Admissions Beat

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  Odds and Ends 02.06.2026 38分

  In a "listener mailbag" bonus episode, Jen Simons from Bright Horizons College Coach joins AB host Lee Coffin to answer an array of listener questions. The mailbag queries spark riffs on a wide range of admissions topics from applying to college as a twin to the option of a state honors college to interpreting newsfeed posts about 2026 acceptance rates, the "new Ivies," and "over-rated" colleges. And the longtime friends and colleagues touch a few topics no one asked them to discuss!
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  The Initial Friendship Market 12.05.2026 50分

  In the season finale, sociologist Janice McCabe offers insights on friendship from her new book Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends, as this fall's entering class makes the transition from home to college. "Belonging is a powerful human need," Professor McCabe notes, and the post-admission period leading up to orientation and the start of classes is what McCabe calls "the initial friendship market." An expert in how people connect in social situations, she advises students to "be intentional about what, who, and where you look" for friends during this fast-moving moment, a powerful transition when everyone is eager to make new friendships.
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  The Transition from Home to College 05.05.2026 41分

  Hooray, the college search is over! Now what?! As high school seniors become "pre-matrics" on the campus of their choice, a surprising swirl of checklists and emotions arise for students and their parents or guardians. Carleton's dean of students and a longtime college counselor join AB host Lee Coffin for tips and thoughts on successfully transitioning from home to college in the weeks ahead.
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  The Things I Wish I'd Known... 28.04.2026 59分

  A live audience of high school seniors and parents at Dartmouth's accepted student open house ponder the lessons of the search they are about to complete. "What are the things you wish you'd known a year ago?" AB host Lee Coffin and former New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg ask them. In response, they offer tips for a meaningful campus visit; they celebrate the importance of vibe over spreadsheets of data; and they advise rising seniors to filter an admissions-clogged newsfeed with care. The audience of admissions veterans reminds the next crop of applicants to sustain a sense of authenticity and self-advocacy as the admissions cycle plays out. "Are these my people?" was the key assessment of one senior's discovery period; "I was the guide on the side," a mother shares. And Dartmouth's Dean Coffin reminds future applicants, “ 'Feel' is the unsung hero of your college search.”
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  Guiding the Voyage of Discovery: The College Finder 21.04.2026 57分

  Guidebooks have been a staple of the college search process since 1982, when The Fiske Guide introduced a new resource to prospective applicants and parents. Today, over 300 titles assess and describe campuses and their offerings as prospective applicants explore and compare options. The co-authors of The College Finder—a voluminous list-based guidebook now in its fifth edition—join AB to reflect on "the voyage of discovery" a guidebook supports. "You are really a fit guide!", Dartmouth's Lee Coffin observes.
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  Once a High School Principal, Now an Admissions Officer 14.04.2026 46分

  In an uncommon career pivot, former high school principal and English teacher Robin Appleby segued from her school-based tenures in the U.S. and internationally to a late-career stint as a college admission officer at Dartmouth. She joins AB host Lee Coffin for a reflection on the lessons drawn from both sides of her academic desk.
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  AP or Honors, Which Looks Better for Colleges? 07.04.2026 50分

  The quality of an applicant's senior year program—and the grades achieved in that course of study—are foundational to the academic assessment of any application to a selective college. In an encore episode from Season 5, college counselor Eric Monheim from St Mark’s School in Massachusetts joins SMU’s Elena Hicks and AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth to ponder the perennial question: “AP or Honors, which one looks better?" as high school juniors select their senior year curriculum.
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  Navigating April 31.03.2026 34分

  For one month each year, two admission cycles overlap as high school seniors and juniors share center stage. As seniors wrap up their searches over the next four weeks and juniors shift into active mode, college counselor Darryl Tiggle from Friends School of Baltimore joins AB host Lee Coffin to map a plan for a purposeful April for both classes.
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  State You 24.03.2026 48分

  A "state option" is often recommended as families wrestle with the affordability of college. But focusing on "affordability" of public institutions alone undersells the opportunity and value of a state university as a campus to explore. AB host Lee Coffin welcomes senior admissions leaders from UMass-Amherst and UT-Austin for a comprehensive primer on the state option, and AB producer Charlotte Albright joins the conversation to add her classroom-based perspective as a former journalism professor at Vermont State University.
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  March Madness Part 2: "How Do You Decide?" 17.03.2026 40分

  "How do you decide?" is one of the most probing questions associated with selective admissions. With so many qualified candidates competing for limited spots, decisions are often presumed to be random for those on the outside of the process. In the second conversation of AB's "March Madness" two-pack, New York Times journalist and best-selling author Jacques Steinberg interviews AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin to unpack and illuminate the deliberations that unfold in a selective admissions committee. As Steinberg (who has observed such meetings) notes, there is no simple formula dictating their final choices. "I can tell you with every confidence that it doesn't exist. This is my Indiana Jones quest, and so far, I have come up empty, and I expect that I will always come up empty," he says.
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  March Madness Part 1: Reading Season 10.03.2026 47分

  In the first of a two-part episode, AB peeks behind the opaque curtain of a selective admissions office in March. Four Dartmouth admission officers join their dean for an introspective conversation about reading applications, which is "the fundamental task we have as admission officers at a college," AB host Lee Coffin notes. As one veteran reader says, "It's my favorite [part of the admissions cycle] because we get to meet people from all around the world...and put ourselves in the life of another person. It is a fundamentally positive and optimistic part of each admissions cycle."
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  Follow Me! 03.03.2026 46分

  Do Instagram or Reddit rival a guidance counselor as a source of admissions information and advice? Can YouTube match or beat an on-campus tour as a measure of vibe and place? Conventional wisdom says Gen Z prefers social media over in-person activities, but a trio of undergrad admissions bloggers at Dartmouth suggests a more cautious role for social media in a college search. The first-year students ponder the plusses and pitfalls of digital platforms as opportunities for discovery and as rabbit holes to avoid.
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  Crunching Numbers 24.02.2026 54分

  The college admissions process spits out lots of stats. Some numbers are straightforward, or they seem to be, while many data points require a nuanced interpretation from an inside source. Always, an ounce of context goes a long way towards appreciating what a number really means. The admissions deans from Colorado College and Dartmouth offer curious consumers of admissions data a cheat sheet on admissions numerology and how to "crunch" the stats that count. "Fair warning," they agree, "there is no code to crack!"
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  "Let's Just See What Happens..." 17.02.2026 50分

  By definition, a guidance or college counselor offers counsel as a search takes shape and progresses. But sometimes that advice is resisted by parents and students. A "reach" or a "likely" designation can spark debate as aspirations meet the truth of a competitive forecast of admissibility. "Let's just see what happens..." or "you never know..." are common reactions of resistance. “I know," a veteran counselor replies. “I am not trying to insult you—I am trying to steer you towards good options."
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  Everything Counts! 10.02.2026 45分

  "What counts?!" is the perennial question asked by parents and students as they wonder what makes a strong application. The answer, it turns out, is complicated. In a re-broadcast of a popular episode from Season 7, the admissions deans at Dartmouth and Brown ponder the nuanced question at hand as they share insights on what admissions officers are—and are not—considering as they build their college communities. Juniors, this conversation will help you discover which colleges match your interests and abilities, while seniors may be glad to know that the way you tell your own story is as important as the transcripts and test scores you submit.
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  Discovery Starts With Program 03.02.2026 54分

  An effective college search starts with discovery. “Start your discovery with the fundamental thing about college,” AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin advises. “You are going to college to study, and four ‘Ps’ should guide the first phase of the search. Focus on program, place, people, and price as the building blocks of discovery for each campus." Senior admission officers from Brandeis, Cornell, and Saint John’s of Annapolis join Coffin with tips on how to explore academic programs, classroom types or formats, and general education requirements. They also discuss how place shapes academic majors from campus to campus. “Understand how every institution offers its course of study in its own distinctive way,” Cornell’s director of undergraduate admissions counsels. “And focus on what gets you excited—what learning environment lets you do your best work?,” the Brandeis dean asks.
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  Junior Kickoff! 27.01.2026 49分

  It's time for the high school class of 2027 to step into the college search spotlight. As juniors kick off their college search, AB resets its narrative spotlight to the discovery phase. In the ninth season premiere, Dartmouth's Lee Coffin welcomes recurring co-host Jacques Steinberg, a former higher ed reporter at the New York Times and the best-selling author of The Gatekeepers and The College Conversation, and Kate Boyle Ramsdell, director of college counseling at Noble and Greenough School in suburban Boston, for a wide-ranging primer on the college search. The trio outlines key milestones in the search calendar; shares tips on identifying criteria and "non-negotiable" factors; advises the development of an exploratory list as an opportunity to discover; and recommends a family's financial capacity as an essential list shaper. "Let's give you a toolkit to move from discovery to applying with a sense of purpose," Dean Coffin says.
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  A Primer on Financial Aid 20.01.2026 21分

  In a preseason bonus episode, Admissions Beat cross-shares a YouTube conversation about financial aid from the parenting website Grown & Flown featuring AB host and Dartmouth Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid Lee Coffin and AB contributor Jacques Steinberg, former New York Times higher education journalist and bestselling author of The College Conversation. As G&F notes on its YouTube channel: "In this essential conversation…Steinberg and Coffin break down what families really need to know about paying for college. This is not about negotiating like you’re buying a car—it’s about understanding how colleges calculate affordability, how financial aid works behind the scenes, and how families can make informed, realistic decisions without panic." You can learn more about Grown and Flown’s video offerings here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7rv_839KAGNCD9-KpUtlZQ.
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  After Early 09.12.2025 55分

  For the high school Class of ’26, the first college admissions milestone is at hand as early decisions—some binding, some not—land. In AB's season finale, a trio of deans and a college counselor unpack those decisions, offering guidance on the etiquette of an early acceptance as well as reassurance for those with an early outcome that extends a search into regular decision.
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  Channel Your Main Character Energy 02.12.2025 40分

  From Grey's Anatomy to Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes is television's storyteller extraordinaire. The Emmy winner visits AB for a lesson on how to channel main-character energy in an essay or interview. "What would you say to a teenager staring at a blank page, afraid their first draft won’t be good enough?," Dartmouth's Lee Coffin asks her. "Don't overthink your story," Shonda advises. "Just be you."