Shift - College admissions in a changing world

Mega episode: DEEP dive on how to get an internship that actually helps you get into college

Students looking to get into top schools already do the grades, sports, extra curriculars, and more, so how do you stand out? A killer internship is one of the best ways. Most internships don't help your college application, and this is a big missed opportunity. Sasha Chada is founder and CEO of Ivy Scholars, whose students have 7X the admission rate to Stanford, Columbia, MIT, and other top schools. In this mega-episode, Sasha shares his playbook for getting an internship that will actually make you a more competitive candidate for your dream school.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

How to get merit aid scholarships when you aren’t eligible for need-based aid

College costs more than ever. One of the best ways to take the sting out of the price of your favorite school is scholarships, especially merit aid scholarships which you can earn for getting good grades, having good ACT/SAT scores, and more. Jamie Smith, founder of Jamie Smith IEC and an educator since 1997, has helped countless families get as much financial aid as possible. In this episode, she discusses how to research merit aid scholarships at the college you're applying to, how to apply for them, and how to manage for cost while making your college admissions decision.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

Test optional policies and their impact

Test optional is the hot topic in college admissions today. Over a thousand colleges went test optional during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now that the pandemic restrictions have largely been lifted in the US, what does that mean for this trend? Joan Casey founded Educational Advocates College Consulting in 2004, and has been advising students of all backgrounds on college admissions for almost 20 years. In this episode, she covers the impact of the large shift to test optional admissions in 2020 and subsequent years, and what she thinks will change in the coming years.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

Creating a roadmap for your life and planning your college application process

College is where you find yourself, right? Well nowadays, that's an expensive way to experiment. Tom Leahy's Optimum Education advises high school students not just on college admissions, but on how young people can prepare to launch into their adult life and do so successfully. In this episode with loads of tips for students and parents, Tom shares how to start thinking about college as early as eighth grade and how to think about your pre-college 'career' to maximize your outcome for both college admissions and your post-college success.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

How to stick to an SAT / ACT study schedule even when it’s hard

Junior year is a crazy time for students: they have AP classes, varsity sports, extracurriculars, and oh right, the ACT or SAT exam to study for. Chris Sanderson founded Sanderson Test Prep in 2011 and has seen a lot of students succeed and fail at studying over his decades of test prep experience. In this episode, Chris shares his tips for planning your SAT/ACT studying and how to stick to that plan as the school year gets busier and busier.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

ChatGPT changes the college admissions game

ChatGPT3 was released to the public in December 2022 and immediately became the talk of the education world. It is by far the most advanced and comprehensive tool for AI-assisted writing, and can write you an entire college admissions essay in a few clicks. David Blobaum is one of the co-owners of Summit Prep and a nationally recognized expert on the SAT, ACT, and college admissions. In this episode, David and I talk about the impact of ChatGPT on academia and how it'll change college admissions forever.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

Deep dive on the SAT’s place in college admissions

With the pandemic, many more universities went test-optional or test-blind than ever before. Alan Sheptin, founder of Sheptin Tutoring Group, has been advising college applicants on admissions and the SAT and ACT exams for over 30 years. He's seen a lot. In this episode, Alan explains the impact of this shift to test-optional admissions on both admissions and school rankings, how students and parents should navigate it, and what the SAT or ACT exams places are in the new paradigm.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

Everything you need to think about when building a college list: competitiveness, financial aid, fit, and more

Shane Bybee has run Bybee College Prep for almost a decade and has helped thousands of students get into colleges all around the country. He's seen a range of students from all walks of life, and at all GPA, SAT/ACT, and financial levels. In this episode, Shane breaks down what you need to think about as you're building your college list: what schools can you afford, what state scholarships and admittance programs can you take advantage of, how can you build a list of competitive schools for your GPA and SAT/ACT bracket, what's the best fit for your career, and more.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

What extracurriculars and AP classes matter in the college admissions process

Students can choose from a wide array of AP classes and extracurriculars when trying to build our their college resume - but which ones will actually move the needle? Steph Shyu, founder of Admitsee - a crowdsourced database of college applications, has seen thousands of college apps, including extracurriculars. In this episode, she shares which AP classes are worthwhile and which extracurriculars stand out to admissions officers.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.

When to apply with or without a test score to a test-optional college

The test-optional debate is raging in the college admissions world, and students are often getting conflicting advice on whether or not they should submit scores. In this episode, Marc Gray, founder of Odyssey College Prep and the author of Achievable's ACT course, shares how he thinks about the context for test-optional admissions, how he advises families on whether or not to submit test scores, and advice for people facing a similar decision.
Achievable is a modern test prep platform for the ACT exam - visit https://achievable.me to try our course for free.