In each episode of The Dish on Admish, you’ll hear from IU Bloomington student ambassadors Alyssa and Neel on everything you want to know about college admissions. From the moment you begin thinking about college to the moment you move in to your new campus home, our hosts will cover it all—with the humor, stories, and details you won’t hear anywhere else.
Alyssa is an elementary education major and Spanish minor from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She’s a member of multiple honor societies, plays several instruments, and writes her own music. She's also:
Neel is an accounting and finance major from Bartlett, Illinois. He’s a member of several campus groups, including Indiana Canine Assistant Network, The Office Club, and the CX Consulting club. And he’s also:
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Descriptive transcript
[Upbeat music plays.]
[Video: A red square flies across the white screen. Words form from the red square and move to the middle of the screen while other shapes shoot out of the words and off screen. The words read IU Admissions presents. The words move forward and off screen.]
Alyssa: Hello, I'm Alyssa.
[Video: Words appear in red font that read the Dish on Admish a podcast on college admissions. Stripes in different shades of red run diagonally across the upper left and bottom right corners.]
Neel: And I'm Neel.
[Video: A photo of Alyssa slides into view to the left of the words and a photo of Neel slides into view on the right. An IU trident logo appears in the upper left corner. A box appears in the upper right corner with the words with special guests Nichelle Whitney, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions. A photo of Nichelle moves into the box.]
Alyssa: And this is The Dish on Admish, a podcast about all things related to college admissions and life at IU Bloomington.
[Video: A dark red stripe swoops across the screen, and behind the stripe the screen turns white. There is a faded image one of the iconic red clocks from campus on the right of the screen. Light red stripes are on the left half of the screen. The Indiana University Admissions logo is in the upper left corner. The Dish on Admish logo is in the upper right corner. The captions from the dialogue appear on the screen throughout the video. A sound bar graphic is below the captions, with segments moving up and with the voices.]
Alyssa: Hey, Neel!
Neel: Hey, Alyssa. How's your semester going?
Alyssa: My semester is going swimmingly, I must say. I'm really excited about football games, obviously. Had to throw that in there. But also, now I have classes in person again, it's feeling good. I'm finally in a real classroom, as an education major that makes me very happy. And I'm with real students. Like, physically. It's great. I'm just having the time of my life. How's yours going?
Neel: Honestly, it's not too bad. It's definitely been a step up since last year. We were all online, now we're back in person. So it's super nice to see all these people back in class, especially like seeing them face-to-face and not just being like, oh, I saw you on zoom and then you just disappeared to the next page in the zoom call. But yeah, oh, you mentioned the football games. Yeah, it's been absolutely amazing. I know the Cincinnati one was like two weeks ago. That was packed. It was sold out.
Alyssa: I got there an hour and a half early and I still wasn't first. But I got a free shirt, so I'm not even mad about it.
Neel: Yes, some of my friends went early as well. They didn't also didn't even get first, they got close. But yeah, one of my friends he wasn't able to get in, so we had to go in at the last minute, but we still got the seats.
[Alyssa laughs.]
Neel: Anyways, Alyssa, I'm glad to hear you're having a great semester. Let's get started on today's topic. We're gonna share our top tips for applying to college. This is a timely topic since the early action deadline to apply to IU Bloomington is November first.
Alyssa: Here to help us today is a very special guest, Nichelle Whitney from the Office of Admissions. Welcome, Nichelle. Can you introduce yourself for our listeners?
Nichelle: Yes. Hello, Alyssa and Neel. Thank you all for having me today. And before I do an introduction, I'm gonna say, thanks for bragging about your great experience in class, because I am exhausted from being on the road. But it's good to hear that you all are having an amazing experience on campus. My name is Nichelle Whitney, I am a senior assistant director in the Office of Admissions. And for anyone who's listening to this podcast and if you met me on the road before, I have worked with students down in Southern Indiana, in Tennessee, up in Northwest Indiana, and I now get to currently work with students in Marion County. So, thank you all for having me here.
Neel: Yeah, thank you for joining us. So today, we're talking about applying to college and we want to help high school students understand the things, like when to apply, what colleges are looking for, and helpful tips for a strong application.
Alyssa: Exactly. And November first is coming up really soon. And I know that's a super important date for applying to IU. Nichelle, why is November first so important?
Nichelle: Yeah, so we are so close to the deadline and November first is what we consider early action. It is non-binding. So simply, if we offer you admission because you apply by November first, that doesn't mean that you have to make a decision to come to IU right away. Also, we are really pushing November first, because if you complete an application for admission by November first, then you're guaranteed to get a response by January fifteenth. If you aren't able to apply by November first, we understand, we respect that. You can meet our regular decision deadline of February first.
Nee: Okay, so just really quickly to clarify again, if a student applies by November first and is admitted, do they have to attend IU?
Nichelle: They do not. So that's what we mean when we say non-binding. Now, of course we would love for you to come to us because if we say yes to you, then we believe that you have the heart of a Hoosier and will make a great student ambassador and leader on campus, but you're not required to attend IU. And there's another really important thing that didn't mention about November first. November first is our deadline for the highest scholarship consideration. So, if you meet that November one deadline with the completed application, then you'll automatically be considered for IU academic scholarships, and also what we call the Selective Scholarship Application. This is a platform for accessing additional scholarships at IU Bloomington. And all of this is determined by your completed application that you must submit before November one.
Alyssa: Ooh, guys, if you're listening out there, you're definitely gonna want to apply to IU by November first, if you want to be eligible for those amazing scholarships.
Nichelle: Exactly, and one more thing to note. We know that COVID has been really crazy for a lot of students, okay? So, last year was a mess, I heard you both just reminiscing about COVID times. So we know that students may want to wait until their next semester to apply because they're waiting for current semester grades. So technically, if you're listening to this and you're a senior, when you apply by November first, you won't have a full fall semester transcript yet, right? So, you're probably worried that, oh, the last set of grades you'll see will be from our junior year. I still strongly encourage students to go ahead and apply now. If we need to see additional academic information in order to make an admissions decision, we'll give you an opportunity to provide that later. So, we like to say that our early action opportunity is just to get you on our radar. If you know ahead of time, like, hey, I really stumbled first semester junior year or maybe even second semester junior year, but I was able to recover, I've been able to pivot and do really well senior year, can you hold off from making an admissions decision? You absolutely can reach out to your admissions counselor. All of their information is on our website, admissions dot Indiana dot edu. Reach out to them and let them know. And again, we can make an admissions decision later and ask you for updated grades. So, if you're nervous, you don't want us to see what you've done so far, you want us to see current semester grades, go ahead and apply now, meet that November one action deadline.
Neel: Yeah, thank you, Nichelle. I know when I was applying to IU, I constantly pestered my admissions counselor and they were just honestly so helpful in trying to get everything and really helped me trying to get everything submitted and making sure I had everything up to date. But kind of going off that, do you have any other tips for students who are planning to apply?
Nichelle: Yes, I will tell students to be Neel. Pester your admissions counselors. This is what we get paid to do, this is what we love to do. We love to help students find their best path to IU Bloomington. So, students should take time to familiarize themselves with our admissions standards, so that they know exactly what we're looking for. We try to make it very, very clear on the website and we are happy to answer any questions that come in via email or call. We do have a holistic review process. That means we look at a lot of factors to make an admissions decision. We never just use one factor. If you're interested in knowing what these admissions standards are, please visit admissions dot Indiana dot edu forward slash apply. You'll get to see information about our recently admitted students, like their GPA, what high school courses we were expecting them to take, the IU topic or the IU specific essay, and also SAT and ACT scores of those recently admitted students as well. Now, what you're going to see published on the website is based on recently admitted students. If you are falling within those ranges, you're likely competitive, but if you feel that you're above or below, again, don't make your own admissions decision, work specifically with your IU admissions counselor. Keep in mind though, you'll see recently admitted ranges for SAT and ACT scores. IU Bloomington is now test-optional. So it's really up to you to decide how you want to tell your academic story. If test scores are the best reflection of you and they're a part of that best story, then great. If not, you don't have to submit them. You can learn more about our test optional policy on our website as well.
Alyssa: Thank you so much for explaining all of that. Honestly, also shocked that you said be Neel. Neel, you better write that down, that'll never happen again, but--
Neel: yeah, you're right.
Alyssa: I'm really glad that you explained all of that. It was very, very helpful. Even though I've been through this, I don't remember how it works, so that was really a great outline of that. Other than what you shared so far, which has all been amazing, do you have one favorite tip that you think everybody should hear that's super important as well?
Nichelle: Yes. A lot of students have questions about what do I put in my essay? How do I make my essay stand out? I tell students be your authentic self in your essay. Do not use your essay to recap what we're already going to see on your resume or your application. This is your time to tell us why IU Bloomington, what at IU Bloomington is going to pique your interest, what clubs are you interested in joining in, why college in general. I know for me, college was a way from me to get out of a really bad home life and come into a bunch of new opportunities and change the trajectory of my life. And it helped tremendously. I loved IU Bloomington. I will go back and do it all over again, even those organic chemistry classes. So, this is your time to really tell us about yourself in the essay. The other thing is, if there's going to be anything that is a blemish on that transcript, this is your time to explain what happened in your academic journey. Was that precalculus class challenging? Did you struggle through foreign language? Did you transition schools? Did you have teachers transition in the middle of the year? This is really your time to give us as much context to the materials that we're going to see, so that we have all the answers to make an informed decision. And the other thing, be creative. We've had students write us poems. As long as you answer the actual question, which is simple and straightforward, then we are excited to review your essay. So, the essay is a critical part
of a completed application. And I would tell students, be yourself, be authentic, and be transparent about any hurdles that we should know about. So those are my tips, but you two have also gone through the application process fairly recently. So, what tips would you have?
Neel: Oh, I think my top tip, a little bit more unique to me and some other people I think, is that always call and confirm that your transcript is submitted. So for me, my legal name is different from my preferred name. So, when I applied a couple of weeks earlier before the deadline, I officially wasn't submitted my application until two days before, because there was a mix up in my names.
Alyssa: I think my tip would just be to get on them as early as possible. I am a huge procrastinator and I really bothered my mother throughout this process because she would be like, start it, you need to start it! And I would just sit there and stare at the screen. And then, when it came down to the due dates, it started getting pretty stressful, 'cause I was trying to fill all the stuff out while also being a high school student. So, I would just recommend doing a little bit every day. I always say that. Just something I probably should have done, but did not.
[Alyssa laughs.]
Neel: Don't worry, Alyssa, my mom was the same way.
[Alyssa laughs.]
Alyssa: Oh, classic moms. Okay, Nichelle, before you go, we do have an end of the show tradition of sharing our Hoosier moment. So, for anyone listening who does not know what a Hoosier moment is, it's just a recent experience that made you feel proud to be a Hoosier, or just feel really connected to IU. So, I'll start. I think my Hoosier moment this week was when I was in the classrooms with all my students. I'm in a third and fourth grade split classroom and this is the first classroom I've been in since before COVID. And one of my students gave me a drawing that she made just for me. And I literally teared up. I was so excited. And it just felt really good that all my classes leading up to this moment had actually been leading up to something that I liked that was good. And I'm really excited to be a teacher, so that was my Hoosier moment this week.
Neel: I'll go next. So, definitely my Hoosier moment was I had a few exams earlier this week, and some of them I didn't understand as much. So, I decided to do the old Hail Mary and shake Herman B Wells' hand. For those of you that don't know, we have a little tradition here at IU is that as a student, if you shake Herman B Wells' hand before an exam, you're guaranteed to do well. And it was really nice 'cause I saw a bunch of other people doing it as well, so I got to kind of talk to them and see them before the exam too. Nichelle, how about you?
Nichelle: What was your Hoosier moment? My Hoosier moment. So, as I mentioned at the beginning of our episode, this is a really crazy time for admissions directors because we're traveling and trying to meet as many students in their high schools as possible. And so, we don't always get to be on campus as much during this time. So, I decided, you know what? I'm so stressed, let me get on campus and just feel the energy of the students. And so, I actually went and visited our Black Lives Matter mural that's painted in front of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. And I just sat there for a moment and took in all the neat elements of each letter. And I just love how it was designed, not to just represent black lives, but trans lives and so many other lives that are often marginalized in our country. So, I sat there and I was just looking at this. And in full disclosure, I started at IU 10 years ago, so I feel old. And I remember all of the experiences that I had at that Black Culture Center. So, just sitting there and seeing the type of work that our current students are doing and just admiring the beautiful mural, it just reminded me of why I love campus so much. The energy, the positivity, the representation, just feeling like campus is home. Campus felt like home for me. So, that's what I did. I was totally a Hoosier. I'm sure the students were looking at me like, who is this old lady walking around this mural? But it was perfect. It was what I needed to be rejuvenated and get right back on the road.
Alyssa: I agree with that, I love that mural. Sometimes I'll walk that way just so I can look at it, even if it's the opposite direction. 'Cause it's just so amazing. I can't believe people actually sat down and painted that. I could not. Oh, it's so amazing. If you guys are listening, you need to go check it out. It's so cool. And thank you so much again for joining us today, Nichelle. I had a lot of fun, learned a lot, good times.
[Alyssa laughs.]
Neel: And thank you for listening, everyone. If you have a question or topic suggestion, ask on our website at go dot IU dot e d u slash admish. We'll be back again soon with more episodes of
Alyssa and Neel: The Dish on Admish.
Alyssa: I feel like that was pretty good for not doing it in a while.
Neel: I think so, yeah.
[Alyssa and Neel laugh.]
[Upbeat music gets louder.]
[Video: The screen turns red and the IU trident logo appears at the top. The words Indiana University appear in the middle of the screen with a website address below that reads admissions dot Indiana dot e d u. The screen swipes clean and the Dish on Admish logo appears. The photos of Alyssa and Neel are on either side of the logo. The IU trident logo appears in the upper left corner.]
[Music fades.]
[End of transcript.]
Hear about the application process from our hosts and Senior Assistant Director of Admissions, Nichelle Whitney.
Description of the video:
[Upbeat music plays.]
[Video: A blue square flies across the white screen. Words form from the blue square and move to the middle of the screen while other shapes shoot out of the words and off screen. The words read IU Admissions presents. The words move forward and off screen.]
Alyssa T.: Hi everyone. I'm Alyssa.
[Video: Words appear in blue font that read the Dish on Admish a podcast on college admissions. Stripes in different shades of blue run diagonally across the upper left and bottom right corners.]
Alyssa N.: And I'm also Alyssa.
[Video: A photo of Alyssa N. slides into view to the left of the words and a photo of Alyssa T. slides into view on the right. They have their hands raised as if they are giving a high-five. An IU trident logo appears in the upper left corner. A box appears in the upper right corner with the words with special guests our new host Neel.]
Alyssa T.: And this is The Dish on Admish, a podcast about all things related to college admissions and life at IU Bloomington.
[Video: A teal stripe swoops across the screen, and behind the stripe the screen turns dark blue. There is a faint outline of one of the iconic red clocks from campus on the right of the screen. Light blue stripes are on the left half of the screen. The Indiana University Admissions logo is in the upper left corner. The Dish on Admish logo is in the upper right corner. The captions from the dialogue appear on the screen throughout the video. A sound bar graphic is below the captions, with segments moving up and down with the voices speaking.]
Alyssa N.: Today, we have some super sad news, and some exciting news. So, don't get too sad. We're saying farewell to Alyssa T. who just graduated. She's moving on to bigger and better things. Congratulations, Alyssa. But to fill her shoes, we're welcoming a new host, Neel! Welcome, Neel.
Neel: Hi, everyone. It's nice to meet you all.
Alyssa N.: So before we learn a little bit more about Neel, Alyssa do you want to tell us about everything new that's happening for you?
Alyssa T.: Yeah, so on May eighth IU hosted an in-person graduation for graduates. It was fantastic! It was just a beautiful sunny day in Bloomington. There was a lot of IU pride and some really inspiring speeches. And to tell you guys a little bit about what I'm doing next, I will be moving to Indianapolis and I'll be working in an HR rotational program at Eli Lilly. I was fortunate to get help from the Kelley Handshake program in getting this job. I actually started at Lilly through an internship last summer, and now they've hired me on full time! So, I'm excited to move to a new city. But before that, I have my first summer off for a very long time.
Alyssa N.: That is incredible. I'm so happy for you. And I'm really excited to see what great things you accomplish with your IU pride of course. And we're going to miss you so much.
Alyssa T.: I'm going to miss you guys.
Alyssa N.: So I've known Neel for quite a while but, I want our listeners to get to know him as well. So, Neel don't get too nervous, but we have a few questions for you. Let's get started. So, just to start us off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, or just important things we should know about you?
Neel: Yeah, so, I'm currently going to be a senior and I'm majoring in accounting and finance. I'm from Bartlett, Illinois. That's close to Schaumburg, and that's close to Chicago. So eventually people know where one of those are. And for me, I kind of chose IU really because when I visited I really felt that sense of friendliness and just wanting to help people that other people exuded. And that's really what I felt like I was looking for when it came to choosing a college. And, that's really why I came. And I guess a little fun fact about me is my favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate chip.
Alyssa T.: Mmm.
Alyssa N.: So outside of classes, what else do you do at IU?
Neel: Yeah, so like you I'm a student ambassador. So I end up giving presentations and campus tours to students and their families who come to visit, and try to figure out if IU is the best choice for them. Beyond that I'm part of ICAN. And essentially it's a club where we help train service dogs. Basically, just kind of helping them get acclimated to a lot of people. If they have to go somewhere in a city or anything like that, it helps them get acclimated in that social aspect. And then one really fun thing I like to do on campus is called The Office Club. And essentially what we do is we get together usually around midterms or finals and we watch episodes of The Office. It's super fun, because a lot of people will stop by maybe for an episode or just a few minutes. But it's a great way to meet new people and just honestly kick back and relax.
Alyssa N.: Neel, I was in ICAN freshman year and the best part about the meetings for those of you guys listening, they bring in dogs and sometimes they'll like do tricks for you, and it's honestly the best time. So I just had to throw that in there.
Alyssa T.: I was going to say The Office Club sounds awesome. Where was that at when I was still looking for clubs to join as an underclassman? That sounds awesome, Neel.
Neel: Yeah, no, they're both really fun. I highly recommend anyone that's coming to visit the campus to check it out, or anyone who still hasn't joined, definitely join them.
Alyssa T.: So, Neel, how would your friends describe you?
Neel: I guess my friends would probably describe me as like pretty funny and caring, and just wanting to help others out, I think is the best way they'd probably describe me.
Alyssa N.: Alyssa and I actually answered this question when we first started the podcast and it's a requirement for every host to answer this question. What is one item you would take with you on a deserted island?
Neel: Oh, yes.
I know this one exactly. So, Physician's Desk Reference, hollowed out. Inside, waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket, And in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Alyssa N.: Sounds like you are in The Office Club.
[Laughing.]
Alyssa T.: That is awesome, Neel. So our last question for you is what has been your greatest IU memory so far?
Neel: Yeah, definitely my greatest IU memory so far has been dipping my toes in the Showalter Fountain. Because it's definitely an experience, especially going with like all your friends and stuff, especially on a hot day, just sitting there and just relaxing, and getting to see the beautiful campus.
Alyssa T.: So our school year is over and summer is about to start. I was wondering what everyone is going
to be doing this summer.
Neel: So for me, I'll be working in an internship over the summer at a corporate accounting
and finance job in Illinois. So I'm back at home. And it's really cool, because I get to do a lot of hands-on work, and actual work that professionals do. And I also get paid. That's really just a two birds, one stone situation if I have to say so myself.
Alyssa N.: That sounds pretty fun. I'm going to be working as a science instructor at a summer camp. And also singing at some gigs around my town, my hometown. So, I'm excited for that. Alyssa, what are you going to be up to?
Alyssa T.: Well first, I want to give a shout out to the other Alyssa. If you guys haven't heard, she won our Campus Superstar competition, singing. She's so talented, and I may have to come listen to her at these gigs she has this summer, because we're really, really excited and proud of her.
Alyssa N.: Yeah guys, don't freak out. You have a celebrity judge, or not judge, a celebrity host now.
Neel: Oh, I'm freaking out. Like, I don't know how I'm going to keep up now.
Alyssa T.: So, this summer I'll be visiting my grandma for the first time since COVID. She's a regular listener to this podcast. So I just wanted to give a little shout out to her. And then I'll also be getting ready to move to Indianapolis and start my career.
Alyssa N.: That is so exciting!
Neel: It sounds so much fun!
Alyssa N.: So crazy! So at the end of all of our episodes, just for Neel and for any new listeners we have, we like to all share our Hoosier moment. And basically, that's just something nice that we remember from, you know a recent event, or something that happened to us this year that makes us proud to be a Hoosier, an IU student. So I'll go first. At the end of the semester, you know everyone's all stressed with finals and I had turned all my stuff in and I thought I was done hearing from all my professors. You know, everything was kind of over. And I got emails from every single one of them that were super, super nice. Basically, just saying how much of a pleasure we all were to have in class. And, they hope that we're doing well and that our careers succeed. And it was just so nice. So that was my Hoosier moment. Neel, you want to share yours?
Neel: Yeah, so definitely my Hoosier moment was after one of my hardest finals I took, the professor brought his dog on screen and he was just having him perform tricks for us the entire time. Which was so much fun, because we got to see him play, play dead, got to see him fetch, which is really funny cause he just lifted his laptop outside and just threw the ball.
Alyssa T.: That's awesome. My Hoosier moment. Well, I have two. First was graduation. There was a lot of school pride. Like I said, it was just a beautiful day that we all got to go to the football stadium and sit outside and distanced but still feel really proud of our accomplishments. And then my second Hoosier moment was that I was eating outside with my parents in Bloomington, and one of my professors walked by. I had never actually met this professor in person because I had him virtual this semester, and I just got to introduce myself and my parents to him. So, it was a really cool moment, and made our big school feel pretty small when you just run into people like that.
Alyssa N.: That's so fun. Also side note, eating outside in Bloomington is so nice, now that the weather is nice. So if you guys are, you know, visiting campus or just in the city of Bloomington, definitely go eat outside. It's so fun.
Neel: Yeah, I know when my parents come visit they always want to get an outside table.
Alyssa N.: So we'll be taking a little break as we embark on all of our summer adventures, but Neel and I are super excited to launch new episodes in the fall. And in the meantime, you guys can all visit go dot IU dot e d u slash admish to listen to all of our episodes and even suggest a topic for a future episode. So, farewell Alyssa, and welcome Neel. And thank you everyone for listening today.
Alyssa T.: That's today's episode of,
Alyssa T., Alyssa N., Neel: The Dish on Admish!
Alyssa N.: Yeah, that, Wow.
Alyssa T.: Maybe you'll be better once I'm gone.
Neel: Hopefully.
[Upbeat music gets louder.]
[Video: The screen turns red and the IU trident logo appears at the top. The words Indiana University appear in the middle of the screen with a website address below that reads admissions dot Indiana dot e d u. The screen swipes clean and the Dish on Admish logo appears. The photos of Alyssa and Alyssa are on either side of the logo and they have their hands raised as if giving a high five. The IU trident logo appears in the upper left corner.]
[Music fades.]
[End of transcript.]
Join current hosts Alyssa and Alyssa as they introduce new host Neel and reflect on what this summer—and the future—has in store for them.
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[Upbeat music plays.]Listen as our hosts talk about starting your Hoosier Experience with OTeam members Matt and Daisy. Find out what made their first years amazing and what they would do differently.
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[Upbeat music plays.]Join our hosts as they discuss the IU housing experience with Resident Assistant, Phil. Hear about where they lived, how they found roommates, their favorite dining locations, and more.
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The Dish on AdmishGet to know our hosts and listen to some real talk about college admissions and life at IU.
