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college readiness

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

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SHOW NOTES

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

 

209: Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream

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SHOW NOTES

Friends, I enjoyed doing the first series on access and equity so much that I thought, why not do another? This episode is the first of three that focuses on paying for college. My guest for this first episode is Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Professor of Higher Education Policy & Sociology at Temple University, author of Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream. On this episode we discuss:

  • Why has paying for college become such a problem? 

  • Which students are most impacted by needs insecurity and why don’t students tell their stories of struggle?

  • How is the current financial aid system broken, and what are some solutions?

  • How can students avoid getting into debt without getting a degree?

  • Advice for students currently applying

  • A really specific way that you, dear listener, can make a difference.

Sara Goldrick-Rab is Professor of Higher Education Policy & Sociology at Temple University, and Founder of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice in Philadelphia, as well as the Wisconsin HOPE Lab.

Dr. Goldrick-Rab’s commitment to scholar-activism is evidenced by her broad profile of research and writing dissecting the intended and unintended consequences of the college-for-all movement in the United States. In more than a dozen experimental, longitudinal, and mixed-methods studies, she has examined the efficacy and distributional implications of financial aid policies, welfare reform, transfer practices, and a range of interventions aimed at increasing college attainment among marginalized populations. Dr. Goldrick-Rab is best known for her innovative research on food and housing insecurity in higher education, having led the four largest national studies on the subject, and for her work on making public higher education free.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

[1:30] Who is Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab?
[2:30] What’s the premise of Dr. Goldrick-Rab’s book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream
[4:10] Why has paying for college become such a problem?
[5:55] What is #realcollege?
[7:26] Why don’t students tell their stories of struggle? 
[8:06] How did these students’ stories lead Sara to begin her work?
[10:08] Which students are most impacted by needs insecurity?
[11:55] How is the current financial aid system broken, and what are some solutions? 
[14:58] A message to those who feel like there’s no hope...
[17:45] How do students avoid getting into debt without getting a degree?
[20:02] What’s some advice for students who are currently applying?
[22:06] Advice for counselors helping students apply
[24:20] What’s one specific, practical thing each of us can do to make a difference?

Relevant LINKS:

208: Resources for First-Generation Students (and Their Counselors)

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SHOW NOTES

Did you know that every year 500,000 academically qualified, lower-income students who should go on to college… don’t? That’s the problem an organization called Strive for College is working to solve. On this episode, which is part 3 of 3 in my series on access and equity, I sit down with their Chief Strategy Officer, Matt Rubinoff, who for years has been advocating for first-generation and low-income students and we discuss, among other things:

  • What’s so special about being first anyway?

  • Why first-gen students should take a “What’s in it for me?” approach

  • Resources for first-gen students and their counselors, including (one of my all-time favorites) the “I’m First! Guide to College,” which highlights resources and opportunities available to first-gen students at hundreds of colleges and universities

  • Questions first-gen students should ask when researching colleges

  • The importance of not just getting to college, but getting through it

  • How first-gen and low-income students can receive not only free mentoring but also free test prep!

PLAY-BY-PLAY

[1:40] Who is Matt Rubinoff?
[3:16] What the problem is Strive for College trying to solve?
[5:21] What’s so special about being first anyway?
[6:44] Why should first-gen students take a “What’s in it for me?” approach?
[8:16] The (amazing) “I’m First Guide to College”
[12:13] Resources for First-Gen Students
[13:33] How to get free mentoring (if you’re a first-gen student)
[15:28] How to become a mentor (if you’re a counselor)
[17:00] Questions first-gen students should ask when researching colleges
[19:57] What does Matt want first gen student to know?

Relevant LINKS:

207: 17 Things to Do Before Going to College

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Download a PDF of The Roommate Contract

SHOW NOTES

Harlan Cohen is a New York Times bestselling author, nationally syndicated advice columnist, and speaker who has visited over 500 high school and college campuses.  He is the author of six books including, The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into In College, The Naked Roommate: For Parents Only, and Dad’s Expecting Too!  

Harlan is a frequent guest on television and radio programs.  He is the founder of Best First Year, an online college readiness and success program for high school and college students. You can find him on social media @HarlanCohen and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HelpMeHarlan and you can watch his TEDx talk at www.HarlanCohen.com/TEDx

On this podcast Harlan offers so much great advice from:

  • A simple exercise to help set you up for a great freshman year

  • How to find your people on campus

  • Whether or not you should break up with your high school sweetheart (what Harlan says might surprise you)

  • Three great questions to put on your contract with your roommate

  • On-campus resources that he (and I!) wish we’d known more about when we were in college

  • Harlan’s “three-box” strategy for packing

PLAY-BY-PLAY

[0:35] Who is Harlan Cohen?
[2:08] How does Harlan get the inside scoop on college-going folks?
[4:16] Tip #1 Identify what you want
[5:57] Tip #2 Tell the story of your first year (as if it’s already happened)
[9:19] Tip #3 Pick 3 clubs or organizations that speak to you
[11:04] Tip #4 Find your 5 friends in your corner
[14:06] Tip #5 Don’t break up with your high school sweetheart!
[15:47] Tip #6 Break up with your high school sweetheart!
[17:45] Tip #7 Take advantage of welcome week
[20:58] Tip #8 Read the campus newspaper
[22:22] Tip #9 Am I the roommate from Hell?
[26:25] Tip #10 Don’t be mean to those we’ll miss the most
[28:14] Tip #11 Check out the school’s free services
[30:47] Tip #12 Look for more money!
[34:45] Tip #13 Make rules for going out
[38:57] Tip #14 Get a box of medicine
[40:06] Tip #15 Have a scary *honest* conversation with your parents
[42:50] Tip #16 The three box strategy
[43:53] Tip #17 Plan to be an imperfectionist
[45:40] The Universal Rejection Truth
[46:50] The Best First Year

Relevant LINKS: