620. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS AN UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Release Date: 01/14/2025
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
You can’t please everyone, nor should you seek to, because then you won’t please anyone, least of all yourself. When actor Dylan Moran dispensed that bit of wisdom, he probably wasn’t aware of how aptly it applied to highly selective admissions. Amy and Mike invited education consultant Feiyang Liu to highlight the troubling college pleasing epidemic. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is college pleasing, and where does it originate from? How can students, parents, and educators spot signs of college pleasing? What are the hidden costs of college pleasing,...
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Learn everything you need to ace the AP U.S and World History Exams in One Day What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps? How do Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps work? Do you need to live in Atlanta to attend Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps? What kinds of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps know about it? ABOUT AP HISTORY BOOT CAMPS Every April, Edison Prep offers AP US and World History Bootcamps in preparation for the May AP exams....
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Many student athletes (or at least their parents) dream of earning a full ride to the college of their dreams. What most applicants find is that having sports on their resumes yields different but still substantial advantages. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Matt Arant to demystify Division III and Ivy League athletic recruitment. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Who is an athletic/admission liaison and what do they do? How does the recruitment process differ between Division III and Ivy/Patriot League schools and Division I and Division II schools? Can...
info_outlineTests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Tests and the Rest podcast has always been relentlessly focused on exploring important topics in testing, admissions, education, and learning with amazing expert guests. Sometimes, though, we enjoy an unstructured opportunity to discuss our own takes on major issues, upcoming events, and our endeavors at the intersection of business and education. Catch up with us in the latest episode of EXTEMP with Amy & Mike. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What happened with the March SAT? How can test takers mitigate the impact of test cancellations? What are our...
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Traits like cognitive flexibility and impulse control strongly influence student grades and test scores to such an extent that they may be best learned in an academic context. Amy and Mike invited educator Ariel Lieberman to explore the relationship between the three core executive functions and test prep. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the core executive functions and why are they important? How do weak EF skills get in the way of a student’s test prep? Why is executive function best learned in a relevant academic context? What are ideal...
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Expanding your tutoring business with MentoMind with educators Amit Jain and Jeremy Bryant What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind MentoMind? How does MentoMind work to help with student outcomes? How does MentoMind work to help educators attract students? Who currently uses MentoMind? How is MentoMind helping educators transition to an AI future? ABOUT MENTOMIND is a revolutionary SAT/ACT prep platform designed to support students and help tutoring and test prep businesses thrive. It helps tutors attract and engage students through free...
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So much of the college search and application process looks forward, focusing on the destination. Where a student is coming from matters quite a bit though. Amy and Mike invited educational consultants Aly Beaumont and Meg Joyce to explain the significance of the high school class profile. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the high school class profile? What information do school profiles contain and why does it matter? Do all high schools have a school profile? What can be done to overcome the deficiencies of a school profile or the lack of one? ...
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A year ago, an innovative new digital adaptive SAT came to the United States–a year after its first appearance internationally. This is the perfect time to find out how College Board feels about both the obstacles and opportunities encountered over this historic transition. Amy and Mike invited Vice President of SAT Suite Program Maureen Forman to talk all about the digital SAT: how it started and how it’s going. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Looking back, what were the most substantial challenges in transforming the SAT to a digital adaptive test? What were the...
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While we generally profess to celebrate all interests and contributions, the clubs and activities that mean the most to some high schoolers fail to earn the respect that other extracurriculars do, even when students receive recognition on a state or national level. Do colleges at least care? Amy and Mike invited educator Vida John to explore the admissions implications of academic competitions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are academic competitions, and what are some examples? Why should students consider participating in academic competitions? ...
info_outlineTests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Tests and the Rest podcast has always been relentlessly focused on exploring important topics in testing, admissions, education, and learning with amazing expert guests. Sometimes, though, we enjoy an unstructured opportunity to discuss our own takes on major issues, upcoming events, and our endeavors at the intersection of business and education. Catch up with us in the latest episode of EXTEMP with Amy & Mike. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Where did Amy and Mike go last month? What is keeping Mike and Amy busy professionally these days? How does Amy like...
info_outlineConsidering how prevalent the topic of AI has become in business, leisure, and education, it was only a matter of time before college students would choose to focus on its study. Amy and Mike invited college dean Jennifer Stephan to explore what you need to know about artificial intelligence as an undergraduate major.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
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What do students study when they major in AI? What are some focus areas within an AI degree?
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Is an AI major a replacement or improvement over a CS major?
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Are there non-technical pathways to contribute to AI?
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What majors besides AI and CS can prepare you for a career in AI?
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What important questions should students interested in studying AI be able to answer?
MEET OUR GUEST
Dr. Jennifer Stephan has held a variety of roles across top colleges and universities, including professor, academic dean, and board of admissions member, in addition to serving as a private college counselor, alumni interviewer for Johns Hopkins University, and parent of three. She holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, as well as an MS and a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jennifer is currently the Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies for the School of Engineering at Tufts University. Prior to joining Tufts in 2016, she spent over two decades serving as a dean and a professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College, where she collaborated with colleagues at MIT, Olin College of Engineering, and Babson College to support students pursuing engineering. While at Wellesley, Jennifer served on the College’s Board of Admissions, reading and evaluating approximately one hundred transfer applications each year.
Jennifer also is the founder of Lantern College Counseling, a robust college counseling practice where she regularly employs insights from her experiences leading in higher education to help students develop their college lists and shape competitive, authentic applications. Jennifer specializes in STEM, computer science, engineering, undecided and transfer students
She is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA).
Jennifer first appeared on our podcast in episode 541 to discuss NAVIGATING THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ADMISSIONS and in episode 559 for a Test Prep Profile.
Find Jennifer at [email protected] or https://www.lanterncollegecounseling.com.
LINKS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an Undergraduate Major: What You Need to Know
RELATED EPISODES
STRATEGIES FOR SELECTING A COLLEGE MAJOR ON TIME
COMPARING MOST POPULAR AND MOST LUCRATIVE COLLEGE MAJORS
CHOOSING HIGH SCHOOL MATH COURSES STRATEGICALLY
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.