Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Josh Steckel hear graduation updates from three of our Getting In seniors: Alessandra LePera, Jordana Meyer, and Ellis Wells.  The seniors share their favorite parts of the ceremonies and describe what it's been like to participate in the podcast. Plus, Julie and Josh answer a final round of listener questions. Listeners ask about: the value of high school leadership positions, when to consider transferring colleges, the misconceptions surrounding degrees and careers in the arts, and strategies for building a good relationship with your high school college counselor. Getting In expert Josh Steckel is a college counselor at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies and the author of Hold Fast To Dreams: College Guidance Counselor, His Students, and the Vision of a Life Beyond Poverty.   Getting In is supported by Squarespace, helping students create online portfolios and personal websites that show colleges who they are and what they can do. Learn more at Squarespace.com/gettingin Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com. Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Parke Muth, formerly a dean and an admission officer at the University of Virginia, answer listener questions.  How important are SAT II scores to admissions officers? Which is more valuable a good grade in an AP class or the score on the exam? What's your advice to students applying from abroad? Does volunteering matter? Send us an email or voice memo--to [email protected] Call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353. Find us on Twitter: @GettingInPod Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com. Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Parke Muth, formerly a dean and an admission officer at the University of Virginia, answer listener questions.  When you're a student athlete, what are the pros and cons of attending Division 1 and Division 3 schools? Is summer really the best time to start working on common application essays? Test prep is elitist, expensive, and a massive investment of time-- is there any reason our family should opt-in?  Send us an email or voice memo--to [email protected] Call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353. Find us on Twitter: @GettingInPod Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com. Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and Getting In expert Amy Young answer a listener question from an eleventh grader about what juniors should be doing the summer before their senior year. We also hear from Getting In seniors Jonathan Diaz, August Graves, Alessandra LePera, and Jordana Meyer about their own plans for summer before starting college in the fall. Amy Young is the director of college counseling at Avenues, an independent school in New York City. Send questions, comments, and follow us on Twitter @GettingInPod Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected] Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353 Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com. Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Julie Lythcott-Haims and expert Amy Young talk about how the high stakes intensity of college admissions has trickled down to middle and high school admissions. Amy is the director of college counseling at Avenues, an independent school in New York City. Julie mentions a new effort aimed to reduce the academic pressure and stress found in her own community of Palo Alto, CA. The city is distraught by its teen suicide rate-- four to five times the national average. The website, pathsfrompaloalto.com, was created by recent college grads who grew up there. "They're showing through blog essays, that people have happy successful lives going in all directions out of Palo Alto," says Julie. Listener questions this week include a letter from a junior in southern California who suffered a head injury at a sporting event and it affected his GPA. He wonders how to present his case on college applications. And an eleventh grader, who moved to Arizona her junior year, asks if it's ok to get teacher recommendations solely from her previous school. Send questions, comments, and follow us on Twitter @GettingInPod Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected] Or, call our hotline and leave a message at (929) 999-4353 Getting In is sponsored by Audible.com. Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/college and use the promo code COLLEGE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices