we share episodes-in-a-series consecutively. For these, we’re releasing them pretty much as we record them, so you’ll notice them interspersed among other topics we’ll be covering. We’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to see how things are going, and you’ll find out how it turned out a few months from now.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper”—more on that in our conversation. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Play-by-Play

  • 1:36 - What has Cassidy been working on since last episode?

  • 3:28 - Cassidy reads draft two of her personal statement 

  • 7:51 - Cassidy shares her thoughts on her draft

  • 9:18 - Ethan gives feedback and shares suggestions for the next draft 

  • 12:57 -  Ethan reviews Cassidy’s "Everything I Want Colleges to Know About Me" list

  • 21:38 - Ethan reviews Cassidy’s CommonApp Activities List and Additional Info sections

  • 26:09 - What is Cassidy looking for in a college and how did she develop her list?

  • 25:00 - Ethan reads the supplemental prompts from Cassidy’s college list tracker 

  • 35:56  - What is a “super topic" and how might it help Cassidy?

  • 50:50 - What is the Roles and Identities exercise?

  • 58:55 - What are Cassidy’s next steps in her drafting process? 

Resources

 

515: Inside the Application Part 1: Brainstorming, Outlining, and Drafting in Real Time with Cassidy, HS Senior

Listen Here

SHOW NOTES

Today’s episode kicks off a new series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Ethan and Cassidy will be walking step-by-step through the college application process as it unfolds this school year. In episode 1, they get into: 

  • How did Cassidy approach brainstorming and outlining for her personal statement? 

  • What brainstorming activities helped Cassidy pick her topic?

  • Cassidy’s first draft of her personal statement 

  • Ethan’s suggestions for revision 

  • And more

This series will also be different in that, normally, we share episodes-in-a-series consecutively. For these, we’re releasing them pretty much as we record them, so you’ll notice them interspersed among other topics we’ll be covering. 

Stay tuned for future episodes where Ethan and Cassidy continue the conversation! They’ll revisit her personal statement, talk about supplemental essays, go over how Cassidy developed her college list, and even talk a little bit about the activities list and the additional information section. We’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to see how things are going, and you’ll find out how it turned out a few months from now.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper”—more on that in our conversation. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Play-by-Play

  • 2:57 - Getting to know Cassidy through her brainstorming materials

    • 3:27 - Cassidy’s social identities

    • 4:29 - Cassidy’s values

    • 7:05 - Cassidy’s superpower

    • 8:12 - Cassidy’s islands of personality

  • 8:40 - What were some of the topics Cassidy considered for her essay?

  • 13:51 - Cassidy walks through her essay outline and examples

  • 16:01 - How did outlining make things easier for Cassidy? 

  • 18:48 - Cassidy reads the first draft of her personal statement 

  • 22:42 - Cassidy shares her thoughts on her draft

  • 26:04 - Ethan gives feedback 

  • 39:18 - Ethan shares suggestions for the next draft 

  • 41:52 - Closing thoughts  

Resources

 

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.

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