Episodes

#071 - One of the most important things you will do in high school, is to make a list of colleges to which you will apply. Making that list will be a challenging exercise because there are a great many colleges and universities from which to choose. Although they all share some characteristics, they are also very different in many other important ways. It is important that you recognize the elements of a college or university that are important to you. On episodes 10, 11, 13, and 14, we...

# 070 – Today, on our next-to-last episode of in our Habits of Successful Overachieving Students, Jankel go over five habits and activities that historically have produced positive results in the lives of students in the past. As we begin our conversation highlighting the importance of intellectual curiosity, we transition into the ways in which successful students find self-motivation. Inner self-motivation is a necessary must-have for anyone interested in pursuing a worthwhile cause. Jan...

#069 – The information in your high school transcripts is the first element of your college application that will be scrutinized by the college admission officers of the colleges to which you will apply. The classes you took, the grades you earned, and your GPA, will all come together to give them an idea of how prepared you are for college. On this episode, Jankel and I explore this and everything else related to your academic record. At the beginning of the episode, we explore the rea...

# 068 – On this episode, Jankel and I, continue outlining the habits of successful and overachieving students by going over habits number 4 to 6. We begin by describing what “owning the course material” means and the ways in which students can do so, in ways that affect their academic performance. We also uncover an often-automatic and very positive action that overachieving students take, that is reverse engineering the many seemingly unsurmountable tasks that are part of the high school ...

# 067 – In my life as a professor I have had the sweet privilege of seeing a number of students who went on to accomplish and surpass their goals. These are the students I refer to as successful and overachieving. Their paths were crafted with care and their steps were taken with absolute precision. Some of them went on to complete their bachelor and graduate degrees at great universities. Today, they are successful professionals, each making the world better within their own domain. I ...

#066 – On this episode we dive into the details of Advanced Placement courses, including the importance of having a number of them reflected in your transcripts, especially if you are planning to apply to highly selective colleges and universities. There may be departments or programs within colleges or universities that will expect to see specific AP courses on your academic record. An example of this may be Engineering Programs expecting to see a number of AP math and science courses in you...

#065 –Today, on this Career Episode, we present Industrial Engineering, one of the hottest careers for the period between 2020 and 2030. Jankel and I begin our conversation by explaining what industrial engineers do and highlighting their utility in diverse industries and organizations throughout the world. As I define industrial engineering as “Project Management on Steroids,” we uncover the robust activities that industrial engineers perform on a daily basis, from using computer simulati...

#064 – Selective Colleges and universities want to give admission to applicants who have a demonstrated record of great academic performance. One of the ways in which college admission officers are able to gauge the academic abilities of applicants is by scrutinizing the information provided in their transcripts. The more high-level classes students take and do well in, the more favorable they will be perceived as applicants. On this episode, Jankel and I go over the different levels of classes ...

#063 – Each year, thousands of students find themselves in the unfortunate position of not being ready for college, even as they get close to graduating high school. On this episode, I talk about the different reasons why students fall behind on their college preparation, even as some of them do all that they think they should be doing in addition to their academic work. There are two pieces of advice I introduce, based on my personal experience, research on this topic, and years of participatin...

#062 – Misinformation about college admissions is widespread and constant. And, although poor and downright wrong information is often circulated with the best of intentions, it has the potential of taking you down a path that does not help your college goals. On this episode, I uncover the truth behind six popular myths, having to do with preparing and applying to highly selective colleges and universities, the affordability of a private college education, school rankings, the role that lega...

#061 – Today, on this solo episode, we uncover the default assumptions colleges and universities make about First-Generation College Students (FGCS). Those assumptions aim to guide the efforts higher education institutions make to support applicants who are considered FGCS. They have to do with the applicants’ academic preparation, ability to afford college, and the ability to manage the college admission process and college success. As the episode progresses, I present the different wa...

#060 – Becoming a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine is a goal that requires full commitment and dedication. Our guest today is Dr. Jonathan David Dear, professor of medicine and epidemiology at one of the premier veterinary programs in the world, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Dear is also very involved in the SVM’s admission board. That is the group of people who are in charge of selecting the applicants who will become part of the veterinary medicine program for a given acad...

#059 – On this episode, we wrap up our discussion about medicine as a field of study and as a profession. Today, we expand on areas related to medical school that were introduced during our previous episode. The path to becoming a physician is very challenging and requires a high level of commitment for a long period of time. Students who successfully get admitted and succeed in medical school often begin their preparation many years before graduating high school. Jankel and I have a profound ap...

#058 – Today, we begin a couple of episodes focused on the path to becoming a medical doctor. This is a topic often filled with misinformation. To dispel myths and do away with bad information, Dr. Shrag Shemmassian joins us today to talk about medical school admissions. Dr. Shemmassian is one of the world’s foremost experts, not just on medical school admissions, but also on college admissions and graduate school admissions. During our conversation, we discussed various elements related t...

#057 – Campus safety is one of the most important factors to consider when making the list of colleges to which you will apply. On this episode, Jankel and I share the importance of practicing situational awareness, the ways in which the local population may affect a college campus, the strong efforts made by college campuses to keep you safe, and tips for you to remain safe in the college campus that will be your home for some years. We also go over statistics from the Institute of Educat...

#056 – On this episode we uncover the path that leads to becoming an airline pilot. Dr. Kenneth Byrnes outlines the steps students must take to succeed in the aviation program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, one of the most respected universities in the country. The airline industry has begun to rebound and is expected to reach the pre-COVID levels of 2019 in short order. Additionally, from reports presented by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Boeing Company, and airlines,...

#055 – Today, we share our love for Study Abroad Programs. These are programs that offer students a great opportunity for personal, academic, and even, professional growth. We begin the episode by uncovering the details of Jankel’s experience as a participant in a study abroad program that took her to Italy. The experiences she had there were extremely positive, and continue to play a role in her life today. We continue our deep dive into Study Abroad Programs by sharing details of the program a...

#054 – Today, we finish our series on strategies to use to help your college application stand out. Jankel and I begin the episode by putting into context the episodes that were part of this series. We continue our conversation by highlighting the importance of being mindful as you complete each section of your college applications, keeping in mind that the information you provide gives college admission officers a picture of who you are. In college admission parlance we say that everything you ...

#053 - On this episode, Jankel and I continue to present steps you can take to help your college applications stand out. We begin the show by highlighting the fact that College admission officers favor students who, in addition to being smart, are also interesting. That means that they welcome students who grab their attention with their academic and non-academic accomplishments. They like to see applications that tell a congruent story, in which students not only mention their passions for subj...

#052 – With this episode, we begin a series of episodes that will give you non-academic ideas you can put into practice, so that your college application can stand out to the colleges and universities to which you will apply. This is especially important if you are planning to apply to the more selective colleges and universities. Today we talk about ways display leadership skills in projects that can be very helpful to those around you, while at the same time catching the attention of col...

#051 – The percentage of high school students that receive scholarships to Division I and Division II NCAA teams is surprisingly low. That leaves millions of high school kids without the opportunity to benefit from them each year. But does that mean that students who do not receive scholarships wasted valuable time participating in sports throughout high school? On this episode, we answer this and other questions related to high school sports. We will give you a hint, high school sports...

#050 – Today, Jankel and I present the Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. This is a degree that leads to a number of careers that are and will continue to be in high demand, are very well-paid, and are extremely important to organizations of all types. The episode begins with a discussion on the important role computer science plays in the modern world, and the continue importance it will yield in the future. We present some of the hot topics related to computer science, including, Artificia...

#049 – Today, Jankel and I talk about the different types of colleges available to high school graduates. The truth is that all high school kids, with different levels of academic preparation, can obtain a college education immediately after high school, if they choose to do so. There are a variety of types of colleges in the United States that exist to serve students from different levels of academic achievement and preparation. That also includes those students who had what may be con...

#048 – On this episode, we conclude the senior year checklist with part 8. Jankel and I talk about a very important step to take during the summer before college begins, using the reading list that your college or university has prepared for you. College reading lists are all different, depending on the institution, what society may be going through at the time, and other factors that the school may find to be important. Some professors will teach class with the assumption that students re...