Application to Admission

Well-informed and compassionate are only words to describe the way Yetunde Daniels-Rubinstein moves within the world. As a seasoned college counselor and mother of teenage daughters, she knows what it takes to approach the college process with ambition and grace. 

A Bucknell University grad, she’s a former college athlete, independent school educator, college counseling instructor for aspiring counselors and a respected and necessary leader within the Private School Village community, Yetunde honors our podcast by sharing valuable insights that are wise and thought-provoking. More than anything, her voice and knowledge is what we all need right now as we try to make sense of this year’s college admissions cycle. 

Please listen and thank us later. 

From our March 2024 SXSW presentation, Redefining Success in a Changing Higher Education Landscape we’re thrilled to share this recording. It’s the story of the birth of our book, The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions: A Conversation about Education, Parenting, and Race, and the mission we’re committed to leading in evolving college admissions landscape.

Our mission is to close the information gap and support students and families as they prepare for the college admissions process. Sometimes our own resources do not address the needs of everyone, hence why we need help. Since we cannot do this alone, and we’re grateful for educators and allies like disabilities and accommodations expert, Elizabeth Hamblet.  

Wondering what happens for students with IEPs or 504 plans at college? Elizabeth offers information for parents and students to learn all about the college accommodations system and how disabilities are handled in the admissions process. She used to be a high school special education teacher and saw the lack of preparation students had for the transition to college. They were unaware of how the system for accommodations changed and for what accommodations weren’t available. A modern day champion for those in need, she authored a book and became a speaker and consultant. The 3rd edition of her book, Seven Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities, is a regularly used resource that we are honored to endorse. 

As a guest on our podcast, we know that the information she shares is timely and critical. Listen and learn!

It’s that time of year again! It’s our 3rd annual Junior Year To Do episode! We are honored to have counselor extraordinaire, Keeon Gregory, share his insights from 30 years in the college admissions profession. We talk about testing, visits, parent and student expectations, essays and all things you need to know. Folks, this is what an excellent and experienced school counselor looks like.

A passionate, resourceful and innovative leader, Keeon takes a personable approach to preparing students and their families for the ever changing landscape of the college admission process. He is former D1 athlete, change agent and advocate for young people.

Keeon is a first and foremost a father. Thankfully, he has the expertise to navigate this process with his own children and many others. His students and their parents’ ultimate happiness is his aim and highest testimony. Get ready to learn what juniors need to be doing now to win.

College access is a popular trope these days. Some organizations mean and do well and others just exist. One of the standout community-based organizations is AKcess Granted, LLC, led by Founder Kissena Frazier, MSW. With over a decade of experience in the field of social work in many capacities, she is a higher-ed professional, first-gen grad and parent. Kissena recognized that students of historically marginalized communities have limited resources as it pertains to college access programming and she did something about it.

Given her vast and genuine experiences of serving and making an impact, we needed to have Kissena on Application to Admission. She is one of many great Black educators we are honored to have in our orbit. Listen and learn!

This is what educational leadership looks like. As a fourth-generation educator and DEIJ practitioner and strategist, Danica Tisdale Fisher is fascinating. With over 15 years of experience in the development and oversight of academic programs, policies, and initiatives in higher education and independent schools, she currently serve as Dean of Inclusion and Belonging at St. Andrew's School in Delaware.

After earning a B.A. from Spelman, a M.A. from Temple, a Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Emory, she is an educational powerhouse. Her interdisciplinary work includes extensive study of African American literature, feminist theories, and popular cultural studies. 

Isn’t that enough?!!! No. Dr. Fisher is the daughter of the former president of Claflin University (SC), a past participant in the Miss America Program and the first African American woman to win the Miss Georgia Pageant in 2004. We had the pleasure of interviewing this extraordinary wife, mother, member of AKA, The Links and Jack and Jill (whew!!!) who shared her perspective on education, parenting and race. Listen and love. ❤️

Want to know how to write an awesome college essay?

Listen to Shereem. 

Want to know how admissions offices read college essays?

Listen to Tim. 

Thankfully you can do both by listening to the Application to Admission Podcast!!!!

The power of college essay writing is more important than ever. Whether it’s because of test-optional policies or the end of affirmative action for race conscious admissions, students who document their lived experiences with authenticity, need to know that their stories are vital and valuable. 

As January 1st application deadlines quickly approach, help your child by giving them instruction and insight on the college essay writing process.  We’re here to share what we know with our combined 50+ years of experience so that your student’s essay can stand out.

Leading by example is easy to say but harder to do. Wanting others to see, understand and embrace a vision that can help thousands or millions of young people is a Herculean undertaking. Yet, someone has to do it.

Professor Curtis Valentine is may be the millennial Benjamin E. Mays, W.E.B. DuBois or Carter G. Woodson. Big names with big shoulders, yes, but Curtis is up for the task. Consider his Morehouse and Harvard educational experiences and his unique ability to weave entrepreneurship and education into one mission and what else can we say about his dedication to upliftment? Curtis is a man of conviction, and when you hear his story and his ambitions, you’ll be inspired. Buckle up!

While we are all eager to exhale and enjoy the summer, rising seniors must manage their time carefully. Standardized testing may still need to happen, college visits can still happen, and writing essays must happen.

Enter college counseling veteran Stacy Richardson and her all-world experience with high school and college students. As the Director of College Counseling at the Potomac School in McLean, VA, Stacy knows what all juniors/almost seniors need to do this summer. This is straight knowledge being kicked to the masses. Listen, learn and SHARE with every parent and child you know before they tackle senior year.

Yes, Texas is “hot” in climate but TCU may be “hotter” in popularity. We can make the argument that ESPN is the best marketer of US colleges in the world. College Gameday and the scrolling ticker on our tv screens, introduce us to new colleges every college football and basketball season. Many of our kids want to be part of the college tailgate “ra ra” and that’s fine but what about the academics, activities and admissions requirements?

Meet Heath Einstein, the Dean of Admission at TCU (Texas Christian University). He’s a Jewish man leading the recruitment efforts of a Christian university, has a college counseling experience in NYC, loves sports and has advice for students who want to get recruited for sports in college. Heath’s commitment to his school and its mission is inspiring and right now, on the heels of their football national title game experience, it is competing with the most selective and academically superlative universities in the south. 

Heath has been a huge supporter of our book and a man on a mission to make TCU the new destination for the right (best) students in the country who want a bit of southern hospitality. Plus the campus is amazing. TCU is from Fort Worth where Tim is from and where Shereem knows TCU alums who are doing very big things. You need to listen to Heath’s seasoned admissions wisdom and get familiar with the university. Rice, Vanderbilt, UT Austin and Duke, there’s a new sheriff in town and its name is TCU. 

In this ongoing debate about a parent’s role in college application assistance and the ultimate decision, we brought in someone with lived experiences and professional credentials that Black people need to support. 

Laura Harding, Esq., is President of ERASE Racism, the regional civil rights organization based on Long Island, NY that exposes and addresses the devastating impact of historical and ongoing structural racism, particularly in housing and public school education. With three degrees, she has a BA from Adelphi University, a MA from the U of Chicago and a JD from Howard University. She’s making the Founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. proud!!! 

For this conversation, she leans into her role  as parent and her decision to support her brilliant daughter’s decision to attend Harvey Mudd which is one the five Claremont Colleges in California and one of the leading institutions in the country for engineering and STEM education. 

Laura is insightful and informative. Give this episode a listen and learn. 

Want a college admissions hot topic? Let’s talk about the SAT and the ACT. The pandemic may have paused them as admissions requirements, but that was temporary, and many colleges are now evaluating whether or not to bring it back. Now you have to decide what your child should do.

Enter our superstar guest for this episode. Akil Bello is THE preeminent testing expert in the country today, bar none. He is the Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at FairTest, where he works to help ensure that standardized tests are fully understood and properly used. He has worked at every level of the supplemental education industry, advising universities, launching multiple companies, developing dozens of admissions and test preparation programs, training hundreds of instructors, and teaching thousands of students. He’s also the founding partner and CEO for Bell Curves, a test preparation company that focuses on helping public schools, non-profit organizations, and community-based organizations understand standardized tests and admissions and develop affordable solutions for their students.

If there was a picture for “super smart human being” in the dictionary, Akil Bello would have his picture there.  Testing is (or thought of as) big deal and Akil is here to set things straight. Learn and enjoy!!!!  

Parents of 11th Graders, quick question: where are you in the college process?

Do you have a college list?

Have you discussed college costs and financial aid with your child?

Do you know what to do and when to do it?

With so many questions understandably circling through your minds, we’ve put together a series of webinars featuring a variety of experts in the college application, testing and financial aid fields. And in preparation for the first webinar happening on Sunday, January 29th at 5:30pm EST, we’re happy to have Jennifer Jessie (aka Jenn the Tutor) on our podcast this week.

Jenn is a college consultant extraordinaire with a passion for leveling the playing field in college admissions. Her own Black Girl Magic makes her a unicorn in this space and she is committed to using her character, confidence, two VA Tech degrees and JD from UVA to being a force for good. As an informed advocate for surveying the landscape to find the best college choices, Jenn is a resource that we admire, respect and hold in the highest regard.

So buckle up, get your notepad and listen up to Jenn the Tutor!!!

Welcome to year 2 and season 3 of the Application to Admission podcast!! As a team, we’ve learned so much these past 12 months and have enjoyed sharing what we know about the college application and admissions process with you. If this is your first time listening, thank you for being here and get ready for a treat!!

The college application process is cyclical and, right now, class of 2024 parents of juniors in high school need to pay special attention to academic planning (your child’s classes), standardized testing and gearing up for college visits. This week’s podcast is from this exact same time in 2022 and it’s our pilot. So many gems in here! Please listen, learn and let’s talk about everything on your mind at @understandingthechoices

Information overload y’all!!! As we close out the calendar year, we leave you with our interview of two exceptional people in the college admissions profession. Brennan Barnard is the Director of College Counseling at Khan Lab School, CA. and the Director of College Counseling for the College Guidance Network. and his partner in writing and podcasting is Rick Clark, the Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of Undergraduate Admission at Georgia Tech. Between them, they have 50 years of college admissions experience AND they’re the authors of The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together, it’s complementing workbook and podcast all with the same name. You should definitely check out all of their content AND listen to this insightful interview.

Between all of us, there’s a century of knowledge. If you want to successfully navigate the college admissions process with your teenager, and want them to have college choices, you’re going to need to listen to this!

Everyone is asking us about the affirmative action case that was being argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court last week. Due to the conservative makeup of the Court, race-conscious admissions may be deemed illegal, which would eliminate colleges' ability to use race as a factor in the admissions process.

If affirmative action is ruled unlawful, the Class of 2024, the current high school juniors will be the first group of students in decades to go through the admissions process without it.

What does all this mean?

With so much to unpack, we called in an admissions and Affirmative Action superhero to break it all down. As one of the leading advocates for diversity, equity and justice in college admissions, Marie Bigham has few peers who can mirror her extensive college admissions knowledge and experience. As the Founder and Executive Director of ACCEPT (Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today), she leads an advocacy group and community that centers on racial justice in the college admissions process and profession. Recently named a “Global Game Changer” by Facebook, Marie is a national leader in college admission redesign and reform. In 2018, ACCEPT received the Excellence in Education Award from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, awarded to “those who use their prominence to advance equity and access in education”.

If anyone knows about this case and its implications, it’s Marie. Listen up and learn. A lot.

30 years in the college admissions profession can make you an “old head” or a revered, uber-respected scholar-mentor-master. Rodney Morrison is the latter (or maybe both!)

As the Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Delaware, Rodney sits in a powerful seat of a state flagship school. He’s also worked in admissions or recruitment at UPenn, Rutgers, Lehman Brothers, Wharton and SUNY Stony Brook. If anyone knows what it takes to get admitted to college, Rodney does.

We sat down and asked him all kinds of questions about testing, essays and the cost of college. Listening to this conversation is worth your time.

Want more truth-telling from acclaimed film director Malcolm D. Lee and his celebrity psychologist wife, Camille? Here it is!! Part 2 is just as much fun as Part 1! Enjoy!!

Join the authors of The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions: A Conversation about Education, Parenting, and Race, Timothy Fields and Shereem Herndon Brown, as well as financial aid expert, Jason Hamilton as they offer an overview of the college admissions process, financial aid and how to get scholarships.

Well, Tim went to Morehouse and Shereem worked at Georgetown, but this is not an episode about bragging rights. This is about parenting two boys who attend two great schools and the decisions and sacrifices that got them there.

Seen Girls Trip? The new Space Jam movie? Or are you eagerly awaiting the final installment of the Best Man franchise? Wait no more as you hear from highly acclaimed film director, Malcolm D. Lee and his celebrity psychologist wife, Camille. They sit down with us for 75 minutes and give us a dissertation on the importance of education and how they help their kids to soar. This episode is just part one of what was an insightful look into name brand colleges, cultural development and yes, is college even necessary. Camille and Malcolm keep it real with us, and you’re going to appreciate their truth because it might be yours too.

And we’re out!!

For now…

Thank you for ALL for joining us on this Application to Admission ride, Season 1! So far, so good as we’ve (hopefully) been informational and inspirational about the college admissions process. Our guests have shared their unique stories of challenge and triumph as they work with or parent Black children, and now you should have what you need to help your own child.

And we’re not done!!

Join us beginning Tuesday, August 9th as our new season begins with more exciting guests and valuable insights into the college admissions process.

And to make sure you’re laughing at us as well as with us, we’ve included some goofy outtakes from our first season. Enjoy!!!

Many HBCU grads expect that their children will follow their path. Whether it’s a family tradition or a desire for a once-in-a-lifetime educational experience, many HBCU alums encourage their kids to pour into the rich legacy.

But what if it’s not what the child wants to do? 

Even better, what if you’re a college advisor who knows more about colleges and college admissions than most and all you want is for your child to find themselves and their academic happy place. 

Meet Lisa Fuller, a first-generation college student and founder of College Primed, LLC an educational consultant company offering personalized college planning and admissions advising for 8th-12th graders and their parents. Lisa is also the mom of two college graduates (both from PWIs) who wholeheartedly believes that Black students should explore a range of colleges to find places where they feel they can thrive. She was recently quoted in New York Times article: Why Students Are Choosing H.B.C.U.s: ‘4 Years Being Seen as Family’ 

As an active Spelman alumna, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated member, and Associate of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated, Inc., Lisa personally knows the value of and proudly advocates for HBCUs. She also co-moderates the “Parents of Black and Brown and College Bound” Facebook group, a forum for families that works to demystify the college search process and offers first-hand information on an expansive list of colleges. 

If college admissions experience was embodied in a person, that person would be Joe Montgomery. A 20-year veteran of the profession with varied experiences in higher education, makes Joe an expert in how parents (oh yeh, he's a father too), counselors and admissions folks need to think about the process. Starting with his work at University of Miami, North Carolina A&T, College Board and he now serves as the Vice President of Enrollment at Tuskegee University, he has both analytical and anecdotal examples of how success and college can be aligned. He’s offering food for thought and we want you to take in.

Serving on the Board of Directors for NACAC (National Association of College Admissions Counselors), Joe joins us to share very personal insights about both his and his children's educational experiences as well as sagacious college admission advice that Black families need to know. He knows his stuff and is a believer in access and equality for all. Have a listen and be informed.

While no college experience is identical, some are simply better than others. Too many adults regret what they didn’t do during their four years, and whether it’s not taking full advantage of the academic opportunities or not doing enough outside of the classroom, most of us can agree that college is too short not to do it all.

Currently residing in the United Kingdom, meet heroine Chelsea Jackson. She’s an activist, Rhodes Scholar, Delta and just a phenomenal human being. She’s determined to use her youth — and college experience — to leave no stone unturned. Her story of being a child of HBCU parents and choosing a PWI is fascinating and inspiring. She followed her gut, understands her purpose and is poised to shine on every platform she steps on.

You’re in for a treat!!!

Junior year is the most important year of high school. With harder classes, standardized tests, colleges to visit, and lots of (mis) information flying around, it’s time to get the truth about what 11th graders need to be doing now.

Enter college admissions Swiss-army-knife Brandi Smith. Name anything in the college admissions profession and she’s done it. Worked in admissions? Vanderbilt. Check. Been a school counselor? Public or Independent, she has done both. Check. Community based organization? Yes, she’s done that too. Check. She is one of the biggest names and “personalities” in College Admission!

Listen in as Brandi shares what families, especially Black families,  need to be doing now to get ahead in the college process.

**Production note this episode was recorded prior to North Carolina System changing back to being test-optional for the upcoming year. 

College is expensive and few things matter more in building a college list and deciding where to go more than cost. In this episode, seasoned higher education professional and the founder of the financial aid app, FinAide - https://finaideapp.com/ - , shares how this revolutionary tool helps students, parents, and schools learn the REAL cost of college.

By breaking down financial aid award letters step by step, Jason and his app share how much each semester of each year will cost. This is exactly what families need to know about how to make the best financial decisions for their children’s college education.