Higher Scores Test Prep

Community Service and the College Admissions Process (Episode 76)

Today we have a very special guest! My mom, Francine Verbarg, makes her College Checklist Podcast debut! Our family has always been very focused on community service and Mom is the reason for that. She’s volunteered for various organizations from a very young age and shares her tips for getting involved in charity work. In this episode, […]


Great Money Tips for College-Bound Teens (Episode 75)

We are very lucky to have Ramsey Personality Rachel Cruze on the show today to share tips on how we can raise kids that are financially prepared to tackle college without going into debt. Rachel is Dave Ramsey’s daughter and, growing up a Ramsey, there were lots of money lessons that she learned along the way. […]


How To Appeal Financial Aid Awards (Episode 74)

In this episode of The College Checklist Podcast, I had the pleasure of welcoming Jay Benanav back on the show. This time we discuss the financial aid appeal process. Appealing financial aid something that not many families know they can do. However, it can be as simple as writing a financial aid appeal letter and […]


How To Appeal A College Rejection Letter (Episode 73)

In this episode of The College Checklist Podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shirag Shemmassian regarding under what circumstances a college rejection letter can be successfully appealed and how to do it. Shirag also provides information on some of the reasons students are not accepted as well as the reasons why a student should not appeal […]


Unlocking the Power of Online Courses and Tutoring (Episode 72)

In this episode of The College Checklist Podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with my friend, math tutor Adrianne Meldrum from The Tutor Coach. The internet is being leveraged more and more in classrooms across the world. Adrianne shares with us some of the benefits of online courses and online tutoring from her unique […]


Overview Of The Changes To The 2016 FAFSA (Episode 71)

2016 is a year of change in the college admissions world. The new SAT has debuted and the FAFSA is changing in the fall! If you’re unfamiliar with the FAFSA, it is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – a very important part of the financial aid process for all students. In this episode of The College Checklist […]


Does College Matter (Episode 70)

In today’s episode of The College Checklist Podcast, I had the opportunity to chat with fellow podcasters Jody Hoff and Ellen Chan and discuss what they’ve learned from their guests while they co-produced the incredibly successful podcast – Does College Matter? As you may have guessed, the short answer to the question is Yes, a college degree does […]


How to Prepare to Win College Scholarships with Monica Matthews (Episode 69)

In today’s episode of The College Checklist Podcast, scholarship expert and author Monica Matthews joins us to share 12 tips that families with students of all ages can employ to prepare to win college scholarships. These tips are practical ideas that families can do together that can ultimately help them become more competitive when financial aid and private […]


4 Reasons To Avoid Taking The New SAT (Episode 68)

While we’ve touched on the subject of the new SAT before here on the College Checklist Podcast, the fact of the matter remains that I am still receiving questions from parents of juniors about the best way to prepare for the new exam. This new test is a bad bet for this year’s juniors. Frankly, our […]