YCBK 591: What College Grads Need To Do To Land Quality Jobs
Release Date: 11/27/2025
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: (04:08) In the News-Hilary and Kate join Mark to discuss an article that appears in USA Today that asks the question, “Are parent Facebook groups helpful or toxic”? Rachel Hale is the author of the article, which is entitled: “College, parent Facebook groups and when helicopter parenting goes too far” (27:35) Mark interviews Lisa and Lynda about their new book, “The Calm College Method “Part 2 of 2 v Lynda explains who the book is good for v Lisa and I talk about the practicality of the book, and I share some of...
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In this episode you will hear: Jennifer Mandel, a college counselor with Mark at School Match 4U, joins Mark to discuss how college policies differ when it comes to requiring you to sign up for their health care plan, or how to notify them that you already have health care coverage. Peter Pitts interview-Part 2 of 3 v Peter shares the number one thing he feels allow colleges to have a distinctive experience unmatched elsewhere v Peter talks about how his book, “Small College Magic” is different from some other books on colleges v Peter has a beef with something that Jeff...
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In this episode you will hear: (02:54) Mark interviews Lisa and Lynda about their new book, “The Calm College Method” (27:18) Susan joins Mark to answer a question from Andrew, a listener from Oregon (54:27) Interview-Susan Brisson-Olin College of Engineering Preview of Part 2 v Susan talks about the level of math Olin is looking for and she discusses the admission requirements v Susan talks about the individual in-person evaluative interview Olin has v Susan tells us what some red flags are students in admissions v Susan shares...
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In this episode you will hear: Mark answers the question, how many colleges should your student apply to: Peter Pitts Peter Pitts interview-Part 1 of 3 v Peter gives his backstory v Peter shares why he didn’t like being a Director of Admissions v Peter talks about what he loved about a Regional admissions officer and we just have a good conversation being a regional admission officer v Peter explains where his passion for admissions work comes from v Peter walks us through all of the books he has written v Peter begins to make the case for why...
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In this episode you will hear: (36:18) Mark shares some different policies that colleges have for deferred applicants. (03:26) Susan joins Mark to answer a question from a listener about how being a low-income impacts decisions at need-blind schools. (01:10:18) Interview-Susan Brisson-Olin College of Engineering Preview of Part 1 v Susan gives her backstory v Susan gives us the basics about Olin v Susan explains why you will see the name Olin on so many different colleges v Susan explains what makes Olin different from...
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In this episode you will hear: Mark has a discussion about the role of selectivity when selecting a college Mark interviews Kate Stricklan on How Some Colleges Shape Their Class o Kate tells us what shaping is and how it applies to admission file reading o Kate talks about how students go in and out of the admitted class o Kate shares why colleges do not reveal they can share all of their admit data with the public o Kate shares when you should not send your test...
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In this episode you will hear: (01:45) Mark and Julia discuss, what do you do if you find out that you were deferred or wait-listed from a college. When is the best time to send in a letter of continued interest? (28:04) QFL and Interview: Matt Beatty, VP of enrollment at Luther College in Decorah in Iowa Preview • Matt gives his bio, and he tells us about the location of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa • Matt shares what he feels is the most special thing...
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In this episode you will hear: Mark has a discussion about the role of prestige when selecting a college Mark interviews Kate Stricklan on the Role of the Seasonal Admission Officer o What is going on in the admission office now o What is the role of the operations team that is mission-critical o We discuss the difference between seasonals and regionals, and Kate gives us a lot of details about seasonals o Kate talks about the training that is done for the...
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In this episode you will hear: (03:12) Mark and Julia discuss, what do you do if you found out that you were deferred or waitlisted from a college (39:38) Interview: Mark interviews Kev Sanders, Associate Director of Admissions, University of Utah Preview of Part 3 o Kev addresses one other concern that a pacific northwest family has about the University of Utah o Kev addresses one concern that one of my families who visited Utah had after leaving their visit ...
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In this episode you will hear: Twenty of our listeners share tips that have helped them with the college process that they want to share with others. Recommended Resources Colleges that allow self reporting of test scores Great source for questions about finances and college FAFSA Walkthroughs Mark recommends CSS PROFILE Walkthroughs Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our method if you want to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. Unfortunately, we will NOT answer questions on the podcast anymore that are emailed in. If you...
info_outlineIn this episode you will hear:
(03:10) In the News
Vince and Mark just chit-chat and discuss a range of topics about colleges and college admissions-Part 1 of 2
(33:07) Interview: Mark interviews Jin Chow, the Founder of Polygence, but now they have a new exciting service called, “Work Lab’. Jin explains to us how Work Lab helps students
Preview of Part 2
v Jin, shares what are the things that you observe about a student and you say, this is just not going to work
v Jin, shares the things that she has learned so far about Work Labs
v Jin, shares what her vision is for what Work Lab can grow into, and Friends, Jin has a big vision
v Jin talks about the age limits of the work lab participants
v Jin, talks about the value of working with a founder or an entrepreneur
v Jin, talks about the cost to participate in Work Lab
v Jin shares some trends she is noticing that employers are looking for when it comes to the soft skills
v Jin, shares one thing that parents and counselors need to think about before they sign up for a Work Lab opportunity
v Jin shares one other thing that it takes to be successful at Work Lab that students can start working on right now
v Jin shares the next step
v Friends, please reach out to Jin at Jin@polygence.org, that’s jin@polygence.org if you either enjoyed this interview and you want to let Jin know, and you want to say thank you, or if you have additional questions for her
v Friends, we close by hearing from a student I know who participated in Work Lab
(01:00:37) College Spotlight-Mark interviews Daniel Lachance, a student at Rochester Institute of Technology and Daniel talks about how internships, certificates and college clubs set him up for success at getting hired by Microsoft. Part 1 of 2
Preview of Part 2
² Dan shares some other colleges who he feels have very good cybersecurity programs
² Dan shares what are the ways in which a good college cybersecurity club helps you
² Dan gives our listeners 4 things to look for to know if a cybersecurity club is a strong club that can set you up for success
² Dan shares some great questions to ask the club contact to learn more about the strength of the club
² Dan tells us whether the cybersecurity graduates are getting jobs in cybersecurity
² Dan shares some wisdom for our listeners
² Dan gives our students advice for how to maximize LinkedIn
Recommended Resource Guide to help first year students complete the Common Application- Application guide for first-year students
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