College Talk Series

Our guest for this episode is Anateresa Hipolito '23, a sophomore at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Ana is majoring in Music Education and actively participates in the Lumberjack Marching Band at SFA. Listen to the episode to hear Ana sharing her own experience living and studying at SFA. We will also hear more about how Ana discovers her love and passion for music and music education throughout the college admissions process. 

There are many pros and cons of applying to many colleges. For low-income students who are eligible for the college application fee-waiver, it will be easier to apply to many colleges. To end our first season of the series, we will be joined with Thuong Ho '24 in this episode to share her experiences and insight into applying to a large number of colleges and universities in the U.S. Thuong applied to a total of 37 schools (composed of Liberal Arts Colleges, Research Universities, Public State Schools, and more...) Listen in to hear Thuong share her takes on time management, mental health, and hear her tips and strategies on how to successfully apply to all the schools you are interested in. If you plan to apply to a lot of colleges, this episode will be super helpful!

Alishia Nation is a rising sophomore at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She is a Posse Scholar majoring in math and minoring in computer science. Listen to the episode to hear Alishia sharing her own experience and story going to school outside of Texas. Alishia will give us more advice on how to navigate your first year at college and how to best take care of yourself during your time there. To make the best out of college, don't be afraid of trying new things, ask for help, and use the resources available to you in your school!

How are college interviews different from job interviews? What should you wear and bring to a college interview? How be your best self and ace your college admissions interview? Listen to this episode to learn more about the college admissions interview process from how to schedule an interview on what to do on the actual interview. Interviews are not as scary as it might seem. Listen toward the middle of the episode to hear the Ultimate Tip on how to ace your interview! You got this!

Our special guest for this episode is Duyen Nguyen '23, a rising sophomore at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. She is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Mathematics. She will be serving as an RA for her house at F&M this year. Listen in to learn more about many interesting features, resources, and opportunities available at F&M for students. We will also hear about Duyen's stories and her amazing involvement in the college community and in the town of Lancaster.

More than 70 colleges typically offer free summer and fall visits for under-represented and diverse students to help acquaint students with campus culture, get a taste of the school's academics, and give students a chance to see what the surrounding community is like. Usually offered by private liberal arts colleges, these programs allow high-achieving students who are also low-income, first-generation, or underrepresented the opportunity to have their travel expenses paid for so they can visit a campus that may not be close by. Sadly, Covid-19 has prompted colleges to postpone or alter programs to virtual format but the benefits of applying and attending these programs are still there! Let's learn more about that in this episode!

Other than the big personal statement essay that students have to write for college admissions, each school might require additional school-specific essays. These essays are just as important since they allowed students to express themselves and contribute to providing more information about their identity and personality and more to the colleges. Listen to this episode to learn more about how to best approach these types of small supplemental essays and the infamous "Why College/Us" essay.

Our special guest on this episode is Thu Pham, a rising sophomore at Harvard University. Thu is planning to concentrate in Applied Mathematics and have passions for public service and civic engagement. Listen to this episode to learn more about Thu's story and experience during her first year at Harvard and how she coped with the challenges that come with going to school out-of-state.

In this episode, we will meet Duyen Nguyen, an incoming sophomore Business Major at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Listen in to hear about her story and experience as a first-year student at UT and for her advice and tips for incoming college students and high school students who are currently applying to college!

Our special guest for this episode, Gerardo Vega, a rising sophomore at Rice University in Houston, Texas will share with us more insight about his school and the student life there. Listen in to hear about his story and experience as a Mechanical Engineering student and the ways he dealt with the transition from high school to college.

College Chat Insight is a special series of episodes featuring students from different colleges and universities across the nation. These amazing students will join each episode to answer popular questions about their school. We will cover different aspects of college life from academic, social, cultural, and student life on campus. Our student guests will be sharing some personal tips on how to survive college and the different resources and opportunities available on campus for future incoming students at their school Other than the amazing insight into their school, our guest will also share general advice for students who are in the college application process. Stick around and now let's begin.

Students understand the importance of the Personal Statement but why do students have to write essays to be considered for college admissions? Join us for this episode as we discuss the different types of college essays and go over the process of writing college essays. Stick to the end to hear more about general tips on how to write strong college essays and hear some updates about the new content coming to our podcast next month!

A college education can be very expensive but there are many ways to make it more affordable. Listen in to this episode to learn about the different types of Financial Aids and how to afford college no matter what your family's financial situation is. College is possible and there are many resources and support to help students get their dream college education, let's find out!

Applying to college will require more than just writing essays or taking standardized tests but there are other important materials and components that are required by most colleges and universities for admissions. Listen to the episode to learn more about the different types of college applications, from the traditional Common App to Questbridge, Coalition, and many more!

What does "best fit" mean in terms of college search? How can I know which schools are the best fit for me? What should I consider when looking for colleges and universities to build my college list? Listen to this episode and learn more about some of the important key things to consider when choosing schools and crafting your college list. We will also be sharing some great resources at the end and tips that can help you get started or continue building your college list!

When should you start thinking about college? What should you do during each year of high school to be prepared for applying to college? Join me in this episode as I go in-depth of what high school students should be doing each year in high school to become a competitive college applicant for the college admission process.

Listen in to learn about the 5 most important things that you should focus on during the four years of high school to ensure that you will be prepared for the college admission process and be a competitive college applicant. 

Hi everyone and welcome to the College Talk Series podcast. This is your host, Truong Nguyen. I am a current undergrad at Harvard studying Psychology and Educational Studies. This series is all about the ins and outs of the college admission process, anything from building your college lists, writing your personal statements to figure out extracurricular activities, and many more. The goal of this podcast is to share with you the most updated college admission strategies. All the helpful advice and tips in the show will be taken from what has worked in the past for me and from many other current college students who will join us later as the show goes on. Ultimately, I hope that this series will serve as a useful resource for all of you who are on this journey together, and with that let's get begin! Stay tuned for the release of our first episode of this series on July 02, 2020. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram to stay updated (@collegetallkseries) and let us know if you have any questions/concerns/suggestions!