On the Admissions Beat, veteran dean of admissions Lee Coffin from Dartmouth College provides high school seniors and parents, as well as their counselors and other mentors, with “news you can use” at each step on the pathway to college. With a welcoming, reassuring perspective and an approach intended to build confidence in prospective applicants, Dean Coffin offers credible information, insights, and guidance—from the earliest days of the college search, to applications, decision-making, and arrival on campus. He does so by drawing on nearly 30 years of experience as an admissions leader at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. In Season 2, premiering Sept. 20, 2022, with new episodes dropping weekly throughout the fall, Dean Coffin and his guests will help seniors winnow college lists as deadlines approach; weigh variables such as testing and financial aid; polish essays and, ultimately, hit “submit.”
Keep Calm and Carry On: Navigating the FAFSA Rollout
This week, Admissions Beat wades into the topic of college affordability. For high school seniors, we provide up-to-the-minute insight and tips on navigating the rollout of the new FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is causing delays in award calculations. For high school juniors, we introduce the topic of affordability as a “non-negotiable” factor as you and your families work toward assembling a college list. Joining host Lee Coffin, Dartmouth’s dean of admissions and financial aid, are G. Dino Koff, director of financial aid at Dartmouth, and journalist Charlotte Albright.
2/20/2024 • 48 minutes, 49 seconds
Take an 'Existential Selfie'
How might a high school junior begin the journey of self-discovery that is the bedrock of the college search? In an encore episode of Admissions Beat, host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth recommends that prospective applicants point a virtual camera at themselves and snap an "existential selfie." It's an exercise that can reveal values, priorities, and guiding questions. His guests, all undergraduates at Dartmouth, provide counsel on the early steps in the college search, including advice they would give their 16- or 17-year-old selves. They are: Andrea Agola '26 of Burke, VA; Garrett Crouch '26 of Edmond, OK; Olivia Koo '26 of Los Alamos, NM; and Batuhan Saridede '26 of Izmit, Turkey.
2/13/2024 • 53 minutes, 30 seconds
Searching
Throughout this winter, 11th graders will find themselves seated across from a college counselor in their high school, perhaps for the first time. The topic: kicking off a process of search and discovery intended to yield a college list by the start of senior year. But where and how to begin? To answer that question, Admissions Beat host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth is joined by two former university admissions officers and longtime “friends of the pod”: Sherri Geller, co-director of college counseling at Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts, and Ronnie McKnight, associate director of college counseling at the Paideia School in Atlanta.
2/6/2024 • 56 minutes, 8 seconds
High School Juniors: Your College Search Begins
For our Season 5 premiere, Admissions Beat turns its attention to high school juniors. Host Lee Coffin, dean of admissions at Dartmouth, previews what prospective applicants can expect in the months ahead. He encourages them to start with an “existential selfie” to understand what they’re seeking in a college experience. He and his guests also provide tips on building a college list and assessing a campus’s community and culture. Joining Dean Coffin are Thyra Briggs, vice president for admissions and financial aid at Harvey Mudd College, and Jacques Steinberg, co-author of “The College Conversation: A Practical Companion for Parents to Guide Their Children Along the Path to Higher Education.”
