Often, when the relief occurs after submission students forget there are still a lot of next steps.  Listen to this quick podcast so you can be on the right mindset on the timeline towards your future!

I was so lucky to visit Duke University.  It is everything you heard and more - minus the outdated dorms.  But the energy, intellect, and beauty are all there.  One of the most diverse campuses in North Carolina.  So Go, Blue Devils.

Let's get schooled with Get Schooled!  A non-profit organization focused on helping youth to get ahead whether it be for a job, college or BOTH!  A program that does NOT sell young adults' data, information or privacy like those other programs who say they are giving "free" scholarships or other information but do not.  Due to Get Schooled's long legacy since 2010, they are funded by grants and even have partnerships with other schools due to their great work.  Don't believe me? Listen to the show and then follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getschooled/?hl=en and TEXT THEM at 33-55-77 for free and real support.  Let's Get Schooled!

Santa Monica College aka SMC has transferred more students to UC campuses than any other college in the country — for 33 years straight. SMC is also tops in transfers to USC and LMU, and the top feeder west of the Mississippi to the Ivy League Columbia University.   SMC offers the same lower-division courses as UC, California State University, and other four-year campuses at a fraction of the cost. Students who start at SMC can save thousands of dollars while benefitting from rigorous smaller classes, personalized counseling, and great professors whose focus is teaching — not research.   

Santa Monica College’s academic excellence is driven by professors with distinguished credentials, representing the best in their fields: award-winning artists, scholars, authors, scientists…you name it. They teach at SMC because they believe in the power of the student-teacher connection. 

Counselors and staff in 55 offices and programs at SMC form the largest student support network in California to meet your needs, and ensure that you get to your goal of transfer or a career, ASAP. From the Veterans Success Center to Guardian Scholars, EOPS, Black Collegians, Latino Center, and many more — SMC is here to help you succeed. 

The breadth of choices at SMC is mind-blowing! From the liberal arts to STEM, accounting to film production, SMC’s career- and transfer-oriented programs rival the nation’s best universities. New courses are constantly being created, and career education courses are developed with direct input from industry advisors. In the past 10 years alone, SMC faculty crafted over 300 new courses in 58 subject areas, and the list keeps growing.

Santa Monica College’s beautiful campuses are a stone’s throw away from the Pacific Ocean, the world-famous Santa Monica Beach, the Santa Monica Pier, Third Street Promenade, and more. We’re located in the gorgeous city of Santa Monica — a top destination for tourists worldwide. Need we say more? 

Well three students do as we interview them to get their honest perspective of the one and only SMC! 

Everyone needs to plan early for college admissions, which means financial aid.  We are lucky to have Paul Martin from College Money Method.  Paul works with all types of families to address their concerns about the crazy maze called college financial aid.  He is thorough, knowledgeable, and empathetic to various situations as a person who has benefited from financial aid.  Listen and subscribe to learn much more from the College Money Method from Paul Martin.

From California to Texas, we get a chance to interview a transfer student at one of the most selective and desired campuses in the nation: the University of Texas, Austin.  Teresa, a psychology major from the Bay Area, speaks about her experiences on campus.  The University of Texas, Austin, is the state's flagship public research university.  There are 8 different campuses, with locations in Arlington, Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Permian Basin, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Tyler.

But this one is pretty hard to get into as an incoming freshman. Besides requiring the SAT or ACT exam now, they often recommend four years of English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. So be prepared if you are not from that state to have difficulty getting in. As Teresa mentions, it is different from most public universities for transfer students because it is always about spaces.  

The campus has 51,000 students, with a huge Longhorn sports team pride, and houses one of the 14 Presidential Libraries called the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Within its walls, the library holds over 45 million pages and many more artifacts about the LBJ administration.  

The campus was founded in 1883 and has a long tradition to stand out and has cultivated the city of Austin into an amazing city - but listen to Teresa and listen from her point of view. 

You gotta take the time to visit some colleges to understand what you like and what you need and what you need to avoid.  Give yourself a moment to hear from students about their experiences with great tips when they visited six colleges (small, big, and medium) and their experiences when they visited campuses like UCLA, Whittier College, Cal Poly Pomona, Loyola Marymount University, University of Southern California AND Chapman University.

We got answers to the many questions that are out there on admissions. They are also changing to listen so our world can be college 4 all!

As college admissions get earlier and earlier, the time to start college begins now. Listen to tips on how and what you can search for so you can draft your college list NOW!

It is time for every senior in the country to look on what they have not done and what they need to get done like:

• Final draft list of colleges
• Their requirements for admissions, interviews, rep visits and financial aid (check this one!)
• Drafts of statements for each application and for each campus (there will be a lot)
• Check with recommenders (two core teachers, counselor and outside recommender if desired)
• Check your emails -- they can see if you read your emails or not
• Get connected with your reps
• Triple check your list that there are challenge, possible and likely campuses for admissions and paying for college

Good luck!