Application season is officially open for universities. With deadlines quickly approaching and questions about everything from navigating the litany of potential courses to deciding whether to stay close to home or travel further afield, it can be an especially stressful time for prospective postsecondary students. .

Melinda Giampietro, founder of Vancouver-based education consulting agency Options Solutions, hopes to alleviate stress and streamline the process for students with the new Admissions Office Canada podcast.

Channeling more than 30 years of academic advising and secondary education experience into the ten-episode series, Giampietro details what students and their families should know but may not be able to easily find about the application process.

“One of our big priorities was to have information that you can’t read on the Internet. It was about figuring out how to get really nuanced, inside information to more families for free,” Giampietro said, adding that the advice is offered in a “conversational, non-intimidating way.”

With ten episodes already recorded and interviews with industry insiders, Giampietro walked through the admissions and enrollment processes at specific schools, the information needed to choose business, engineering, arts programs and science, and school options in Canada – with a particular emphasis on smaller, lesser-known facilities.

There are “96 large universities in Canada, give or take,” Giampietro said, and “many other smaller post-secondary institutions that are generally overlooked.”

Among the courses that are typically the most sought after, Giampietro said business is becoming an increasingly competitive field, alongside commerce and engineering.

“The general public perceives businesses as having this skill set, this really tangible thing, that transitions into the world of work,” she said, while “engineering is popular because there has so much to do” with the degree.

The course in which institutions have seen the greatest interest is data science, Giampietro added, followed quickly by the Faculty of Health Sciences in terms of popularity.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, health has become ingrained in teens’ conversations like it never has before, she said.

“In the first two years of the pandemic, we saw a huge surge in interest in nursing, health sciences and psychology, particularly as they relate to mental health. »

AI and the ever-changing technology landscape are also influencing students’ decisions about which courses to choose: there are jobs today that may not exist in a decade.

“We really want students to think about finishing their degree. What does that look like, what will that world be like, and how can you best equip yourself with a job or work experience suited to that? » she said.

To make such a decision, Giampietro advises students to think broader than their high school curriculum.

“We encourage students to print out the institution’s majors and minors, get a highlighter, and black out anything they are sure they will not study. Then highlight the things that really interest you,” she said.

Giampietro doesn’t like the word “passion,” believing it to be “grossly overused and abused,” but she recommends that students think about what in life brings them joy. She uses the example of chess. Avid gamers are likely to be strategic thinkers – how does this relate to the world of work? If students like to listen to their friends’ problems, what course can one study that involves helping others?

Making such decisions is undoubtedly stressful for students, Giampietro said, but she assures that “almost everything in education is changeable.” If a student goes down a path and realizes it’s not the right one for them, they can always change direction later.

The second episode of the podcast, available on the Options Solutions website, is available now and delves into important information about how admissions decisions are made. The remaining episodes will air week by week.