College With Mattie
by Mattie Culkin
Latest episode
Top 50 Schools: According To College With Mattie
Top 50 Schools: According To College With Mattie
About this podcast
Every week, Mattie Culkin and his co-host Michelle Martinez talk about everything you need to know about college admissions. How do top schools operate? What are they looking for? Tune in as they break down essential application aspects such as essay writing, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation into their core elements. For students applying to college and their parents, College With Mattie is here to steer you to your goals.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 39 episodes
- Top 50 Schools: According To College With Mattie · 39 min · Episode 38In the Season 1 finale of College With Mattie, Mattie and Michelle rank their Top 50 schools based on prestige, perception, student reactions, and parent bragging rights…
- Our Recommendations Οn Letters Of Recommendation · 46 min · Episode 37Letters of Recommendation will be needed in your college applications. Who should you ask? How important are they? What should go in them? Mattie and Michelle discuss this part…
- Crash Course To Getting Started On Your College Application · 27 min · Episode 36When you begin the college application process, you are likely tempted to begin with the personal statement, the hardest and most important thing. But is that the right course of…
- The Best Topic For Your College Essay Is Your Major · 28 min · Episode 35The best way to show a school that you belong there is to back up your major in your essay. Mattie breaks down why this works, how to pull it off, and how to stick the landing…
- FLL: Mattie's Grand Strategy To Get You Into College · 20 min · Episode 34Time to dive into the core concept behind all the advice Mattie gives his students - to F*cking Love Learning. Colleges are looking for students and nothing makes a better…
- Are You In Waitlist Limbo? · 40 min · Episode 33Have you been waitlisted? Mattie and Michelle unpack the mystery of what that means so that you can respond accordingly. Applying to college soon? You can get help from Mattie…
- Having The Stats But Getting Rejected By College: What Happened? · 43 min · Episode 32Sometimes, impressive students don't end up with impressive admissions results. Mattie and Michelle dive into a few cases to talk about the reasons students may be unexpectedly…
- Passion Projects: Internet Fad Or Key To College Admissions? · 42 min · Episode 31Passion projects keep appearing as the secret to getting accepted into college, but what does this mean? Mattie and Michelle break down what a passion project is and if it…
- My 6-Month Strategy To Applying To College · 36 min · Episode 30College applications can be tough to manage. Mattie breaks down what you need to do and when, but most importantly, how to best structure your work to get all your applications…
- Why Are Students Applying To More And More Schools? · 41 min · Episode 29The stress of college applications is leading more students to apply to more schools. What does this mean for them? Does it really help? What does it mean for admissions teams?…
- Pre-Med Is Not A Major · 28 min · Episode 28Do you want to be a doctor? Pre-med is not a major, so this is how you need to apply to college to start your journey to studying medicine. Mattie and Michelle talk about…
- Navigating the 2025 Common App Changes · 41 min · Episode 27Mattie and Michelle discuss the latest updates to the Common App for 2025. From the expanded "Challenges and Circumstances" question to changes in word limits, they break down…
- Oh No! You're Well-Rounded! But You Can Still Get Into College · 32 min · Episode 26Is being well-rounded always good? When it comes to applying to college, it's often a weakness and not a strength-unless you use it wisely. Mattie and Michelle dive into the…
- Let's Talk About Dream Schools In 2025 · 43 min · Episode 25Mattie and Michelle talk about dream schools, managing expectations and handling stress. They go over the Princeton Review's Annual Hopes & Dreams Survey and compare the answers…
- How To Get Into Top Schools For Computer Science · 33 min · Episode 24Do you want to study computer science in college? Mattie breaks down the best way to get into your school of choice by helping you frame your knowledge and passion so that you…
- The Spread Of The Computer Science Major · 30 min · Episode 23From a niche science degree to the most popular major, Mattie and Michelle tackle the evolution of Computer Science as a college major. How have students shaped their goals and…
- The Meaning Of College Prestige · 47 min · Episode 22One of the most debated and discussed topics relating to college: prestige. Mattie and Michelle unpack what college prestige really means and whether or not it's actually…
- AI Use In College Admissions: What Does This Mean For Applicants? · 30 min · Episode 21Mattie and Michelle tackle AI and college admissions again, but this time they talk about how colleges use it - not students. How does this affect your college application…
- Don't Write About Sports In Your College Essay · 24 min · Episode 20Writing about sports in your college essay seems like the obvious thing to do when you are a student athlete, but in this episode, Mattie and Michelle tackle all the reasons to…
- The Ethics Of Lying On Your College Application · 31 min · Episode 19When you tell a college what you want to major in, should you be honest? Or should you lie to give yourself a better chance of acceptance? Mattie and Michelle talk about the…
