HERE ARE THE PRACTICAL GUIDES THAT THIS PODCAST INSPIREd

SHoW NOTES

Normally on the podcast I’ll be interviewing admissions professionals, but I wanted to begin with a student named Daishi for a few reasons:

He is an inspiring human being with an incredible story, as you’ll hear on this podcast.

He happens to be undocumented, and under the new administration a lot of questions have come up for students and parents and even teachers/counselors--big things like What’s changing in general? To more specifics like “Should students reveal themselves as undocumented in their personal statements?” I wanted to interview Daishi to get his perspective on this, since he’s on the front lines of this debate. And just, on a human level,

I wanted to find out from Daishi what it’s like living as an undocumented college student under a Trump administration while attending Harvard University.

Quick side note: there are many wonderful colleges out there (Harvard is just one of them) and one of my goals with this podcast is to introduce you to some of the non-Ivy-League schools, but, I elected to kick off the podcast with Daishi and, well, he happens to attend Harvard.

This is also a special episode because it’s in two parts. In the next episode I interview Dr. Aliza Gilbert, a 2017 Counselors that Change Lives recipient whose dissertation examined how high schools influence an undocumented student’s college search--she also discusses how counselors and teachers can advocate for undocumented students, so be sure to check that out.

But in this episode--the one you’re about to hear--we discuss:

What a typical day is like for a Harvard student
What it might mean for him and 700,000+ other undocumented students if the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is repealed
What Daishi wrote his college essay about and why
What he felt like he did well in the college application process
How he stays calm/centered

PLAY-BY-PLAY

What the show’s about [0:57]
One thing that makes Daishi amazing [3:05]
What a typical day at Harvard is like, including how the food is [4:05]
The class Daishi feels lucky to take [8:20]
Whether Harvard was easier or harder than he thought it was going to be [9:15]
What surprised Daishi about college life [10:25]
What helped Daishi most in his transition to college [11:45]
What it’s like being an undocumented student at Harvard [13:15]
How things have changed for him since the election [17:30]
When and how he began to embrace his undocumented status [19:15]
What happens to him and 700,000+ other undocumented students if the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is repealed [23:40]
What election night was like for Daishi and the members of his organization, Act on a Dream [26:05]
What makes Daishi so brave [28:20]
Daishi shares the personal statement he submitted to Harvard [31:05]
The perfect line in the essay that explodes in my mind and takes it to the next level [35:11]
What it was like writing his essay and how many drafts he wrote [35:50]
When Daishi knew he was done with the essay [36:30]
Why he chose to open the essay with three repeated Japanese words and what resonated with me personally [37:23]
What it’s like looking back on the essay years later [39:24]
What Daishi felt he rocked in the application process and advice to students applying to college [40:27]
What was crucial for you in the college application process? [42:06]
The crazy thing he did in high school that led to a topic for his second essay[44:30]
Why he chose the topics he chose and why he chose to reveal his undocumented status in the essay [47:38]
Daishi’s advice to other undocumented students debating whether or not to reveal their status in their college essays [42:07]
What it was like the day he was accepted to Harvard [53:40]
When he began to feel he was woven into the fabric of Harvard history [56:49]
What the future looks like for Daishi [58:35]
The new role Daishi’s organization is playing on the Harvard campus since Trump’s election [60:35]
The advice Daishi would give to any student going through this process [1:02:57]
Show and tell [1:04:58]
Guided Meditation to the Most Relaxing Song Ever [1:05:00]

RELEVANT LINKS FROM EPISODE

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Daishi’s main Common App personal statement and supplemental essay
Guided Meditation to the Most Relaxing Song Ever (Ethan’s “Show & Tell”)

RELATED AND RECOMMENDED POSTS

SHOW NOTES:

Jodi Okun is the social media rockstar of the college admissions world—check her out on Twitter!—and she is my go-to person for financial aid. A former financial aid officer from Occidental and Pitzer, she is the founder & president of College Financial Aid Advisors and has helped thousands of families navigate the financial aid process.

Jodi is the brand ambassador for Discover Student Loans, the About.com Money Expert and was recently featured as one of the Top 30 Social Influencers in Personal Finance & Wealth.

She is a social media strategist, speaker, consultant and small business advocate, and her recent book Secrets of a Financial Aid Pro is an Amazon bestseller.

On this episode we discuss:

Who should make the call to a financial aid office: the student or parent?

What to literally say to a financial aid officer when you call them to appeal

Why you maybe shouldn’t start off the conversation by mentioning a financial aid offer from another school

Jodi’s five points to cover in an appeal letter

What tone to take and how long the letter should be

The one thing students and parents should do but don’t

PLAY-BY-PLAY:

Who is Jodi Okun? [2:46]
What Jodi feels she really did well on in her book [4:51]
What has working for 10 years in the financial aid industry taught Jodi [5:32]
The first thing you should do if you receive a financial aid award letter and you’re disappointed [6:55]
Four considerations to make before filing an appeal [8:27]
What parents can do (years!) in advance to avoid a disappointing financial aid award letter [9:27]
How to predict how much financial aid you’re going to get [10:36]
Who should appeal a financial aid letter? [13:12]
How to appeal a financial aid letter [14:22]
Who should make the call to a financial aid office: the student or parent? [15:32]
What to literally say to a financial aid officer when you call them to appeal [16:02]
The importance of “The Pause” when making an appeal [16:42]
Why you maybe shouldn’t start off the conversation by mentioning a financial aid offer from another school [18:22]
How often are parents speaking with the person who could be the decision-maker? [19:32]
An inside look inside how decisions are sometimes made in a financial aid office [20:22]
What can negatively impact your appeal? [23:02]
How to be prepared for the financial aid appeal conversation [25:12]
Jodi’s five points to cover in an appeal letter [26:22]
What tone to take and how long the letter should be [27:24]
When should students appeal? [30:27]
Should students include additional materials to make the case for an appeal? [32:32]
Financial Aid 101 and common financial aid terms to know [37:17]
The one thing students should do but don’t [37:42]
The one thing parents should do but don’t [38:66]
Why do people always pronounce it “FASFA”? [39:27]
Should families who make a lot of money still apply for financial aid? [39:57]
Why Jodi is bummed about the IRS tool (why it shut down and what it means) [40:52]
Why you should absolutely go to admitted student day [43:08]
Jodi’s favorite secret tip for those who can’t attend an admitted student day [43:52]
Tips for filling out your FAFSA: whether or not to include house and retirement when reporting assets, when you should include business assets and when you shouldn’t, etc. [44:36]
Tip for filling out the CSS Profile [46:52]
Jodi’s Show and Tell: Mindfulness and Ashtanga yoga
Ethan’s Show and Tell: Headspace (meditation app) and a TED Talk by its founder, Andy Puddicombe
What would you like to leave us with? [50:22]