YCBK 92: What is the Media Not Saying About College Admissions?

In this episode you will hear: (03:40) In this week’s news, an article from New York Times, “ACT Change Will Allow Students to Retake Individual Sections”, by Anemona Hartocollis. Starting in September 2020, students who want to improve their ACT scores will be able to retake single sections of the five-part ACT test - instead of sitting for all of them again. Additionally, the ACT will send a super score report of the scores each time they take the test. The article points out that it is yet to be determined whether some colleges will evaluate applicants with a super score against those with a composite score from 1 exam. We will surely be revisiting this topic again soon as this announcement raised as many questions as it did answer questions.     (23:06) We are in chapter 92 of 171 Answers and Mark talks through what college admissions secrets the media isn’t telling you.    (36:20) This week’s question is from Hilary in Colorado Springs, CO. She is the mom of a charter school student and wants to know if it’s okay for her daughter to reach out to regional admissions officers from colleges where she plans to apply, and invite them to her school.   (43:53) Mark continues his interview with Peter Van Buskirk, Founder of Best College Fit, and Former VP of Enrollment at Franklin and Marshall, in “Understanding how colleges act as businesses in ways that are not in your best interest”- Part 3 Peter and Mark talk about how schools are using Early Action to identify students they want to flip into Early Decision Peter talks about Varsity Blues and he explains why something like this happened Peter talks about how F & M went test-optional when he was there and he shares a couple true stories about how some test-optional students did at Franklin and Marshall. Peter then makes a compelling case for why he doesn’t believe there is any such thing as a school being “need-blind     (52:28) Mark’s recommended resource of the week is Jed Applerouth’s interesting article about what the ACT changes mean for students.   (01:05:12) College Spotlight: The University of Kentucky   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"