The first step in the college admissions process is picking which colleges to apply to! In this episode, we talk about what a good, diversified list looks like. We define key terms: safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. We discuss how many schools to apply to and how to know if a school is right fit for you. There is a lot to think about. Do you want to go to a faith-based school? Do you want to go to a big school or a small school? There are so many factors to consider.
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Read Michael’s Top 3 College List Mistakes. I’ll give you a teaser: (just picking Ivies, just picking “good” schools, and just picking for your parents)
Gonzalez has a busy day job as an administrator and Michael never has to apply to college again. Why are they still so interested in the process? So much so that they do this podcast and are holding a college application boot camp. In this episode, Michael and Gonzalez the important stories in their lives that keep them so invested in the admissions process. For Gonzalez, his story begins with his own admissions process, where lack of information about financial aid kept him from going to Harvard University. For Michael, college admissions is an important time to break out of a cycle of “gold star chasing” he sees in so many of his classmates at Columbia.
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This is a little different than our usual episodes. Today, I want to share three clips that really helped me think about what happened to George Floyd and what we should do now. The first clip is from Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd’s child . Hearing the anger and the sadness in her voice… it’s hard not to feel it as well. The second clip is from Trevor Noah, who gave a really clear analysis of what happened to George Floyd and the protests that followed. He has a very compelling response to people who divert the conversation to “looting” and I think his entire monologue is worth a listen. Finally, I was really affected by a clip from Baratunde Thurston – a Black comedian and writer – who had some great advice for what we, especially we non-Black folks, can do.
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Hello, my name is _______ and I’m a citizen of the United States. Like many in the community of Minneapolis and across this country, I’m appalled by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng. As I’m sure you know, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has recently called for these former officers to be arrested and charged with Floyd’s murder. I’m calling to also ask that your office arrests and prosecutes these individuals and any others involved to the full extent of the law. Police brutality should have no place in Minneapolis or the United States. The fact that we keep hearing stories of unarmed black people being killed by police officers only undermines the credibility of our judicial system. Please arrest and charge these individuals, and do the right thing. Thank you.
Michael and Gonzalez talk about the pros and cons of gap years. Michael thinks it’s always been an underrated option, but because of coronavirus, more and more people are thinking about taking one! We talk about what someone might learn on a gap year, why someone might take it, and how the calculus could be different if you come from a low income background.
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Today’s episode is a special Q and A with students from the Law Magnet – Michael’s old high school and where Gonzalez works as an administrator. We take questions from the high school seniors ranging from extracurriculars, to coronavirus, to essays, to how to pay for college. Tune in for some great questions that if you’re a high school student, you probably are thinking about as well!
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