collegepreppodcast's podcast

Students who homeschool can stand out from the crowd during the college prep process, but only if they are intentional about how to design their experience with college in mind.

Megan talks our homeschool listeners through the following 5 steps:

* How to develop your four year academic plan,

* How to take the right higher level courses,

* How to work the PSAT, PLAN, ACT & SAT into your academic plan,

* How activities are the biggest benefit or the biggest drawback of homeschooling, and

* How to get stellar guidance in the college search process

If you have any additional questions about homeschooling, studying, and the college search process, please email us! We want to know!

Every fall the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) sends out invitations to high performing 7th graders to join their program. During this episode Megan breaks down all the reasons you would, and wouldn’t, want to participate in this program. She knows first hand, given her own daughter went through part of the program; she’s also watched several clients go through it.

For listeners who don’t know, the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth by identifying, recognizing, and challenging gifted students to reach their highest potential. It involves having 7th graders take the ACT test, and then based on their scores, inviting them to participate in enrichment activities.

During this episode, Megan delivers some straight talk on the following topics:

* 2 stories of students’ negative experiences with the program

* a list of benefits to going through the program

* how to tell whether the program is right for YOUR gifted student

* what to do if you’ve received an invitation letter to participate

* how to decide whether your 7th grader will take the ACT or SAT

* how to set your student up for success when taking the test

* how to approach the test with a positive attitude, and how to follow up in ways that inspire (rather than disappoint) your student

For further reading, here are three articles that Megan wrote about the program: (1)Should 7th Graders Take the ACT or SAT for Duke TIP?, (2) Preparing to take the SAT or ACT for Duke TIP, and (3) Personal Experience with Duke TIP.

Also, for your reference, students invited to a state ceremony meet at least one of the following criteria:

* ACT English ≥ 21

ACT Math ≥ 21

ACT Reading ≥ 21

ACT Science ≥ 21

ACT* Or with three of the four following scores English = 20, Math = 20, Reading = 20, Science = 20

* SAT Math ≥ 530

SAT Critical Reading ≥ 510

SAT Writing ≥ 500

[10/1/15, 11:48:50 AM] Megan Dorsey: *Or with two of the three following scores: Math = 520, Critical Reading = 500, Writing = 490

For more information, listen to the episode and then check out the Duke TIP website here.

Many teens struggle to memorize vocabulary effectively for the SATs, but how many teens would turn their struggles into an entrepreneurial opportunity?

High school senior Jason Ofman did just that with his website VisualVocab.org.

On today’s Podcast, Megan and Gretchen interview Jason to find out:

* what inspired Jason to create Visual Vocab in the first place

* why studying vocab visually creates more effective learning

* what he learned in the process of building the website

* how he plans to highlight this accomplishment in his his college essays,

* whether he likes Doritos more then Fritos,

* and more!

Tune in for this delightful and informative conversation…and walk away with some new ideas about how to make studying less boring.

We’ve got another Q&A episode for you!

Here are the questions that Megan and Gretchen tackle today:

How to Convince Immigrant Parents That College is Worth the Money. I’m currently a high school senior.  I’ve been trying very hard to keep my chances high to get accepted to a good university. However, my parents don’t approve of my goal to go to school 500 miles away from home. We’re immigrants, so my parents don’t really know how everything works here. All they know is that college is very expensive, telling me that I should just go to community college and then transfer to my local university. What do I do now?

How to End Anxiety Around Long Term Assignments. I’m currently a senior in college, and I’ve kind of been barely scraping by.  It started out with me feeling confident when the assignment was presented. But now it’s gotten to the point where I anticipate the anxiety as soon as I hear about the assignment. It’s even difficult for me to do things ahead of the deadline because I fear not finishing it in time. I don’t know how to break things down into small parts without thinking of the larger pieces.

Do In State Schools Really Save Money? I’m going to need money for college. Should I bother applying to out of state schools? Everyone says I need to stay in state to be able to afford college?

 

What concerns do motivated high school students have about the college admissions process?

Megan recently fielded questions for George Ranch High School National Honor Society students.

Here’s the great list of questions they asked; tune in to the podcast episode to hear Megan’s answers.

1. How many schools should I apply to?

2. What is your number 1 tip for applying to college?

3. How does choosing a major work? What if I am undecided?

4. What is the difference between priority and regular deadline? Which one do you recommend?

5. Do you have any advice for applying to an honors program?

6. Should I submit all my SAT and ACT scores or just the best ones?

7. How long should my essay be?

8. How significant are the essays relative to the rest of the application?

9. What is the number 1 mistake that students when applying?

10. How can I go about to get financial aid for college, beyond scholarships?

Students and teachers make a number of mistakes when it comes to giving, studying for, and grading tests.

In preparation for her upcoming webinar How to Be 100% Ready for Every Test, Gretchen walks Megan through what gets in the way of optimal testing experiences in schools.

Here are some of the topics that Gretchen discusses:

* The right and wrong ways to provide (and use) study guides

* How teachers can grade, and return, tests in a timely fashion, and how students can use their returned tests to troubleshoot their study skills

* The ways in which teachers collect assignments that get in the way of studying

* The importance of referring to old assignments to study for tests

* The tendency students have of throwing away old work

* Mindlessness and passivity when doing work

* And more!

To find out Gretchen’s 3-step study process that is (almost always) guaranteed to help you pass your test with flying colors, go to www.gretchenwegner.com.

If it is before September 27, 2015, sign up for the How to Be 100% Ready for Every Test. If it is after this date, click on the Free Stuff link to find out how to gain access to the recording.

On this Q&A episode, Megan and Gretchen tackle questions about public versus private schools, AP classes, managing time during school, and more.

The questions that we answer include:

1. When I go to college, I want to be a pharmacist. I want to know what AP classes I could take that can help me?

2. My name is Raga. I am from Ethiopa. I have greate scores in 10th grade scoring “A” at all subjects. I have won academic awards different times in my country. I want to be sponsored and get scholarship to college. What suggestions do you have? Thank you.

3. My son is going to be a sophomore and currently attends a public high school. The environment he is in is not necessary well. Majority of students make it to community college, rarely to a better school. In class, many of the students are on their phones, and while he is in all honor classes, there are disruption. However, my son has excelled in class and extracurriculars. He recently got the opportunity to attend a prestigious all-boys private high school. We were able to get a scholarship and the cost is affordable. The question is should he go? Many of the students in the new school have been in private school most of their life. The grading system is much harder. If he goes to the private school, he will not be able to manage honors or have a high GPA. Because there is high competition , he will rarely have the chance a leadership position. However he will be with students whom are driven to learn. Do private school students have an advantage of public school students for college admiration and scholarships? Should he take the opportunity? Will my son still be accepted in a good college? We come from a low income family, do you think he will get scholarships? As a mother, I am having trouble deciding. I want what is best in the long run for my child. I hope You can help me make the right choice.

4. Here in the Philippines, a new school year is starting as of June, and I wish to change my study habits. So I’m thinking on how could I study much more efficiently. Currently I have been told to take math classes somewhere else, online. With this, I have to manage my time better. I am thinking of forcing myself to finish all studying, excluding projects, before 7:45 PM and all studying, exluding projects, after 8:15 PM, to avoid overstudying for certain subjects – is it a good idea? Secondly, I notice that I sometimes have bursts of focus wherein I usually complete stuff at around 3-5 times my normal speed, and those only happen when my mom and brother are not around, but sadly they last for at most an hour and a half. I tried doing “subject rotation” a while ago where I spend a small amount of time on a subject and then rotate the subjects. A while ago, I changed subjects every 7.5 minutes, which I think is too little, and 9 minutes seems optimal.

The way you start the semester can make all the difference in regards to setting yourself up for success.

Gretchen has created a checklist of 8 tasks students and parents can take to make sure they’ve got off to a great start. 

Have you…

* gotten an organization system and supplies that work for you, including an at-home filing system?

* read through all your syllabi to take note of attendance and late work policies?

* introduced yourself to your teacher, and if you have a learning difference, told your teacher about it?

* gotten the phone numbers of 2-3 people in each of your classes?

* established a “Homework Set Up Routine” for when you get home from school?

* made an agreement with your parents about how often you (and they) will check your online grades?

* gotten distraction blockers on your computer?

* created an exercise regimen that is independent of whatever sports you will play?

Questions! Questions! We answer questions!

Now that a new school year is upon us, The College Prep Podcast has been deluged with questions from our listeners, many of whom are from around the world.

Here are the questions we tackle on today’s episode:

* Are online high school diplomas viewed the same as regular high school diplomas? How do colleges react to these types of diplomas? is there a ranking of which ones are the best? (We are thinking of switching to homeschooling and don’t want to ruin our college options.)

* How do you find balance between studying and doing homework?

* One of my friends told me that doing the SAT in October will make scholarships available to us.  I was planning to do the SAT in November. My friend says only the students who do the SAT in October will get the scholarship, not the others. Is that so?

* Since I am a non-native speaker, this means I will have difficulty with reading and writing portion of the SAT. For example, How to find the main point, tone ,mood and inferences. I am starting my 12th grade (I don’t know what you say that in United States). I thought to take SAT in Oct but I don’t think I have the necessary skills so now I have delayed it ( I don’t now till when) So can you guide me how to develop my basics in English especially English passages and what additional resources to use?

So many students sacrifice their health for good grades, but today’s guest Clarissa Rodriguez says this isn’t necessary!

After teetering on the edge of an eating disorder AND being told by her biology instructor that she doesn’t have what it takes, college student Clarissa Rodriguez turned her life around. Now she has graduated with great grades from nursing school, and teaches college-age young women how to stay healthy in school while rocking her grades. 

During today’s guest interview, Gretchen and Clarissa talk about:

* the #1 study tip that turned Clarissa from a failing student to getting top grades in nursing school

* the biggest time management secret that helped Clarissa learn to manage her busy schedule with plenty of “me” time, too

* a simple trick for staying healthy when eating cafeteria food on campus,

* the simple workout that will keep you strong,

* and more!

During our interview, Clarissa mentioned a number of free resources to help college students. Check out her free cramsheets to all things healthy in college, her blog (which Gretchen goes to for resources, too), videos about how to budget and live healthy as a college student, and free workouts for students that are easy to do in the gym or dorm room.

Clarissa Rodriguez is a busy nurse, blogger, and health advocate for college-age women who want to rock their studies while maintaining balance in their lives. You can find her over at GirlBudgetLife.com.