About

Andrew B. Palumbo is a recognized leader in college admission and enrollment with a passion for making the process less stressful and more transparent. He is the founder and host of the popular Inside Admission Podcast and a consultant for projects aligned with this passion, supporting a range of constituents including universities, college counselors, education technology organizations, and families navigating the admissions process.

As host of the Inside Admission Podcast, Palumbo gives listeners an insider’s view behind the curtain of college admissions, interviewing professionals working in and around the admissions process about their own college search, common admissions topics, and their advice to college-bound students and their parents. The podcast is part of his dedication to create more equity and transparency in college admissions while highlighting the human side of this process and the people involved in it.

Palumbo’s driving passion in his career is to connect more people to an accessible and affordable college education that enables them to achieve economic security and to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.

Prior to his work consulting and podcasting, he served as the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 2015 to 2023 where he led the undergraduate enrollment division that included the offices of admissions, financial aid, pre-collegiate outreach programs, and enrollment systems and operations.

Palumbo has led teams at diverse mix of universities in the Northeast including both public and private schools, as well as a STEM institution and a women’s college. Prior to WPI, he served as the Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management and Director of Admissions at Plymouth State University (NH) and Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Russell Sage College (NY). He has over 17 years of experience in higher education and started his higher education career as Assistant Dean of Admissions at Union College.

He is a 2016 graduate of the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership – a joint venture between Arizona State University and Georgetown University run by Jeff Selingo – where he worked with faculty, academic deans, and administrators from public and private four-year institutions throughout the United States on topics of leadership, innovation, and design thinking.

Palumbo has a B.A. in History from Union College and a M.S. in Organization Management from Russell Sage College’s School of Management.

While Palumbo has a deep passion for his work in and around higher education, his favorite role will always be that of #girldad to his three incredible daughters.