All Episodes

Ep. 328 | Is Paying For An SAT Tutor Worth It?

Ep. 327 | 3 Habits Teenagers Must Adopt Today

Ep. 326 | Should Work-life Balance Be A Priority?

Ep. 236 Revisited | The Death of Reading

Ep. 325 | TED Talk Roulette

Ep. 324 | Your Major Is Not Your Destiny

Ep. 323 | Don’t Be Fooled By The Numbers

Ep. 322 | The New Rules of College Admissions

Ep. 321 | The New PrepWell Academy Year Kicks-off Tomorrow

Ep. 320 | Cheating at Princeton?

Ep. 319 | How To Break Your Child’s Phone Addiction

Ep. 318 | How The NCAA New Eligibility Proposal May Impact Youth Sports

Ep. 317 | What Is Your Child’s #1 Priority?

Ep. 316 | How College Dictates Your Child’s Launch Plans

Ep. 315 | Don't Get Stuck In The Middle

Ep. 314 | How To Secure Extraordinary Letters Of Recommendation

Ep. 313 | There Are Bigger Fish To Fry

Ep. 312 | How Will AI Impact These 4 Cohorts?

Ep. 311 | What To Expect From Your Child's Guidance Counselor

Ep. 310 | What Impact Will AI Have On College Graduates?

Ep. 309 | What To Do If Your Child Lacks a "Passion"

Ep. 308 | When Is It Okay To Spend $400K On College?

Ep. 307 | Case Study: Northwestern vs. UIUC?

Ep. 306 | The Hidden Challenge Of Early College Life

Ep. 305 | Have DI Scholarships Lost Their Luster?

Ep. 304 | How Do College Campus Cultures Shape Your Child

Ep. 303 | Necessary Skills In An AI World

Ep. 302 | ChatGPT = No More Excuses

Ep. 301 | The Death Of A Computer Science Degree

Ep. 255 Revisited | What If I’m Not Interested In Anything

Ep. 300 | Seeking Clarity Amidst The Chaos

Ep. 299 | Why Is College So Expensive?

Ep. 298 | Why Go To College?

Ep. 97 Revisited | The Magic (Or Miscue) Of Sophomore Year

Ep. 297 | Who Should Write Your Child’s Letters Of Recommendation?

Ep. 296 | How Will AI Impact Your Child's College Career And Beyond

Ep. 295 | When To Intervene With A Tutor

Ep. 294 | Should My Daughter Take The SAT Again?

Ep. 293 | How Much Student Loan Debt Is Too Much?

Ep. 292 | Is Your Child A Doer Or A Dreamer?

Ep. 291 | Why Are So Many College Grads Applying To Graduate School?

Ep. 290 | How To Prepare For The Coming AI Revolution

Ep. 289 | ChatGPT And The College Essay

Ep. 288 | Why Major In Accounting?

Ep. 287 | How To Write The "Why Us" Essay

Ep. 286 | Does The Free Khan Academy SAT Prep Program Improve SAT Scores Nationwide?

Ep. 285 | Is Your Child A Bad Test-taker?

Ep. 284 | How To Write Your Extracurricular Activities List

Ep. 283 | This Is The Year To Apply To The Ivies

Ep. 282 | What Is The PSAT And Why Should I Care?

Ep. 281 | How To Get The Most Out Of College – Even With A Mediocre GPA

Ep. 280 | Mid-Summer Check-in

Ep. 279 | What To Do If Your Child Is Not Athletic

Ep. 278 | AP Exam Scores Are In. Now What?

Ep. 277 | Which ECA Strategy Is Better?

Ep. 276 | SAT/ACT Strategies For The Summer

Ep. 275 | How Not To Waste $400K

Ep. 274 | How To Talk To Your Child About The Summer

Ep. 273 | How To Ease Into Leadership Positions

Ep. 272 | Don't Expect Help From Your Coaches

Ep. 271 | The Case for No-Name Colleges

Ep. 270 | Is Your Sophomore On Track? (Bonus: How to Handle Your Last Child Getting Their Driver's License)

Ep. 269 | What Happens When Colleges Lose Federal Funding?

Ep. 268 | The SAT & ACT Are Back!

Ep. 267 | Don’t Believe Them

Ep. 266 | How Julius Prepares For An AP Exam (Case Study)

Ep. 265 | Harvard Is Free If Income < $200K

Ep. 264 | The Gig Is Up

Ep. 263 | How To Create Unique, DIY, Extracurricular Activities

Ep. 262 | Have You Ever Heard Of A “Reading Team”?

Ep. 261 | Should You Go All-in On Sports?

Ep. 260 | Who Should Be In The Meeting(s)?

Ep. 259 | The Most Clever College Essay Question I Have Ever Seen

Episode 258 | How to Reach Escape Velocity

Ep. 257 | Which Personal Trait Trumps Them All?

Ep. 256 | Which Standardized Tests Matter These Days?

Ep. 255 | What If I’m Not Interested In Anything

Ep. 254 | 2024 Year-In-Review

Ep. 253 | Top 10 Reasons Your Child Probably Got Rejected From College X

Ep. 252 | Should My Child Attend This Summer Leadership Conference?

Ep. 251 | Why "Normal" May Trump "Super-selective" When It Comes To Colleges

Ep. 250 | Why I Love Teaching My 15-yr-old How To Drive

Ep. 249 | How Can Your Child Take Advantage of AI?

Ep. 248 | Using The Chaos To Your Advantage

Ep. 247 | Begin with the end in mind

Ep. 246 | ChatGPT/Chegg Take Over College Campuses

Ep. 184 Revisited | Too Much Attention vs Too Little Attention

Ep. 245 | 11 Alternatives to Paying $100K/yr for College

Ep. 244 | 7 Hottest Trends in College Admissions

Ep. 243 | Building Study Habits: Note-taking

Ep. 242 | How To Deal With An Injury

Ep. 206 Revisited | Why Teenagers Should Not Drink Alcohol

Ep. 241 | Are You Considering "Political Fit" When Selecting Colleges?

Ep. 240 | Why Ivies Might Be The Wrong "Fit"

Ep. 239 | College Admissions: Then and Now

Ep. 238 | How To Build a Signature Extracurricular Activity

Ep. 237 | My Daughter Will Get Into The Ivies, Right?

Ep. 236 | The Death of Reading

Ep. 235 | The New Digital ACT

Ep. 234 | Which Is Better, Public Or Private School?

Ep. 233 | Is ROTC Safe For My Son?

Ep. 232 | Rapid-fire FAQs

Ep. 231 | Irreconcilable Differences

Ep. 230 | Is Div I Worth The Effort (and risk)?

Ep. 229 | The Transfer Portal

Ep. 228 | More Of This...Less Of That

Ep. 227 | Transition and Big Announcement

Ep. 226 | Turning Down USC For Community College

Ep. 225 | A Silver Lining Amid The Chaos?

Ep. 224 | Blank Stares

Ep. 223 | Sports: Double-down Or Diversify?

Ep. 222 | Summer School For Smart Students

Ep. 39 Revisited | How Competitive Will Your Child Be?

Ep. 221 | Insights From 30 Hrs Of Consulting In 1 Week

Ep. 220 | Admissions Results, Explained

Ep. 40 Revisited | How and When to Research Colleges

Ep. 219 | The New Digital SAT Is Here (For Good)

Ep. 218 | The Cost Of College (From $100K/yr To $0/yr)

Ep. 217 | Duke No Longer Grades The College Essay. When will It End?

Ep. 216 | Yale Goes Back To Test-required. Anyone Else?

Ep. 215 | An Extracurricular Activity Cheat Code

Ep. 3 Revisited | 10 Life Skills Teens Must Learn During The College Admissions Process

Ep. 214 | Dartmouth Reinstates Requirement For SAT Score

Ep. 213 | Should You Bother Applying To UC Schools?

Ep. 212 | Do-it-Yourself Extracurricular Activities

Ep. 211 | How To Plan College Campus Visits

Ep. 210 | The New York Times Said What?

Ep. 209 | Is College Worth It? 51% of Americans Say, No

Ep. 153 Revisited | How Not To Get Scammed By Merit Aid

Ep. 94 Revisited | How Much Should I Push My Child?

Ep. 208 | How To Maximize The Time We Have Left

Ep. 207 | Does Your Child Know How To Write?

Ep. 206 | Why Teenagers Should Not Drink Alcohol

Ep. 147 Revisited | Your Child's Killer App, Revealed

Ep. 205 | How To Nudge Your Child To Take Action

Ep. 204 | Don't Sleep On Community Colleges

Ep. 203 | The Importance Of Your Intended Major

Ep. 202 | Is College Even Worth It Anymore?

Ep. 201 | Yup, I Did That

Ep. 200 | SAT Prep Gone Bad

Ep. 199 | What? You Don’t Have A Tutor?

Ep. 198 | How I Got A Job With The NFL As A Teenager

Ep. 197 | How To Develop An Interest (Intended Major)

Ep. 196 | Toastmasters (Secret Weapon)

Ep. 195 | What Is Interest-probing?

Ep. 194 | My Pet Peeve

Ep. 193 | When Do You Want To Take The Pain?

Ep. 192 | Make Money Or Support Your Child’s Athletic Dream

Ep. 39 Revisited | How Competitive Will Your Child Be?

Ep. 191 | The Digital SAT Is Here. Now What?

Ep. 190 | How To Use ZPD To Accelerate Your Child’s Learning

Ep. 189 | Important FAQs Answered

Ep. 188 | Why Do Recruited Athletes Struggle When They Get To College?

Ep. 187 | Affirmative Action Ends. Now What?

Ep. 19 Revisited | How To Help Your Child With Their Summer Plans

Ep. 186 | Summer Goals (9-12th Grades)

Ep. 185 | $400K In Cash Or A College Education?

Ep. 184 | Too Much Attention vs Too Little Attention

Ep. 183 | Managing The Transition To A New Year

Ep. 182 | Time-sensitive: Parents Of 8th And 10th Graders

Ep. 181 | Top 6 Parenting Mistakes

Ep. 180 | How Prepared Is Your Child For Next Year?

Ep. 179 | How To Give Feedback To Your Child

Ep. 178 | The 6 Categories Of Colleges

Ep. 177 | Should I Go To XYZ Summer Enrichment Camp?

Ep. 176 | Describe Your Ultimate Fantasy Summer Camp

Ep. 175 | Be Careful About Campus Visits

Ep. 174 | Rapid Fire Q&A (Part II)

Ep. 173 | Rapid Fire Q&A (Part I)

Ep. 172 | How To Secure A Leadership Position

Ep. 171 | Thank You Notes

Ep. 170 | One Simple Message

Ep. 169 | Summertime ”Real Options”

Ep. 168 | The New Rules of College Admissions

Ep. 167 | How Do I Prioritize So Many Competing Issues?

Ep. 166 | Best Extracurriculars If You Love Sports/Journalism

Ep. 165 | Dear Teenager, Get A Summer Job

Ep. 164 | Should Your Child Enroll In Summer School?

Ep. 163 | ChatGPT and The Future of the College Essay

Ep. 162 | How Do I Help My Child Maximize Their Athletic Potential?

Ep. 161 | A High Level Review Of The Current Admissions Landscape

Ep. 108 Revisited | Parents: Don’t Miss Your Window

Ep. 160 | College And Career Talk With Your Teenager

Ep. 159 | Can Your Child Write A Coherent Sentence?

Ep. 158 | What To Do With Your Junior’s PSAT Score?

Ep. 98 Revisited | The Horses Have Left The Barn

Ep. 157 | How To Save Our Kids From Their Phones

Ep. 156 | What To Know About The New Digital SAT

Ep. 155 | Should Your Child Consider A Military Service Academy?

Ep. 154 | Checking Your Child’s Grades

Ep. 153 | How Not To Get Scammed By Merit Aid

Ep. 152 | Do I need to take AP Exams?

Ep. 151 | Is Your Child Too Comfortable?

Ep. 150 | Is Your Child A Grinder Or A Hustler?

Ep. 149 | How To Build And ”Rebuild” Your ECA List

Ep. 148 | How To Overcome Procrastination

Ep. 147 | Your Child’s Killer App, Revealed

Ep. 146 | The Art of Discipline

Ep. 145 | 3 ECA Buckets (Extracurricular Activities)

Ep. 144 | 10 Toughest Questions For Your Teen

Ep. 143 | Selecting A Sport

Ep. 44 Revisited | Mid-summer Check-in

Ep. 39 Revisited | How Competitive Will Your Child Be?

Ep. 142 | How To Get Recruited

Ep. 25 Revisited | Dumber By The Day

Ep. 141 | Who Will Win The Tug Of War?

Ep. 140 | How To Build An Extracurricular Activity From Scratch

Ep. 139 | A Change Of Heart

Ep. 138 | Mash-up Of Summer Advice

Ep. 137 | How To Save Reading

Ep. 136 | Lessons Learned From The Trenches

Episode Revisit | Should You Hire A Private College Counselor?

Ep. 135 | Top 3 Priorities for 7th - 12th graders

Ep. 134 | What Should I Major In?

Episode 21 Revisit | How Involved Should You Be as a Parent?

Ep. 133 | Honest Answers To 10 Tough Questions

Ep. 132 | Is This Reckoning A Good Thing?

Ep. 131 | Do Un-hooked Students Get Into Harvard?

Ep. 130 | Why Are College Admissions So Out Of Control?

Ep. 129 | How To Handle Admissions Decisions

Ep. 128 | What Should I Spend Money On In High School?

Ep. 127 | Your First Call With A College Coach

Ep. 126 | Before You Go All-in On Sports...

Ep. 125 | Every Student Should Apply To Harvard

Ep. 124 | 10-Question Quiz

Ep. 123 | How Did ”She” Get In?

Ep. 122 | Does Your Child Need A Tutor?

Ep. 121 | How To Bump An 89.5 To An A

Ep. 120 | A Brand New SAT (Digital, Shorter, Easier?)

Ep. 119 | Does PrepWell Academy Work?

Ep. 118 | Winners & Losers With Test-optional Policies

Ep. 117 | How to Engage Your 14 and 15-Year-Old Son

Ep. 116 | Extracurriculars During Lockdown

Episode 69 Revisited: Critical Decision Points

Ep. 114 | Early Results Are In. Time To Panic?

Ep. 113 | I Got My PSAT Score. Now What?

Ep. 112 | Create the Ultimate Brag Sheet

Ep. 111 | How to manage your ”Ls”

Ep. 110 | Does Your Major Matter?

Ep. 109 | If Not The Ivies, Then Where?

Ep. 108 | Parents: Don‘t Miss Your Window

Ep. 107 | The Case for DIII Sports

Ep. 106 | Biggest Common App Essay mistake

Ep. 105 | How to Train Your Child Not to Lie

Ep. 104 | How Well (Or Poorly) Does Your Child Write?

Ep. 103 | Should Your Child Switch Sports?

Ep. 102 | For Juniors, Before It‘s Too Late

Ep. 101 | At Peace With My Messy Garage

Ep. 100 | 100 Best Tips, Advice, and Insights

Ep. 99 | What To Do The Day Before The SAT

Ep. 98 | The Horses Have Left The Barn

Ep. 97 | The Magic (Or Miscue) Of Sophomore Year

Ep. 96 | Do You Know Enough Math To Excel On The SAT Or ACT?

Ep. 95 | How To Build A Cheat Sheet For The SAT/ACT

Ep. 94 | How Much Should I Push My Child?

Ep. 93 | Plan to Major in Business? Be Careful.

Ep. 92 | When To Take SAT/ACT And How Many Backups?

Ep. 91 | Build Your College List In 4 Steps

Ep. 90 | How Not To End Up With A Skimpy Activity List

Ep. 89 | The Importance Of Coaches

Ep. 88 | Does your child have metrics?

Ep. 87 | Connecting today with tomorrow (and the next day)

Ep. 86 | The New California Lottery

Ep. 85 | How to Create a "Theme" for Your Application

Ep. 84 | How to Help Your Child Discover Their Path

Ep. 83 | A Blessing In Disguise

Ep. 82 | Should You Hire A Private College Counselor?

Ep. 81 | Sports, Kids, College (Discuss)

Ep. 80 | SAT: Plan-of-attack For Sophomores This Summer

Ep. 79 | The Absurdity Of Admit Rates And What To Do About It

Ep. 78 | My Deal With The Devil

Ep. 77 | How To Secure Leadership Positions In High School

Ep. 76 | Brace For Impact

Ep. 75 | GPA RIP

Ep. 74 | Should I Apply Early Decision?

Ep. 73 | The Financial Tipping Point

Ep. 71 | PLEASE take the SAT or ACT

Ep. 71 | The Ascendancy of AP Classes and Exams

Ep. 70 | Top 10 Most Important Admissions Factors

Ep. 69 | Critical Decision Points

Ep. 68 | Bye, Bye SAT Subject Tests

Ep. 67 | How Rick Should Prioritize Summer Options

Ep. 66 | Top Questions of 2020 Answered

Ep. 65 | Applications Are Submitted... Now What?

Ep. 64 | Making Sense Of This Year's Early Admissions Results

Ep. 62 | Success: Pay Now Or Pay Later?

Ep. 61 | How to Crush the College Zoom Interview

REVISIT Ep. 4: How Extracurricular Activities Impact the Strength of Your Child’s College Application

Ep. 60 | The Importance of Class Selection

Ep. 59 | What to do when the dream of a D-I scholarship dies

Ep. 58 | What Juniors Need To Focus On Right Now

Ep. 57 | Top 5 Lessons Learned When Filling Out College Applications

Ep. 56 | 20 Bad Decisions

Ep. 55 | ROTC Scholarships

Ep. 54 | Top 3 Tips for 9-12th Graders

Ep. 53 | 24 Rapid fire FAQs

Ep. 52 | How to avoid waking up in a panic your senior year

Ep. 51 | How Will Test-optional/Test-blind Affect Admissions?

Ep. 50 | What are my priorities now?

Ep. 49 | UC Schools Ordered to go Test Blind. What Does That Mean for You?

Ep. 48 | Top 7 Habits for Teens

Ep. 47 | What's The Plan?

Ep. 46 | The College Essay

Ep. 45 | Rapid-Fire FAQs

Ep. 44 | Mid-summer Check-in

Ep. 43 | Catch-up session for rising Juniors

Episode 12 Revisit | Should my child take the SAT or ACT?

Ep. 41 | When All Else Fails

Ep. 40 | How and When to Research Colleges

Ep. 39 | How Competitive Will Your Child Be?

Ep. 38 | Public or Private High School?

Ep. 37 | School's out. Now what?

Ep. 36 | Letters of Recommendation (Part II)

Ep. 35 | 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid in College Admissions

Ep. 34 | Misallocation of Time

Ep. 33 | Letters of Recommendation

Ep. 32 | Does Test-Optional Hurt or Help?

Ep. 31 | Rapid-Fire Q&A (20 Burning Questions)

Ep. 30 | Student-Athletes' Summer Strategies 2020

Ep. 29 | How Does COVID-19 Affect Freshman and Sophomores

Ep. 28 | Do I Still Have to Take the SAT (and other misguided questions)?

Ep. 27 | Shark Tank After-Action-Report

Ep. 26 | Going Back on Shark Tank

Ep. 25 | Dumber by the Day

Ep. 24 | How the Coronavirus Just Increased Your Child's College Prospects

Ep. 23 | The Secret Weapon in College Admissions: The Guidance Counselor

Ep. 22 | A Message For Your Teen

Ep. 21 | How Involved Should You Be as a Parent?

Ep. 20 | How To Help Your Child Develop a Theme

Ep. 19 | How To Help Your Child With Their Summer Plans

Ep. 18 | How Is Your Child Wired?

Ep. 17 | Is Your Child Apathetic About The College Admission Process?

Ep. 16 | When (Or If) Your Child Should Specialize In Their Sport?

Ep. 15 | Why Colleges Love Leaders and How Your Child Can Become One

Ep. 14 | Top 10 Things Your High Schooler Should Have done This Year

Ep. 13 | How to Keep Track of your Child’s Extracurricular Activities

Ep. 12 | Should my child take the SAT or ACT?

Ep. 11 | Everything you Need to Know About College Affordability

Ep. 10 | What to Expect of Your Freshman

Ep. 9 | Phil Black Answers Most Popular FAQs

Ep. 8 | Should I Seek College Admissions Advice for my Freshman or Sophomore?

Ep. 7 | Myths and Realities of the Ever-Elusive Full-Ride Athletic Scholarship

Ep. 6 | How Extracurriculars Turn a Ho-Hum Application into a Home Run Application

Ep. 5 | Tips & Strategies for Writing the College Essay

Ep. 4 | How Extracurricular Activities Impact the Strength of Your Child’s College Application

Ep. 3 | 10 Life Skills Teens Must Learn During The College Admissions Process

Ep. 2 | Why Highly-Selective Colleges Seem To Prefer Specialists vs. Well-Rounded Students

Ep. 1 | Waiting Until 11th Grade To Prepare For College Admissions Is Too Late

Welcome to the PrepWell Podcast - Meet Your Host, Phil Black