Aidan and Ash continue the College Admission Series (CAS) as they welcome Lee Coffin, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Dartmouth College. All in this week’s episode of Hold Me Back. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.
Dartmouth: Interview with Lee Coffin, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
Aidan and Ash continue the College Admission Series (CAS) as they welcome Lee Coffin, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Dartmouth College. Prior to joining the Dartmouth administration in 2016, he served as Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Tufts University from 2003-2016 and Dean of Admission at Connecticut College from 1995-2001. He also hosts two podcasts: Admissions Beat and The Search. In this thought-provoking interview, hear Mr. Coffin discuss what you should look for in the colleges you apply to, a behind-the-scenes look at how colleges approach the application process, and what he hopes changes about college admissions in the future. This episode covers everything from getting into an Ivy League school to what schools to apply to. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
- Is it important to know what you want to do with your life when you apply to college?
- What is Dartmouth’s mission?
- How do you know what schools to apply to?
- What are Lee’s thoughts on the Pile Theory?
- How do summer programs factor into a student’s demonstrated interest?
- What has surprised Aidan from interviewing college admissions leaders?
- How does Dartmouth evaluate potential students?
- What are Lee’s thoughts on EA (Early Action) and ED (Early Decision)?
Who was more convincing: Aidan or Ash? Vote at the bottom of this post.
Enjoy the show! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.
Show Notes
- Intro to Lee Coffin, Dartmouth
- [0:00] This podcast has been named a Common Sense Selection by Common Sense Media, recognized for its outstanding content for kids and families.
- [0:11] This episode of Hold Me Back is brought to you by Motto. Get started with Motto at Aspen Dental or MottoAligners.com
- [0:41] This episode of Hold Me Back is brought to you by Shutterfly. Go to Shutterfly.com and use the promo code: holdmeback for 40% off your order
- [1:55] Welcome to Hold Me Back
- [2:06] Meet Aidan (Gen Z) & Ash (Gen X)
- [2:36] Lee Coffin, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Dartmouth
- Interview with Lee Coffin, Dartmouth
- [5:04] Is it important to know what you want to do with your life when you apply to college?
- [7:38] Are different schools different fits for career aspirations?
- [8:04] Ivy League
- [10:33] Common App
- [12:41] What is Dartmouth’s mission?
- [13:11] Zoom
- [18:08] The University of Chicago (UChicago), Duke University
- [18:21] How do you know what schools to apply to?
- [19:43] Connecticut River
- [20:39] D-Plan (Dartmouth Plan)
- [22:35] Second College Grant
- [22:53] Tufts University
- [26:54] Instagram, Influencer, Social Media
- [30:15] How does Dartmouth evaluate potential students?
- [32:09] Hinsdale Central High School
- [38:21] What are Lee’s thoughts on the Pile Theory?
- [40:24] Northwestern University
- [46:32] Need-Blind Admissions
- [50:19] Cornell University
- [51:55] Pandemic
- [53:24] Game Theory
- [53:41] What are Lee’s thoughts on EA (Early Action) and ED (Early Decision)?
- [59:23] Safety School
- [1:01:00] Are students applying to colleges earlier than they used to?
- [1:04:22] How do summer programs factor into a student’s demonstrated interest?
- [1:06:52] How is Aidan feeling during the college application process?
- [1:14:49] What has surprised him from interviewing college admissions leaders?
- [1:17:49] Chess
- Outro
- [1:21:07] “Turntables” from The Office
- [1:21:23] Check out Lee’s podcasts: Admissions Beat and The Search
- [1:22:03] Thank you for listening! Follow Hold Me Back on HoldMeBack.com and on Instagram & Facebook
- [1:22:07] Leave us a 5-star written review on Apple Podcasts
- [1:22:11] Who was more convincing: Aidan or Ash? Vote below
Thank you for listening to Hold Me Back. To hear more episodes, follow Hold Me Back at HoldMeBack.com.
WHAT IS HOLD ME BACK?
Gen X and Gen Z live together, but we occupy different worlds. As the generational gap widens and conventional wisdom on parenting and education fails, is it even possible to understand one another? In this unique son-and-father podcast, Aidan & Ash ElDifrawi hash out a new contract between generations, forcing them to violate comfort zones on today’s most charged topics: social media and screen time, bullying and loneliness, inequality and privilege, sex and drugs, education and etiquette, even politics, religion, and sports. All to uncover a path toward greater harmony and a hopeful future for the next generation.