{"podcast":{"title":"Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast","slug":"tests-and-the-rest-college-admissions-podcast-563572","podcast_index_feed_id":563572,"rss_url":"https://testsandtherest.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://testsandtherest.com/","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/2/1/f/6/21f67343a9e8c221/testsandtherestlogo2.png","author":"Amy Seeley & Mike Bergin","episode_count":743,"summary":"Welcome to THE college admissions industry podcast! Join Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley as they discuss the latest issues in testing, admissions, learning, and education with leading experts. Tests and the Rest is perfect for parents, students, counselors, educators, test prep professionals, college consultants, and just about anyone engaged in the college admissions process. You can subscribe to this podcast or stream it online via any podcast app, including iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio. YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and Leap. Between the two of us, expect over 60 years of industry insight, expertise, insider news, and a bit of sarcasm.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-28T20:20:35.999563+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tests-and-the-rest-college-admissions-podcast-563572"},"episode":{"title":"725. TAKING A MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM COLLEGE","slug":"725-taking-a-medical-leave-of-absence-from-college","published_at":"2026-05-05T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tests-and-the-rest-college-admissions-podcast-563572/725-taking-a-medical-leave-of-absence-from-college","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tests-and-the-rest-college-admissions-podcast-563572","url":"https://testsandtherest.libsyn.com/725-taking-a-medical-leave-of-absence-from-college","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/testsandtherest/TATRMedicalLeave.mp3?dest-id=1349983","summary":"As much as every student anticipates four or more years of perfect health during their undergraduate studies, life happens. Luckily, illness or injuries don't need to mean an end to your academic journey, especially if you know the right way to take a pause. Amy and Mike invited college advisors Jennifer Stephan and Karen Flood to explain the process of taking a medical leave of absence from college. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is a medical leave of absence (MLOA), and how do colleges actually use medical leaves? What is the typical timeline for a leave request? How do you know when a medical leave is the right decision versus trying to push through? How do students return from a medical leave, and what are colleges really looking for in that process? What does a medical leave mean for a student's future? MEET OUR GUESTS Dr. Jennifer Stephan has held a variety of roles at top colleges and universities, including professor, academic dean, and board of admissions member, in addition to serving as a private college counselor, an alumni interviewer for Johns Hopkins University, and a parent of three. She holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, as well as an MS and a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Jennifer is currently the Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies for the School of Engineering at Tufts University. Prior to joining Tufts in 2016, she spent over two decades serving as a dean and a professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College, where she collaborated with colleagues at MIT, Olin College of Engineering, and Babson College to support students pursuing engineering. While at Wellesley, Jennifer served on the College's Board of Admissions, re…","meta_description":"As much as every student anticipates four or more years of perfect health during their undergraduate studies, life happens. Luckily, illness or injuries d…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1954,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/tests-and-the-rest-college-admissions-podcast-563572/episodes/725-taking-a-medical-leave-of-absence-from-college/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tests-and-the-rest-college-admissions-podcast-563572/725-taking-a-medical-leave-of-absence-from-college.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}