Accepted: A College Admissions Podcast

This week, we're joined by Jennifer Liepin, a seasoned admissions consultant with a passion for educational equity. With over 20 years of experience, Jennifer shares key insights from the recent admissions cycle, highlighting what makes students stand out to top-tier universities. Known for her success in guiding students to Ivy League and Top 20 schools, Jennifer offers a glimpse into her effective strategies and the trends she's observed. Whether you're aiming for a top college or seeking to understand the admissions landscape better, this episode provides valuable advice from one of the field's leading experts.

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"How optional is optional?" has arguably become one of the most controversial questions in the admissions landscape with regards to standardized testing. However, recent data from MIT and a New York Times article both suggest that there may be some merit to top schools reintroducing some form of standardized testing as a requirement. This becomes an even more important talking point as many schools will formally re-evaluate their testing policy in 2025. This week, Tyler dives into that discussion, forecasts the testing landscape for upcoming college applicants, and provides some suggestions for how to best prepare

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One of the most important parts of this podcast is the opportunity to respond to questions from students and parents. This week, Tyler responds to a student inquiry about seeking out impactful summer opportunities and discerning which options are going to provide the greatest outcomes for the investment of time. With the plethora of options comes an increased number of opportunities that sound enticing but offer very little in terms of meaningful growth and experience. We talk about some ways to cut through some of that noise and identify the paths that are best fit for you.

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Advanced Placement examinations are one of many ways to demonstrate to colleges that you are academically ready for the rigor of their institution. The breadth and flexibility of the AP program means that it absolutely should be considered as part of any college application strategy, even if you are not attending a school that offers AP. However, with those advantages come a series of misconceptions around how useful these exams are. This week, Tyler breaks down the AP Exams and talks through how to most effectively utilize them to boost your college application, while remaining mindful of some of the pitfalls that can come with focusing solely on APs as a measure of academic rigor.

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In this week's episode, Tyler sits down with Oxford alum and UK education specialist, Maggie. Together, they delve deep into the intricacies of UK university admissions, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to secure a place in one of these prestigious institutions. Whether you're a student who's dreaming of studying in the historic halls of Oxford or Cambridge, or you're simply wondering what else is out there beyond schools in the U.S., this episode is for you. Hear Tyler and Maggie share their wealth of knowledge and experience, shedding light on who might be the best fit for a UK education and how to enhance your chances of success.

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It's the holiday season, which for many means an opportunity to give back. But for college admissions, are a few winter break community service hours going to be enough? In response to a listener question, Tyler spends some time talking about the importance of community impact, dismisses some myths about what counts as "meaningful" volunteer work, and suggests some ways to make sure that the impact you make on your community actually makes a difference.

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Need help applying to college? Contact us for a free consultation where we'll discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and provide an initial assessment to optimize your success. If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream schools, we can help! Visit www.tokyoacademics.com/free-trial.

Join us for an insightful conversation with Dr. Jason Cody Douglass as we delve into the world of the Yale Young Global Scholars program. Discover what makes this program a game-changer in the realm of summer educational opportunities, unraveling its essence, significance, and the qualities that define an ideal candidate.

Dr. Douglass sheds light on the core aspects of the Yale Young Global Scholars program, its unique offerings, and the transformative experiences it offers students. We explore the broader significance of engaging in such immersive programs and why they play a pivotal role in shaping a student's academic journey.

Tune in for an enriching conversation that's bound to inspire and inform!

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Need help applying to college? Contact us for a free consultation where we'll discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and provide an initial assessment to optimize your success. If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream schools, we can help! Visit www.tokyoacademics.com/free-trial.

It's that time of year. Kids are out of school for 2-3 weeks, and all parents seem to see is some combination of video games, hanging out with friends, and screen time. Winter break is certainly a period to take a breather from the intensity of fall, but it is also an essential time, without competing priorities, to really start planning your future. In this episode, Tyler introduces some simple ground rules for how to make the most of your winter break to lay a path for success for your academic and college plans.

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Need help applying to college? Contact us for a free consultation where we'll discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and provide an initial assessment to optimize your success. If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream schools, we can help! Visit www.tokyoacademics.com/free-trial.

The UC application is due in just a few days! There are a lot of key differences between the UC application and the Common App, and with that comes a variety of ways to both make mistakes on and maximize your application. This week, Tyler offers some final advice on how to make sure your UC applications really shine, covering the UCs unique grading system, the Personal Insight Questions, and the extensive Activity List.

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Need help applying to college? Contact us for a free consultation where we'll discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and provide an initial assessment to optimize your success. If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream schools, we can help! Visit www.tokyoacademics.com/free-trial.

There’s no time to waste! Even though it is only November, many competitive summer programs have application deadlines coming up soon. Don’t let a missed deadline be the reason you can’t have a meaningful summer. This week, Tyler talks about the importance of starting your summer research early, and provides advice on how to filter and find the best programs in a sea of options.

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Need help applying to college? Contact us for a free consultation where we'll discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and provide an initial assessment to optimize your success. If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream schools, we can help! Visit www.tokyoacademics.com/free-trial.

Note: This podcast was recorded on October 31st, 2023.

Submissions have begun! If you've already done so, congratulations! You've passed one major milestone! For those of you who are still working away to get that essay just right or fix those activities, Tyler will share some final tips about ensuring a smooth submission. He will also talk a little bit about priorities after application, so if you want to make sure that your application is fully complete, tune in to learn more.

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Does it really matter if I open that email? Will joining UCLA's Summer Institute increase my chances of getting in? Do I really have to tour a school to have a chance? Are schools really tracking all of this? There are many, many questions around the ambiguous metric of demonstrated interest and how that really affects your chances of getting into a university. This week, Tyler continues his mini-series on demystifying some of the myths and inconsistencies around college applications by diving deep into demonstrated interest, its relationship with college yield percentages, and the importance of using demonstrated interest to develop your interest in the schools you might want to apply for.

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The word "optional" is showing up a lot across college applications everywhere. Whether it be test scores, resumes, additional recommenders, or even the supplemental essays themselves, choice (or the illusion of it) is more prominent than ever. What does this all mean? Is there a disadvantage to not filling out absolutely everything? Why are they giving us so many choices? Tyler spends some time breaking down the strategic definition of the word "optional" and offers some advice on how to choose wisely.

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There are a lot of misconceptions out there about how to best strategize around a college application. The beliefs range from the reasonable - "Test optional can't possibly really mean optional, can it?" - to the extreme - "Should I buy a house in Sacramento so my child is considered in state for UC Berkeley?" As part of an ongoing series, Tyler will spend some time breaking down a few of the myths around college applications and provide alternative strategies to give you an actual advantage.

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As we get closer to the first round of application deadlines, Tyler takes some time to review the differences between Early Decision, Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, and any other terms that may affect your overall college list building and application strategy. As more schools lean into accepting more students Early Decision, what does that mean for how you should be thinking about your application strategy? Tune in to find out.

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In the midst of what is already a time filled with stress and indecision, The U.S. News and World Report has decided to release its new college rankings, incorporating a new algorithm that addresses the ongoing criticism it has recently come under. This revision has led to notable shifts in rank for several schools, as well as a renewed skepticism of ranking systems in general. This week, Tyler dives into these new numbers and shares his thoughts on how this widely used publication is now evaluating colleges and universities. 

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College applications have lots of restrictions. Whether it be word count, number of recommendations, size of your portfolio, or even the length of your school list, there are limits. This means that every opportunity you have to provide additional information matters, especially when colleges are placing so much emphasis on "holistic" admissions. So how should you use the Common App "Additional Information" section? What are things you should or shouldn't use it for? Tyler responds to a couple listener questions this week by explaining how to best utilize this section.

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Every industry is leaning into the importance of data and analytics to optimize their strategies and decision making. Your college application process is no exception to this. But with all the information out there, how can a student make sure the data they are looking at is accurate and reliable? This week, Tyler takes a deep dive into a resource that many students and families aren't aware of when doing their college research: The Common Data Set. It is perhaps the most direct and all-in-one-place compilation of data that can exist about a particular school. Tyler examines a couple schools for insights that are helpful for strategic decision making, and provides some suggestions on how to use this under-utilized resource to your advantage.

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With all the changes happening in the world of college admissions, and especially the recent Supreme Court Decision, this is a particularly important year to take a look at how college supplemental essays have shifted. This week, Tyler dives into a few of the new prompts, and suggests what these changes might mean for prospective students in terms of what their priorities should be.

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This week, Tyler chats with Elia, a Japanese national and TASIS aluma, now navigating her college journey at Trinity. Dive into her transformative years at The American School In Switzerland, the cultural contrasts she faced, and how those pivotal moments in Lugano led her to discover her true calling. Tune in to learn about the pros and cons of a boarding school education, and how it paves a path to college.

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Need help applying to college? Contact us for a free consultation where we'll discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and provide an initial assessment to optimize your success. If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream schools, we can help! Visit www.tokyoacademics.com/free-trial.