The College Counseling Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sam Pritchard
Wide-ranging conversations with counselors and other college admissions professionals on students, parents, counseling best practices, and testing
This episode is a discussion between Sam Pritchard and Mai Jumamil, Director of College Prep Programs at Kaplan Test Prep. Sam and Mai address some of the most common questions and misconceptions about testing that they hear. They discuss choosing whether to take the SAT or the ACT, the importance of having a goal score, the risks of taking the SAT or ACT “cold” or unaware of what to expect, recommendations on students hoping to test with accommodations, how super scoring helps students, what test optional means for testing decisions, when to do test preparation, and how to decide what kind of test prep is best for a particular student.
On this episode, Sam is joined by Maureen Drown, School Counselor at Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, IL. They talk about the session where they co-presented on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) at the Illinois Association for College Admissions Counseling conference. Maureen also explains her definition of college “fit” and its components, as well as what effective college counseling entails. She also gives her recommendations on SAT and ACT testing and how to navigate test prep.
On this episode, Sam is joined by Ryan Keaton, Co-Director of College Counseling at Friends Central School in Wynnewood, PA. Sam and Ryan discuss what effective college counseling is and how working for a college in admissions is useful preparation. Ryan gives some recommendations for parents on shedding some of the expectations they have for their child’s college process. She shares her observations on how students and parents approach testing, and how best to support them. Ryan also explains what a Friends School is and her interesting connection to Sister Act.
On this episode, Sam Pritchard has a conversation with Joel Lang, Director of College Counseling at Padua Academy in Wilmington, DE and current President of the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admissions Counseling (PCACAC). Joel shares how he got into counseling including time at a Summer camp and working with students in a homeless shelter. He shares interesting insights on working in a boys school vs. a girls school, and he explains the value of PCACAC and NACAC for counselors’ professional development. This conversation also includes Joel’s perspective on whether students should submit test scores to test-optional schools.