TPP 234: College Admissions Coach David Marcus on the Path to University in the Covid-19 Pandemic
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
39 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 1 day ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the overall focus of the episode on college admissions during COVID‑19?
Not about the brand. It's about the fit. It's not about what decal you're gonna put under your back window of your car. It's about you finding that this college is for you. Yes, that's much more difficult now because you can't go to a campus and have an overnight. In some cases you can't even go to a campus and talk to people. You can just screw around there. But Kids now have so many more options than they did twenty-five years ago to find out about colleges without spending a lot of time there.
Welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. I'm your host, Debbie Rieber. Today's episode is all about college admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fall is typically college application season for high school seniors, but the world is just a little upside down right now, and if you are the parent of a high schooler, you and your student likely have many questions about what this all means. To talk us through the uncertainty and especially how it impacts differently wired students, I've invited author, journalist, and admissions expert David Marcus to the podcast. David has been on all sides of this game, as a journalist observing admissions offices, as an anxious parent himself, and as an educational consultant to kids across the country.
He's also the author of Acceptance, a legendary guidance counselor helps seven kids find the right colleges and find themselves. Throughout this pandemic, David has been following how colleges are responding and what changes are taking place in the admissions process. So, in our conversation, David shares what high school students can be doing right now, what's always most important in considering post high school plans, pandemic or not, and how it's not all doom and gloom. Why a system turned on its head might just be a good thing. for differently wired kids. Alright, and now here is my conversation with David. Hello David, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much, Debbie.
This is such a timely conversation that we're having. Because we are going to be talking about college admissions and what that all looks like in this crazy landscape that we're in. But before we get into all of that, you know, I've already read your formal bio. Could you take just a few minutes and tell us a little bit more about who you are kind of in the world and the lens through which we're going to be having this conversation?
Sure, I'll give you the summary that I give to parents because otherwise I would wander on too long. I am an education consultant. I have I help kids get into college, kids from all abilities. all backgrounds, not just a type A four point two students. And I this emerged because for many years I was a journalist writing about education in Florida, in Texas, in New York and elsewhere. And also at the controversial US news magazine, which does rankings. And then I wrote a book called Acceptance. It's a book about an amazing counselor at a public school helping a huge variety of kids. Get into colleges, but more important. Find out who they are and what their dreams are, where they wanna go and what they wanna be.
And that's kind of my philosophy. I work with just a few students a year. And I do some pro bono work too. And I try to just help students in eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth grade figure out. What's best for them? Do they want to go to college at all? Should it be a two year college, a four year college, and and why?
How does David Marcus describe his background and the lens he uses to advise students?
So in terms of right now in this moment of time, you know, I think we're living through such a change in education. Everything's having to be reimagined. What does education look like? How can kids really thrive? And especially within the differently wired community, we've been pushing for expanded parameters of what an education looks like for many years. And I feel like this is an opportunity for us. And so I'm wondering within the college process, what is your big thinking around COVID and college? And should we be reimagining what all of this looks like right now?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the overall focus of the episode on college admissions during COVID‑19?
0:00–3:47
2
How does David Marcus describe his background and the lens he uses to advise students?
3:47–8:21
3
What are the biggest ways the pandemic has changed the college admissions process?
8:21–13:27
4
How are standardized tests (SAT/ACT) being re‑thought and what matters now?
13:27–19:01
5
How can students identify the right college fit without traditional campus visits?
19:01–23:54
6
What are the benefits and challenges of taking a gap year during these uncertain times?
23:54–29:43
7
What practical advice should parents give differently‑wired kids navigating college applications?
29:43–36:02
8
What key takeaways should listeners remember about supporting their teen’s college journey?
36:02–39:47
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
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TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
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