College Admissions Boot Camp – Applications, Essays, & More

Course Curriculum

Chapter 1: Week one – Introduction

Lecture 1: Introduction

Lecture 2: Who the course is for

Lecture 3: How the course works

Lecture 4: Your coach's creds

Lecture 5: Timing

Lecture 6: High School Allies

Lecture 7: Recommended resources

Chapter 2: Week two – Searching for colleges and building the list of schools to apply to

Lecture 1: How many schools should you apply to?

Lecture 2: Search criteria

Lecture 3: College search engines

Lecture 4: Researching schools on their websites

Lecture 5: Campus visits

Lecture 6: Evaluating academic programs

Lecture 7: No idea what you want to study?

Chapter 3: Week three – Standardized testing, SAT & ACT

Lecture 1: Do I need to take the SAT? ACT?

Lecture 2: SAT or ACT?

Lecture 3: Test prep

Lecture 4: Take the test again?

Lecture 5: SAT II Subject Tests? SAT Essay?

Lecture 6: Test "optional" schools

Lecture 7: AP and IB scores

Chapter 4: Week four – Filling out applications

Lecture 1: Early decision?

Lecture 2: The Common Application

Lecture 3: Your resume

Lecture 4: The Coalition Application

Lecture 5: Your responsibilities submitting applications

Lecture 6: Outside submissions to monitor

Lecture 7: Potential pitfalls

Chapter 5: Week five – Writing your college application essays

Lecture 1: Planning out how many essays to write

Lecture 2: Brainstorm essay topics

Lecture 3: Outlining essays

Lecture 4: The personal statement

Lecture 5: Specialized essay prompts

Lecture 6: Short answer responses

Lecture 7: Edit & polish

Chapter 6: Week six – Recommendation Letters

Lecture 1: What makes a good recommendation letter?

Lecture 2: What makes a poor recommendation letter?

Lecture 3: Choosing your recommenders

Lecture 4: Asking your recommenders to write for you

Lecture 5: Preparing your recommenders

Lecture 6: Potential problems

Lecture 7: Thank your writers!

Chapter 7: Week seven – College admissions interviews

Lecture 1: Is an "optional" interview really optional?

Lecture 2: Logistics of the college interview

Lecture 3: Substantive prep – what are you going t say?

Lecture 4: Practicing interview questions

Lecture 5: A mock interview

Lecture 6: Last minute details

Lecture 7: After the interview

Chapter 8: Week eight – Financial aid

Lecture 1: What will college cost?

Lecture 2: Applying for financial aid

Lecture 3: The FAFSA

Lecture 4: Other parts of the financial aid application

Lecture 5: Understanding your award letter

Lecture 6: Appealing your financial aid award

Lecture 7: Student loans

Chapter 9: Week nine – Finding and wining scholarships

Lecture 1: Do your college applications first!

Lecture 2: Tracking scholarship applications

Lecture 3: Searching for scholarships

Lecture 4: Applying for scholarships

Lecture 5: Winning scholarships

Lecture 6: Tailoring your application essays

Lecture 7: Schools' financial aid policies on private scholarships

Chapter 10: Week ten – Making your decision on where to go to college

Lecture 1: Early decision? Early action?

Lecture 2: Deferred?

Lecture 3: The waitlist

Lecture 4: Picking between schools

Lecture 5: Settle your tuition bill before you arrive

Lecture 6: Using the summer to prep for a successful college start

Lecture 7: Go to school!