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The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions


Sep 12, 2020

In this episode we cover, among other things:

  • Ways that students of Color can advocate for themselves while in high school
  • How to research Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • Ways to learn more about fit at colleges that are not minority-serving
  • Where to find more financial aid after you’ve been accepted
  • How parents can get involved to advocate for their students in high school and college
  • How counselors can more fully serve students of Color
  • & First steps that counselors can take to become focused on racial equity and anti-racism

Resources:

Play-by-play:

  • [1:00] Who is Sydney Montgomery? 
  • [3:00] Why does Sydney do this work? 
  • [3:45] Tip #1: Own your academic journey
  • [6:30] #2: Strive to reach higher than just the bare minimum graduation requirements. 
  • [7:48] #3: Make sure that your college application list is tailored to your academic profile. 
  • [10:15] #4: Make sure you and your counselor have a good fit relationship 
  • [13:14] #5: Form allies outside of your counselor or teacher.
  • [14:04] #6: Prepare a brag sheet for teachers’ letters of recommendation
  • [15:40] #7: Parents should start to request information about FAFSA and financial aid in the 9th grade.
  • [17:20] #8: Parents and students need to consider finances when building a college list
  • [22:15] #9: Students should advocate for themselves in the early stages of the college application process
  • [23:30] #10: Don’t overlook the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • [27:40] #11: Speak to students in the Black Student Union or other cultural affinity groups when on college visits.
  • [28:50] #12: Look up a school’s profile on the Common Data Set
  • [32:25] #13: Apply to scholarships offered by Black Sororities and Fraternities (the “Divine Nine”)
  • [33:05] #14: Apply to scholarships with Black churches
  • [33:30] #15: Don’t discount things like church activities and helping out at home or with younger siblings
  • [35:20] #16: Actively pursue certain specialized programs like magnet programs.
  • [36:15] #17: Parents can push school districts and boards of education to fund schools on an equitable basis to combat education disparities.
  • [37:45] How counselors can more fully serve students of Color
  • [43:30] First steps that counselors can take to become focused on racial equity and anti-racism