How to Get the Most
Out of College Podcast
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We spend a lot of time thinking about where to go to college but not nearly enough on how to go to college.
Join me for short conversations with students and higher education experts that dive into a tip or topic from my book. On each episode, you’ll hear stories and get practical advice on what to do, why to do it, and how to do it.
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Interviewing students and experts was a highlight of writing How to Get the Most Out of College. Each tip in the book contains short practical advice. The podcast is a chance to interview people, hear stories, and dive into each tip/topic in detail so students can find their place, people, and path.
EPISODE 1Welcome to How to Get the Most Out of College!
Studying abroad changes your perspective, but many students don’t get a chance to have this experience or don't think it's possible for them. Lizbeth Parra, a student at TCNJ The College of New Jersey tells her story about studying in Argentina mixing courses, travel, and an internship – and the admin and financial support needed to make it work
EPISODE 2Studying Abroad as a First Gen Student with Lizbeth Parra
When do students feel like they are in their own space - not entering someone else’s - and feeling like they belong? Dan Maxwell, Interim Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs for the University of Houston System takes us through what belonging is, how it's normal for it to take time to feel it, and what students can to do to find it — and what colleges and universities can do to support them.
EPISODE 3Sense of Belonging with Dan Maxwell
How can you not just adjust but thrive as a transfer student? Ferch Sanchez Lopez shares his tips for getting involved, making connections, and giving back. In the process, we learn a lot about what to ask yourself – like how it’s not just who you want be but who you want to be with – and hear about time spent in classes and clubs don’t take away from each other.
EPISODE 4Thriving as a transfer student with Ferch Sanchez Lopez
How can your college application not be a chore but instead a way to learn about yourself and make such an impression on a college they can’t wait to meet you? College admissions expert Jennifer Martin takes us through how students can use their essay to do just that, how to build a college list, and balance all the advice students get on college.
EPISODE 5Get more from your application with Jennifer Martin
What are the different kinds of mentors? What are the different ways to work with them? What role can parents and families play? Award-winning student affairs leader Cedric Howard shares his own journey and his advice on how students can benefit from mentors on everything from reviewing a resume to being a role-model to providing life-changing advice.
EPISODE 6Mentoring and Parents’ Roles with Cedric Howard
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is a new opportunity for student athletes. Bill Carter from Student Athlete Insights provides an overview and examples of NIL. He takes us through what students can do to capitalize on it, and shows its benefits beyond finances like developing a personal brand, creating an online presence, and being entrepreneurial.
EPISODE 7Name, Image, and Likeness with Bill Carter
How can transfer and returning students get oriented and feel supported? Randi, the Director of the Transfer and Returning Student Resource Center at Portland State University takes us through how students can’t possibly know all the resources available to them but they can have a go-to person and a go-to space to help them.
EPISODE 8Supporting Transfer Students with Randi Harris
How do you find community as a transfer student during covid lockdown? Andrew, a Senior at Temple University, takes us through his experience finding community online and then on campus. Along the way, he offers lessons in getting involved on campus and in the community through clubs, class projects, and activism.
EPISODE 9Finding Community with Andrew Ankamah
How can colleges better support First Generation students and what can students do in the meantime? Deana Waintraub Stafford, Director of the Center for First Generation Student Success shares her insights into dismantling and learning higher education’s “hidden curriculum” and encourages students to ask the questions that will help them and others.
EPISODE 10Deana Weintraub Stafford on Supporting First Gen Students
I recently had the opportunity to talk to a first year seminar about designing your college experience. In this 20 minute talk, I share the big ideas from my book: college isn’t just something you navigate – it’s something you create. It’s not just where, but how you go to college that matters. You can use research to make the important decisions about which classes to take or how to get involved. To succeed, make connections between classes, clubs, and careers.
EPISODE 11Bonus Episode: Designing Your College Experience
How can you best get oriented and find support as a first generation student? What can student affairs professionals do to connect with students, normalize getting help, and lead by example? Dr. Angela Simmons, VP of Student Development at University of South Carolina Beaufort discusses these topics and how she uses her background in counseling to help students succeed.
EPISODE 12First Gen Student Student Success with Dr. Angela Simmons
How can students work with faculty on their research and build valuable skills and connections at the same time? How do you find these opportunities and do they need to relate to your classes? Recent graduate Natalie Passov talks about her experience as a research assistant, how she contributed, what she learned, and how this led to an internship and a career.
EPISODE 13Working with Faculty on Research with Natalie Passov
What do you want to be known for at the end of your internship? How will it complement your studies? What special projects can employers give interns to work together on to accomplish something? We discuss these questions and more in this special double episode with, Greg Hoffman, author of Emotion by Design and former CMO of Nike, drawing from his own experiences as an intern and the programs he built at Nike.
EPISODE 14Transformational Internship Experiences with Greg Hoffman
How can your parents help you understand and play to your strengths? What assessments, conversations, or other resources can help with this? We discuss the role of strengths (and discomfort) in the college selection process with Winnie, a leadership development coach, and Sushil, a technology entrepreneur, who talk about their recent experience and how How to Get the Most out of College helped their family.
EPISODE 15How Parents Can Help Students Understand Strengths with Winnie and Sushil da Silva
How do student success coaches help students and how can you best work with them? Dustin Ramsdell, former success coach and manager of coaches, describes the role of coaches and shares stories from his experience helping students get oriented, connecting them with other services, advising on degree and career planning, navigating new technology and policies, and building confidence and skills – and then hearing “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
EPISODE 16Working with a Student Success Coach with Dustin Ramsdell
How can you understand yourself and what can that tells you about career paths to explore? What lights you up? Is what you’re pursuing right for who you are so that you can bring your whole self to work? We explore these questions with Carrie Young, the host of the Paths in Progress podcast and a former Executive Director of Academic Affairs and Student Success and Academic Advisor.
EPISODE 17Finding a Fulfilling Career Path with Carrie Young
How can students with children not just survive college but thrive? What can colleges and universities do to support them? Kate Colbert and Dr. Joe Sallustio, authors of Commencement: The Beginning of a New Era in Higher Education, share their insights on these questions from their research and personal experience as students and faculty.
EPISODE 18Meeting the Needs of Student Parents with Kate Colbert and Dr. Joe Sallustio
What does it mean to be a student leader in college? How does student government work and how do you get involved? When does it complement or compete with your studies? We dig into these questions and more with Macy Trout, a Senior at Temple University who shares her stories of meeting and representing students, building skills, and making an impact.
EPISODE 19Being a Student Leader with Macy Trout
How can students find friends, advisors, and other folks to support them as they transition from dependence at home to independence in college? What people, information, and resources are available and what’s the best way to learn about and use them? We discuss the topic of building a support network with Andrea Malkin Brenner, Creator of Talking College Cards.
EPISODE 20Building Your Support Network with Andrea Malkin Brenner
What should you do when you visit a college? How can you go beyond the standard admissions info session and tour? What should you do before, during, and after your visit to make all this happen? We dive into this with Mark Stucker, Founder of School Match 4 U, co-host of Your College Bound Kid podcast, and author of 171 Answers to the Most-Asked College Admissions Questions.
EPISODE 21Getting the Most from your College Visit with Mark Stucker
What is the price you’ll pay for college? How does that compare to other students and other schools? How did the price of college get so complicated and mysterious? What can you do solve this mystery? We discuss these important questions with Mark Salisbury, Founder and CEO TuitionFit.org, the college price transparency platform.
EPISODE 22Understanding the Price of College with Mark Salisbury
How do you work up the courage to take risks, put yourself out there, and try new things? How can you rest, recover, and reflect while you’re making the most of your time in College? How does all this help you grow, personally and professionally? We discuss all this and more with former brightspot intern and current Harvard first year Grace Bida.
EPISODE 23Growing by Taking Risks, Recharging, and Reflecting with Grace Bida
How can you get oriented, get involved, and belong as a transfer student? How do you balance spending time with other transfers versus connecting with other students who’ve had a different experience? We discuss this with higher education’s first Chief Experience Officer (CXO) and two-time transfer student, Tom Ellet from Quinnipiac University.
EPISODE 24Getting Oriented and Involved as a Transfer Student with Tom Ellett
What is design thinking? How can students use it to design their lives? What will this tell you about possible career paths, courses, projects, and mentors? We discuss this and more with Julia Lang, Professor of Practice and Associate Director of Career Education and Life Design at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane University.
EPISODE 25Designing Your Life and Career Path with Julia Lang
What are the outdated policies and processes that students and families will confront in higher education? How can colleges and universities change these to work for today’s students? How can students and families cope with them in the meantime? How can they advocate for change? We discuss this with higher education change consultant Drumm McNaughton.
EPISODE 26Changing Outdated Policies and Processes with Drumm McNaughton
What do students want to get out of college – discovering identity, belonging to a community, building skills, learning about an interest or passion? What does why you want to go to college tell you about where to go to college and how to go to college? We discuss this with college counselor Michelle McAnaney, “The College Spy.”
EPISODE 27Why do you want to go to college? With “The College Spy” Michelle McAnaney
Why and how can you make things – digitally and physically – as a way of thinking? How is making and prototype a way of being? We discuss these questions and follow Scott’s path from engineering to product design to education at Stanford’s d.school and UT Austin. He shares insights from the book he co-authored Make Space and his latest book, This is a Prototype.
EPISODE 28Making to Think with Designer, Educator, and Author Scott Witthoft
What can the process of searching for and applying to college teach you about yourself? Given many colleges and universities admit directly to specific schools/majors, how can the process help you uncover your strengths, interests, and focus? Lisa from Flourish Coaching shares her experience with in career planning and college counseling.
EPISODE 29Using the College Application Process to Learn about Yourself with Lisa Marker-Robbins
How can students spot problems and create solutions as entrepreneurs? How can they take full advantage of all the clubs, centers, support, technology, and mentors their college and university offers to entrepreneurs? How can tackling big problems generate hope? We dig into this with Alicia, Host of the College Life Podcast and professor in Social Innovation.
EPISODE 30Student Entrepreneurs as Hope-Generators with Alicia Sepulveda
Elliot joined a College Spy Webinar hosted by Michelle McAnaney and summarizes what students can do to increase their chances of success in college and get the best return on their investment of time and money – and how to find colleges/universities that offer these opportunities to inform their college search.
EPISODE 31Bonus Episode: Search for Where to go to College Based on How You’ll Go to College
Elliot opened the pre-conference workshop at the Designing Libraries Conference with an overview of trends changing higher education and libraries. This talk provides an overview of trends including students’ sense of belonging, working on real-world projects, building skills, next gen libraries, and getting advice and support.
EPISODE 32Bonus Episode: Trends Changing College and Universities
What common misconceptions get in the way of how students succeed in college? How does college actually work? In this bonus episode, Elliot and college success coach Mya Andersen debunk misconceptions about orientation, terminology, technology, support services, career exploration, and more.
EPISODE 33Bonus Episode: Common Misconceptions About Higher Education
How many colleges and universities are there in the US? What are the demographic, financial, and social trends that are changing higher education? Elliot gave an overview of the higher education sector answers these questions and can help students, families, and folks in higher ed understand the big picture.
EPISODE 34Bonus Episode: The Higher Education Sector, Explained
How can you build your network to set yourself up for sucess in college and your career? Elliot digs into this critical topic with career development professional and Positive Philter podcast host Philip Wilkerson. Don't miss the 5 "Fs" of networking, plus two bonus "Fs"!
EPISODE 35: How to Build Your Network in College with Philip Wilkerson
How can you find a college that's the right size, setting, and focus for you? How do you know when you've found the right fit? Elliot digs into this with Nancy Hubbard, Dean of the College of Business at University of Lynchburg. They get into the quality of relationships, the amount of flexibility, what you get exposed to, and more.
EPISODE 36: Choosing the Right College Size and Setting for You with Nancy Hubbard
How can you cope with less control in college – and in your life and career? How can you manage perfectionism for your health and success? Elliot and Vanessa Bush, author of Embracing Your Perfectionist Self, discuss these topics and cover understanding who you are, getting involved, finding acceptance not fitting in, and more.
EPISODE 37: Perfectionism and Coping Less Control with Vanessa Bush
What the unspoken rules and the obscure terms that trip students up in college? How can they learn these to think critically in their classes and careers? Elliot and author Louis Newman dig into this based on his decades of experience as a professor and advisor and his recent book Thinking Critically in College.
EPISODE 38: Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum in College with Louis Newman
How can students develop skills, build a network, and explore careers? Elliot and guest co-host Steve Ehrmann discuss this with award-winning faculty member and experiential learning expert Melonie Sexton. They discuss research projects, capstone projects, and internships along with how to best support students along the way.
EPISODE 39: Creating Great Learning Experiences with Melonie Sexton 
How can international students learn and adapt to new settings, cultures, norms, and rules to thrive in college? Elliot and Debrup go through the nuts and bolts of housing, jobs, internships and more and give practical suggestions for international students based on his own experience and all the students he's helped over the years.
EPISODE 40: Succeeding as an International Student with Debrup Laha 
How can you tell compelling stories with data in college and your career? Elliot and data analytics expert Valerie Kroll dive into this topic. They follow Val's path from college to market research to optimization and go through concrete suggestions on knowing your audience and what to do before, during, and after a big presentation.
EPISODE 41: Telling a Story with Data with Valerie Kroll
What will you do when you face a crisis in college or in your career? Elliot and Rachel discuss this topic, drawing from her unique work on the student experience in higher ed and the employee experience in the workforce. They talk about getting perspective, finding support, making a plan, making progress, and more.
EPISODE 42: Getting through a Crisis with Rachel Dean
How can you find a college or university that's a financial fit for you and your family? What are the common misconceptions and barriers to finding fit? We go through the process, identify practical suggestions around setting a budget, broadening or focusing your search, and how this might change in the future.
EPISODE 43: Finding Colleges that are a Financial Fit with Liane Crane
What's the value of an internship? How can institutions and employers get together to maximize the benefits of these for all involved? Elliot digs into this with Josh Kahn, Associate Director of Research and Public Policy for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) to hear about their programs, advocacy, and assessments.
EPISODE 44: The Value of Internships with Josh Kahn