In this episode you will hear:   (10:36) Mark and Vince discuss an article that appeared in, “The Hechinger Report” entitled, “To help new students adapt, some colleges are eliminating grades”. It was written by Jon Marcus and it was picked up by several othe publications, such as NPR. It was written on  March 26th, 2023     https://www.npr.org/2023/03/26/1164832694/to-help-new-students-adapt-some-colleges-are-eliminating-grades   (40:08) Mark and Lisa will answer a Speakpipe question from Alex. She wants wants to know if it is important for a student to take an excel in Calculus in order to go to a selective college if math is not their strength.    (52:27) We continue our four part interview as Mark interviews Akil Bello on the topic of, “Tough Questions about SAT and ACT test scores” Part 3 of 4   Preview of Part 3 v  Akil shares what score gain a student can typically expect if they are trying to assess the ROI if they invest in test prep v  Akil shares his theory of when a student should start their test prep v  Akil shares why there are such persistent test scores differences between races, gender and International vs US students v  Akil critiques the advice I give to students who want have to do self-prep for lack of resources? v  Akil talks about how the tests often test “performance under pressure” v  Akil answers the question, “Is the SAT culturally biased”     (01:03:48) The recommended resource is ncaa.org/playcollegesports. This is the NCAA guide for the Student athlete and it is chalked full of essential knowledge for rules and policies for athletic recruits   (01:18:30) Mark and Lisa discuss her visit in June to East Carolina University In Greenville, North Carolina. Part 1 of 2   You can also use this for many other purposes: 1) Send us constructive criticism about how we can improve our podcast 2) Share an encouraging word about something you like about an episode or the podcast in general 3) Share a topic or an article you would like us to address 4) Share a speaker you want us to interview 5) Leave positive feedback for one of our interviewees. We will send your verbal feedback directly to them and I can almost assure you, your positive feedback will make their day. Speakpipe.com/YCBK is our preferred method for you to ask a question and we will be prioritizing all questions sent in via Speakpipe. If you have a question for one of our upcoming interviews with admissions professionals, here is a list of admissions professionals who we will interview in 2023 or 2024 Confirmed interviews not yet completed Bard-Mackie Siebens Rice University-Tamara Siler American University-Andrea Felder Pitzer College-Yvonne Berumen Chapman University-Marcela Meija-Martinez Connecticut College-Andy Strickler* Trinity College-Anthony Berry* College of the Atlantic-Heather Albert* Spelman College-Chelsea Holley* Scripps College-Victoria Romero* Saint Louis University-Daniel Wood-(Interview is about transfer admissions, Daniel is a transfer counselor) Colby College-Randi Arsenault* University of Georgia-David Graves* University of Minnesota-Keri Risic Cornell University-Jonathon Burdick Oberlin College-Manuel Carballo Carleton College-Art Rodriguez Swarthmore-Jim Bok Joy St. Johns-Harvard Duke-Christoph Guttentag Florida State-John Barnhill Southern Methodist University-Elena Hicks Johns Hopkins-Calvin Wise Cornell University-Shawn Felton Haverford College-Jess Lord UAspire-Brendan Williams Yale University-Moira Poe Bard College Baylor University Butler University California Institute of Technology-Ashley Pallie Colorado School of Mines Creighton University University of Puget Sound- Robin Aijian   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our new monthly admissions newsletter, delivered directly to your email once a month, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign-up popup.   Check out our new blog. We write timely and insightful