YCBK 622: Tips Athletes Need If They Want to Play Their Sport in College-Part 3
Release Date: 03/16/2026
YCBK 628: How Can My Student Stand Out in a Competitive Applicant Pool-3 of 5
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: Carter, Susan and Mark recorded a conversation for over 90 minutes on what standard strong students can do to excel once they get to campus Part 3 of 5 o Susan and Carter and I continue our conversation about how applicants can stand out in a highly selective college admission process and we have some real straight talk in part 3 of 5 o Carter shares what he doesn’t like about the term passion project o We talk about what are some practical things students can do Lisa interviews Jennifer...
info_outline
YCBK 627: How Can My Student Stand Out in a Competitive Admission Pool
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: (03:04) In our Question from a Listener-Susan joins Mark to answer a series of questions about the role of the territory manager in admissions decisions (29:28) Mark and Susan and Carter continue their discussion about some of the intangibles that make a student stand out in a competitive admissions process-2 of 5 o We have a robust conversation between the difference between a resume application and a representational application o We talk about how colleges assess impact, and how...
info_outline
YCBK 626: Important Skills Students Need to Excel Academically In College
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: Carter, Susan and Mark recorded a conversation for over 90 minutes on what standard strong students can do to excel once they get to campus Part 1 of 5 o Susan describes the dilemma students face and she gives a preview of the content we are going to cover for the next 5 weeks o Susan shares a few admissions vernacular words for us, what is a 3/3? What is “bread and butter” o Susan defines Standard Strong for us o We begin a conversation that will...
info_outline
YCBK 625: Does Taking a Gap Year Increase Your Chances of Getting in College
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: (02:35) In our Question from a Listener-Carter joins me to ask a question from a college counselor from New York who wants to know if taking a gap year increases a student’s chances of college admission. (29:02) Mark interviews Barbara Kalmus about how the words we often use when describing our college list are detrimental to student mental health Part 2 of 2 o Barbara talks about how things have changed since the 1990’s o Barbara talks about institutional priorities ...
info_outline
YCBK 624: 15 Questions to Ask When Deciding Who To Ask for a Teacher Rec
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares 15 questions to ask yourself when you are trying to decide who to ask for your teacher recommendation Interview-Student Athlete Advisors-Part 4 of 4 o Our 4 experts answer three questions that one listener sent in via Speakpike o We talk about NIL and college athletics o We discuss the difference between the timed sports and the observation sports o Katie lets you know how about some of the resources that Student Athlete Advisors has available and how you can partner with...
info_outline
YCBK 623: Do Colleges Treat an A at a Rigorous HS the Same as an A at a Typical HS
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: (02:08) In Our Question from a Listener-Hilary joins me to ask a question about how colleges can use GPA to evaluate students when the high schools can vary so much in rigor, selectivity and grade inflation. (25:01) Mark interviews Barbara Kalmus about how the words we often use when describing our college list are detrimental to student mental health Part 1of 2 o Barbara Kalmus gives her backstory o Barbara talks about student mental health o ...
info_outline
YCBK 622: Tips Athletes Need If They Want to Play Their Sport in College-Part 3
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares insights from a few articles that discuss which jobs AI will displace and which ones AI will not replace. Mark shares what is going on with changes ot the University of Florida and their admission policy Interview-Student Athlete Advisors-Part 3 of 4 o Amy talks about what she wants in a coaches recommendation letter and when does she want to receive this o Joe talks about how essential it is to send customized letters to each college but how you have to be creative o Joe talks about how...
info_outline
YCBK 621: What Can I Learn from a College Based on How They Communicate with Me
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: (02:48) In Our Question from a Listener-Susan joins Mark to answer a question from an anonymous mom who wants to know if the way a college communicates with me is an indication of what my experience will be like when I arrive at the college (21:24) Mark interviews Stephen Burd, senior writer and researcher about his latest article that appears at newamerica.org on the topic of 41 colleges that are saddling a high percentage of low- income students with Parent PLUS loans-Part 3 of 3 Part 3 v Stephen talks about what he would change if...
info_outline
YCBK 620: Tips Athletes Need If They Want to Play Their Sport in College-Part 2
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: Mark shares 10 Speakpike messages from listeners and he has a little commentary on each message Interview-Student Athlete Advisors-Part 2 of 4 o Amy discusses how a player can find out the level that they can play at o Joe talks about how much you can learn from studying the rosters of the students o Reid talks about the best way to reach out to colleges once you know you are interested in them o Reid talks about the importance of video and the importance of having an effective call to...
info_outline
YCBK 619: How Can I Tell If a College Has a Commuter School Culture?
Your College-Bound Kid
In this episode you will hear: (03:34) In Our Question from a Listener-Hilary joins Mark to answer a question from an anonymous mom who wants to know how can I tell if a college has a commuter school culture. (24:01) Mark interviews Stephen Burd, senior writer and researcher about his latest article that appears at newamerica.org on the topic of 41 colleges that are saddling a high percentage of low- income students with Parent PLUS loans-Part 2 of 3 Part 2 v Stephen elaborates on the Parent Plus loans v Stephen discusses if non-need best aid or merit money...
info_outlineIn this episode you will hear:
Mark shares insights from a few articles that discuss which jobs AI will displace and which ones AI will not replace. Mark shares what is going on with changes ot the University of Florida and their admission policy
Interview-Student Athlete Advisors-Part 3 of 4
o Amy talks about what she wants in a coaches recommendation letter and when does she want to receive this
o Joe talks about how essential it is to send customized letters to each college but how you have to be creative
o Joe talks about how ID camps can be extremely useful or a total waste of time and he gives some of the best advice for a student-athlete on how to know if a camp is a waste of your time. Friends, I have asked a lot of experts this question and Joe’s answer is the best one I have ever heard
o Amy talks about how important it is to start with a great targeted list
o Amy talks about whether she liked it as a coach when a student asked her, where am I on your recruitment priority list?
o Amy talks about how you have to translate the coach speech?
o Reid talks about how parents who are overinvolved hurt their kid in recruiting
o Katie shares some areas for parents to be involved
Recommended Resources
Colleges that allow self reporting of test scores
Colleges that Allow Self-Reporting of SAT and ACT Scores
Great source for questions about finances and college
Edvisors: Financial Aid, Student Loans, Scholarships and Money Management
FAFSA Walkthroughs Mark recommends
Complete FAFSA 2026‑2027 Walkthrough | From Start to Submit
2023-2024 FAFSA Walkthrough Video English
CSS PROFILE Walkthroughs
MEFA Institute: A Deep Dive into the CSS Profile
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 want us to answer a question on the podcast, please use speakpipe.com/YCBK. We feel hearing from our listeners in their own voices adds to the community feel of our podcast.
You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day.
To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup. We will include many of the hot topics being discussed on college campuses.
Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful articles on college admissions: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/blog/
1. To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/
2. Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link
3. Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it
4. Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans
5. Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps
6. Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point
7. You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript
We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.
Please follow our podcast. It really helps us move up in Spotify and Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.
If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!
If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you follow our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.
Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/recommended-books/
Check out the college websites Mark recommends: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/recommended-websites/
If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend, we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCauBgityVXVHRQUjvlIRfYrMWWdHarB9DMQGYL0472bNxrw/viewform
If you want a college consultation with Mark just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email at mark@schoolmatch4u.com. All we ask is that you review their services and pricing on their website before the complimentary session; here is link to their services with transparent pricing: https://schoolmatch4u.com/services/compare-packages/