Best Financial Aid at Dartmouth College Podcasts (2025)

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Reflections from a Rookie Dean 48:24

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14d ago48:24

48:24

In the season seven finale, Dartmouth's Kathryn Bezella discusses lessons gleaned from her first year as an admissions dean with Lee Coffin, who just completed his 30th year in such a role. In a candid conversation about what they each bring to the conference table where decisions are made, the Dartmouth duo muse about the "roller coaster dynamic" …

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Now What? 51:33

21d ago51:33

51:33

For many high school seniors, the college search is an all-consuming process with three clear goals: apply to college, get into college, pick a college. Then, in May, it comes to a hard stop. Now what? Mary Pat McMahon, vice president and vice provost for student affairs at Duke University and AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth map out in both pract…

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The Story of Luis: How One International Applicant Found His Own Route to College 25:38

28d ago25:38

25:38

Meet Luis Aguero, a first-generation college-bound student from San Bernardino, Paraguay. Self-taught in English as well as the unfamiliar ways of the college admissions process in the United States, Luis navigated his admissions process entirely on his own: "I didn't have any information at all, I had to go out of my way to learn about the college…

1
The Mindy Project: Admissions Edition 49:30

1M ago49:30

49:30

Mindy Kaling joins AB for its 100th episode as the multi-talented Hollywood star and Dartmouth alumna remembers her own college admissions process in which "I wasn't thinking about the correct things." A high-achieving "comedy nerd" who had been weaned on "mountains of flashcards,” Mindy ponders her journey from home to college as she battled procr…

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"Trust Yourself": Advice from Applicants and Parents Who've Been Where You are Going 44:21

1M ago44:21

44:21

AB's third annual open-ended conversation with applicants and parents at Dartmouth's admitted student open house offers insights and tips from those who have just navigated a successful college search. AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin and recurring cohost Jacques Steinberg field wide-ranging comments and questions about admissions-induced proc…

1
Lessons from the Stage 52:11

2M ago52:11

52:11

Extracurricular activities, which are essential ingredients of any college application, yield lessons and skillsets that animate a student's story. Reflecting on his own experience in the drama club at Shelton High School in Connecticut, AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin welcomes Gary and Fran Scarpa, the longtime directors of Shelton's drama p…

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How Not to Get into the College of Your Choice 41:39

2M ago41:39

41:39

Veteran college counselor Doug Burdett, from Brunswick School in Connecticut, joins his longtime colleague and AB host Lee Coffin as they ponder the lessons from their 30-year careers on both sides of the admissions counseling desk. Drawing from those innumerable interactions with students and parents, they muse about the unintended pitfalls that c…

1
Children Will Listen 41:40

2M ago41:40

41:40

Marcia Hunt, past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the longtime dean of college advising at Florida's Pine Crest School, joins AB host Lee Coffin as he recreates his "Advice to Parents" presentation from Pine Crest's junior kickoff in January. As he shares his tips for successful admissions parenting, Hunt …

1
Good News/Bad News 49:37

2M ago49:37

49:37

College admission decisions for the high school class of 2025 have landed, and now it's time for seniors and their parents to assess those outcomes and move towards an enrollment decision by the National Candidate's Reply Date on May 1. Chris Gruber from Davidson College in North Carolina and college counselor Kate Ramsdell from Noble & Greenough S…

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Inside the Admissions Committee: The "Gatekeepers" in Action 44:31

3M ago44:31

44:31

Twenty-five years after New York Times education reporter Jacques Steinberg, author of The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College, spent a year observing at close range the selection process at Wesleyan University, Steinberg joined admission officers at Dartmouth for a day inside its selection committee. After his "fly on t…

1
Reading an Application: The Work of the Work 39:15

3M ago39:15

39:15

For any college admissions officer, reading and evaluating an application is the work of the work. It is the heart of the admissions process itself, its most essential task. Reading season is the moment when recruitment yields to selection, when assessing merit and potential becomes a blend of reflection and decision as each application is evaluate…

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What Counts? 44:00

3M ago44:00

44:00

Many people ask, "What counts?" as they ponder the elements of "merit" in a college application. This week, two Ivy deans tackle this perennial query as Brown's Logan Powell joins AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth for a wide-ranging conversation about assessing merit and where it is discovered. They consider the numbers and the narrative--the quant…

1
Junior Kickoff: It's Time to Discover! 48:26

3M ago48:26

48:26

Discovery is act one of every successful college search, and it should reveal as much about the searcher as about the places being explored. AB host and Dartmouth Dean Lee Coffin leads a “junior kickoff” deans panel that includes Elena Hicks from SMU and Karen Kristoff from Colorado College as well as college counselor Darryl Tiggle of Friends Scho…

1
Getting Started: Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan 44:01

4M ago44:01

44:01

Season 7 of Admissions Beat gets underway at just the right time to give this year's high school juniors a preview of what's to come, as they look closely at themselves, survey the college landscape, and weigh options in higher education. Host Lee Coffin, Dartmouth’s dean of admissions and financial aid, and recurring co-host Jacques Steinberg, aut…

1
Admissions Dean as Admissions Dad 33:05

6M ago33:05

33:05

In the Season Six finale, Trinity College's Matthew Hyde returns to AB to reflect on his own son’s college search this year. As a veteran admissions dean and a first-time admissions parent, Matt shares advice for his fellow parents on the lessons he has absorbed as his parenting collided with his day job in a very real—and sometimes emotional—way. …

1
Life in a Suburban Town 50:59

6M ago50:59

50:59

Suburban public high schools in America are home to a significant pool of applicants to most selective colleges. The admissions chatter in those classrooms, counseling offices, hallways, and social media channels can hum at a high frequency as guidance counselors do their best to advise students and parents alike. This week, a quartet of these scho…

1
“Please Pass the Potatoes…” and Other Thanksgiving Advice 39:11

6M ago39:11

39:11

Holidays bring people together, and Thanksgiving in the U.S. comes at a particularly challenging moment for high school seniors as they apply to college. Well-meaning friends and relatives might inquire about the status of a college search, or opine about those options, or render a forecast about someone’s chances of admissions. Any and all of it c…

1
The Language of Financial Aid 56:54

7M ago56:54

56:54

The language of financial aid brings new—and sometimes confusing—vocabulary for many families. Gail Holt, Amherst’s dean of financial aid, and Dino Koff, director of financial aid at Dartmouth, join AB host Lee Coffin for a lesson in how to interpret and translate this new language. “Let’s demystify the financial process,” Koff offers.…

1
History Lesson 45:20

7M ago45:20

45:20

Ever wondered how the elements of a college application came to be the elements of the college application? Today, essays, testing, recommendations, and interviews are fundamental ingredients of most selective admissions processes, but they were not always part of a college application as it evolved over the last 125 years. Dartmouth’s admissions d…

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“I’ve Never Heard of It…” 54:47

7M ago54:47

54:47

“I’ve never of it is…” is a frequent reaction from students and parents as college options are introduced, but there is real opportunity when a student is open to options that aren't fully “known.” AB host Lee Coffin welcomes Clark University’s Emily Roper-Doten, Ben Baum from Saint John’s College in Annapolis and Sante Fe, and college counselor Ka…

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Globe Trotting: College Options Outside Your Country 45:49

7M ago45:49

45:49

For students around the world, going to college in America has been a goal of many for decades. AB host LeeCoffin and his guest Robin Appleby—who led schools in London, The Hague and Dubai—ponder the opportunities of American higher education for an international audience of prospective applicants.Appleby encourages students to explore the “why?” o…

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Frosh Perspectives 1:08:16

7M ago1:08:16

1:08:16

AB host Lee Coffin probes the lessons learned by students and a parent from last year’s admissions process. He is joined by four first-year college students who reflect on their own admissions processes—and the lessons learned. Ashley Kim of Chandler, Arizona, Isabel Carleton of Columbus, Ohio, Romello McRae of Los Angeles, California, and Witold A…

1
“What’s Your Deal?” 32:03

8M ago32:03

32:03

In Part 2 of AB’s “advising all-stars” roundtable discussion from the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling in Los Angeles, host Lee Coffin and recurring co-host Jacques Steinberg ponder the role (if any) of a student’s social media presence in the college admissions process. They also lead a lively discussion …

1
All-Star College Advising Team, Part I 39:37

8M ago39:37

39:37

What happens when 20 admissions folks gather in a meeting room at their annual conference in Los Angeles? They have lots to say! AB host Lee Coffin and his recurring co-host Jacques Steinberg convene an all-star cast of previous AB guests (and a few new voices) for a wide-ranging, two-part conversation about all things admissions. This week, they p…

1
The Essay: The Fine Art of Telling Your Story 56:54

8M ago56:54

56:54

As high school seniors take a deep breath, open a blank document, and begin to craft their college essays, Admission Beat host Lee Coffin empowers them to ask this question: “Who do I want the admission officer to meet?” Coffin and his guests offer words of advice on contemplating audience, the art of brevity, and framing “lived experiences” as add…

1
Start Your Engines: Accelerating from Discovery to Application 52:34

8M ago52:34

52:34

With October on the near horizon, Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin encourages seniors to get in gear and begin thinking about the nuts and bolts of their applications. His guests, Jennifer Simons, Director of Bright Horizons College Coach, and Darryl Tiggle, Director of College Counseling at the Friends School of Baltimore, offer guidance on tacklin…

1
Keep Calm and Carry On: A Prologue to the New Admissions Season 40:22

9M ago40:22

40:22

Kicking off Season Six of the Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth welcomes listeners back to school as another admissions cycle commences. Raising the curtain on the admissions process for high school juniors and seniors, as well as their parents and counselors, Coffin and his guests offer a sampler of “news you can use,” with tips on eve…

1
Finishing Strong: Year-End Thoughts and Summer Homework for Rising (and Graduating) Seniors 39:18

1y ago39:18

39:18

As the school year ends, Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin holds his final “office hours” with listeners for this podcast season. For graduating seniors, he advises them to “finish strong” and check their inboxes as pre-matriculation communications arrive from their chosen college. For parents preparing to say goodbye as seniors head to college in th…

1
“I’m good at math…” 47:28

1y ago47:28

47:28

What if math was a fundamental skill you could develop, rather than something you were simply good or bad at? Engineering programs are designed to blend theory with practice—analysis with practical problem solving. But engineering also spans organically across disciplines into the humanities and social sciences. This week on AB, host Lee Coffin div…

1
Admissions Beat Live: Parents and Seniors Take the Mic 56:16

1y ago56:16

56:16

What advice do this year’s high school seniors and their parents have for those who will follow in future college application cycles? AB host Lee Coffin and Jacques Steinberg, co-author of “The College Conversation,” recently put that question to an audience gathered on the Dartmouth campus for admitted students’ programming. We also asked them wha…

1
Dialogue 7:40

1y ago7:40

7:40

The conversations, debates and diverse voices that animate a college campus are essential elements of an undergraduate experience. As seniors visit campuses for accepted student open houses and as juniors follow tour guides for introductory visits, AB host Lee Coffin shares an essay he wrote on the importance of assessing campus dialogue as part of…

1
Choosing Your Senior Year Courses and Why That Matters 50:59

1y ago50:59

50:59

“’How will this look for colleges…?’ is the most common question I get from juniors as they select senior year courses,” reports longtime college counselor Eric Monheim. For sure, the quality of an applicant’s senior year program—and the grades achieved in that course of study—is a foundational element of the academic assessment of every applicatio…

1
A Degree In Thinking 45:07

1y ago45:07

45:07

For centuries, the liberal arts have been foundational to the mission of higher education. But trying to explain the concept of this course of study — and the multifaceted roadmap a liberal arts degree provides for one’s life and work in the 2020s and beyond—can be challenging. And so AB host Lee Coffin called in a specialist: Cecilia Gaposchkin, a…

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Navigating April: Thoughts for Seniors and Juniors 46:32

1y ago46:32

46:32

Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin considers April the “13th month” of the college admissions calendar. For many high school seniors, April brings a sense of closure, as they move from receiving their admissions decisions to weighing (and deciding) where to enroll. For many high school juniors, April represents a beginning – the official start of thei…

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Interpreting Testing: Your Scores May Be Stronger Than You Think 43:30

1y ago43:30

43:30

What constitutes a strong SAT or ACT score? What do admissions officers mean when they say they consider scores in context? If a college is test-optional, should you submit your scores, or if it requires testing, are your scores strong enough to apply? The answers may surprise you. To talk through these and other questions, AB host and Dartmouth De…

1
Learning to Read 45:19

1y ago45:19

45:19

What’s it like to read applications at a highly selective college or university for the first time? Not so long after their own college graduations, Dartmouth admissions officers Clarissa Hyde, Will Kieger, Laura Rivera-Martinez, and Jackie Pageau have spent the last few months reading and evaluating hundreds of applications. This week on AB, they …

1
Inside the Admissions Selection Committee 48:14

1y ago48:14

48:14

Ever wonder how admissions officers decide which applicants to invite to join the incoming class? Jacques Steinberg, who wrote a New York Times best-seller, "The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College," based on a year of reporting at Wesleyan two decades ago, spent a day behind the closed doors of Dartmouth's undergraduate…

1
Is College Worth It? 52:57

1y ago52:57

52:57

Public opinion polls reveal a surprising shift in American views on higher education: roughly half of the parents surveyed imagine a four-year college degree as the educational goal for their child, down from near-universal support for that same goal when that question was posed a decade ago. While “college” has been a central component of the stor…

1
Admissions Moms Who Know Too Much? 49:16

1+ y ago49:16

49:16

What would it be like to be a former admissions officer guiding your own child through a college search? While they know a lot more than most parents, the emotions they experience as parents—paired with the lessons they learned from inside an admissions committee—are likely relatable (and instructive) for any parent. Listen in as Lee Coffin of Dart…

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Keep Calm and Carry On: Navigating the FAFSA Rollout 48:49

1+ y ago48:49

48:49

This week, Admissions Beat wades into the topic of college affordability. For high school seniors, we provide up-to-the-minute insight and tips on navigating the rollout of the new FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is causing delays in award calculations. For high school juniors, we introduce the topic of affordability as a…

1
Take an 'Existential Selfie' 53:30

1+ y ago53:30

53:30

How might a high school junior begin the journey of self-discovery that is the bedrock of the college search? In an encore episode of Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth recommends that prospective applicants point a virtual camera at themselves and snap an "existential selfie." It's an exercise that can reveal values, priorities, and gui…

1
Searching 56:08

1+ y ago56:08

56:08

Throughout this winter, 11th graders will find themselves seated across from a college counselor in their high school, perhaps for the first time. The topic: kicking off a process of search and discovery intended to yield a college list by the start of senior year. But where and how to begin? To answer that question, Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin…

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High School Juniors: Your College Search Begins 1:01:06

1+ y ago1:01:06

1:01:06

For our Season 5 premiere, Admissions Beat turns its attention to high school juniors. Host Lee Coffin, dean of admissions at Dartmouth, previews what prospective applicants can expect in the months ahead. He encourages them to start with an “existential selfie” to understand what they’re seeking in a college experience. He and his guests also prov…

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Season 4 Finale: ‘Twas Two Weeks Til the Deadline 51:29

1+ y ago51:29

51:29

In the Season 4 finale, Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin reaches into his holiday grab bag for a handful of end-of-year topics. First up, a visit to the Admissions Beat newsroom with journalist Charlotte Albright and Darryl Tiggle, director of college counseling at the Friends School of Baltimore, for answers to the questions students pose in variou…

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Take an ‘Existential Selfie,’ Through a Rural Lens 50:32

1+ y ago50:32

50:32

Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin encourages applicants to periodically snap an “existential selfie,” an exercise to zoom in on their values and priorities. This week, he and his guests train that metaphorical lens on high school students from rural backgrounds. For many, that upbringing can be a powerful theme in the stories they tell in their colle…

1
Interview Tips: Let Your Life Speak 50:17

1+ y ago50:17

50:17

Sometimes it's required, sometimes it's recommended, sometimes it's optional. Sometimes it's conducted on campus by an admissions officer or college senior, while at others it’s at a library or Starbucks with an alumnus. It’s an admissions interview. It’s also an opportunity to build life skills. This week on Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin of Dar…

1
One-on-One with the Nation’s ‘Chief Admissions Counselor’ 56:06

1+ y ago56:06

56:06

If anyone could lay claim to the title of “chief admissions counselor” for the nation’s millions of college-bound students, it would probably be Angel B. Pérez. A first-generation college student from the South Bronx and longtime admissions dean, Perez currently serves as CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, a…

1
Navigating Thanksgiving Queries from Curious Relatives 38:29

1+ y ago38:29

38:29

If you’re a high school senior in the United States, you may be seated around a Thanksgiving table where the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce is accompanied by a heavy dollop of questions served up by relatives curious about your college admissions process. Fear not: this week on Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth and his guests lay …

1
Fifty Podversations! An Admissions Beat Anniversary Highlight Reel 58:09

1+ y ago58:09

58:09

To commemorate the 50th episode of Admissions Beat, a milestone we reached earlier this season, host Lee Coffin and producer Charlotte Albright revisit some of the podcast’s most practical and enduring advice for students, families, and counselors. Their tour guide for this auditory look back is Luke Grayson, a Dartmouth junior from Seaham, England…

1
College Affordability? Ignore the Sticker Price! 55:47

1+ y ago55:47

55:47

Wellesley economist Phil Levine and Dino Koff, Dartmouth’s director of financial aid, join host Lee Coffin for insights on college affordability and the net price calculators that often guide families through that complicated but essential question. Levine advises families to ignore the sticker price: “What will this college cost me?” is a more use…

Financial Aid At Dartmouth College Podcasts