Gina, Jen, and their special guest, Lauren Gaggioli, a former tutor and course creator on taking the SAT and ACT, discuss what standardized testing means, how to decide if the ACT or SAT is right for your child, and how admissions and financial aid might use test scores to make admissions and scholarship decisions, even if they are test optional. We'll talk about what to look for in a college that says it's test optional and how to tell if sending in your scores will help you get the best financial aid package. There is so much in this episode for you to guide your students through the stress of taking a standardized test that builds on Episode 41.

Lauren Gaggioli is a solopreneur, writer, and podcast host who loves, loves, loves building online businesses. Her first venture was Higher Scores Test Prep where she built innovative and affordable online ACT & SAT prep courses. After selling the company in 2021, she dove into supporting her fellow digital entrepreneurs as they share their unique gifts with the world. When she's not serving clients as a content strategy consultant or hosting her online mastermind for entrepreneurs, you can find her recording the next episode of her parenting podcast, training for a runDisney half marathon, or channeling serious Molly Weasley vibes knitting up a new sweater, puttering in her garden, homebrewing beer with her husband, or making a delicious mess of the kitchen with her kids in their home just outside of Seattle. 

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Not many students look forward to taking the SAT or the ACT. Taking a standardized test is the bane of many students' college admissions experience. In this episode, we'll talk about some ways you can prepare your student with a good mindset and some practice. We'll share three places to get free help and practice questions (see the links below). Next episode, we'll take a deeper dive into the SAT and ACT and get some great advice from our guest, who tutored students in standardized test taking for many years.

Resources
Khan Academy - more than test prep, a great resource for middle and high school classes
Number 2.com
College Board - check out this page that talks about taking a digital practice test

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In this episode we talk with parent Lou Mongello, about the journey to college as a family with his son in 12th grade, and his daughter a first-year student at Carnegie Mellon. Lou talks about the constant conversations they had about college, the massive adjustment of his daughter being away at college (and HIS adjustment, not just hers). He talks about some tips for creating good habits early for success in the classroom and how that first year in college can require tasting some humble pie. He definitely recommends getting help to go through the college admissions process!

Lou Mongello is a highly successful entrepreneur and host of WDRRadio.com and can also be found at LouMongello.com.

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Join Lindsay Dollinger, high school Spanish teacher, and Cindy Wolfe, school counselor, as they talk about what they're seeing as high school students talk about and prepare for college. We talk about asking for help, getting letters of recommendation, and how you as a family, can support your student. There's lots of good information to answer the question, what happened in school today?

If you want to find our more or reach out to our guests you can find Lindsay at [email protected] and on social media at
IG: www.instagram.com/lindsaydollinger
Website: www.lindsaydollinger.com
Podcast: The Purpose and Pixie Dust Podcast (pod.co/the-social-selling-sisterhood)

You can find Cindy at [email protected].

As always, you can find us at keystocollege.org and email us at [email protected]. 

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Beth Shorten, parent of a high school senior who is getting ready to make his college choice, talks to us about tips that worked for her, where she sought thoughtful advice, and how to add the college search and campus visit process to an already busy schedule! Beth shares some great tips about the campus visit and what helped her and her son really get a feel for each college. We know you'll get great information from listening.

Sign up for our webinar, Creating a Roadmap to College: For Parents of 9-11th graders here.

Find Beth's blog at https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/.

Find Gina and Jen at Keystocollege.org.
Email us at [email protected]. 

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Tim Bigonia, parent of a daughter in graduate school and two sons in high school, shares his experiences helping his daughter through college during the pandemic and after the loss of his wife in 2020.  He also shares how he guides his boys as a single dad through the ups and downs of high school, and the conversations he has with them about getting ready for college. Tim has some great tips for parents of high school students throughout our conversation.

You can find Tim's podcast at Journey to Grateful. And if you need a graphic designer (who we can highly recommend), you'll find him Bigonia Creative.

We also invite you to join us for our webinar on February 5, 7-8pm ET. Register here or head over to our website at Keystocollege.org. 

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Now is the time to start mapping out your college plan with your student, whether they're just finishing their first term in high school or about to finish their junior year. We share three tips (and a bonus tip!) to get you started. We'll talk about the importance of reflecting on the first term, planning for the next academic year, talking with your student about their interests, launching the college search, and our bonus, thinking about summer programs. 

We have more in-depth dive into these topics in an upcoming February 5th webinar, 7-8pm ET. You can get more details and register here. We'll be able to answer your questions live and in person! I hope you'll join us! 

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If you are looking for ways to help finance college through scholarships, then this is the episode for you. We talk to Jocelyn Pearson, founder of The Scholarship System who has helped students (and families) find millions of dollars in scholarships. Jocelyn dispels a few myths, like how athletes are the only ones to get scholarships, or that the only way to find scholarships is by using a search engine (that everyone else uses!). She shares tips that you can use right after your done listening  as well as some great advice on how to work together as a family to find the funds that fit your student. We loved recording and learning from Jocelyn and know you will too! 

Learn more about Jocelyn's program the Scholarship System.

Interested in listening to her free webinar? You can sign up here.

Sign up for our newsletter at Keys to College. Email us at [email protected]. 

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Please visit us and sign up for our newsletter today!
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We talk a lot about college admissions and financial aid and share many strategies and tips for you to help your student. But what exactly to we do and why do we do this work? We talk about our three pillars for helping families of high school students succeed in admissions and beyond. They are Insight, Expertise, and Collaboration. We'll unpack those in this episode, covering what they mean to us and what they mean for you as we guide you through college admissions.

Contact us at [email protected]
Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.keystocollege.org/

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Please visit us and sign up for our newsletter today!
We also welcome your emails and questions at [email protected].

This is a Thanksgiving and thanksgiving episode. We will talk about ways to stay in the moment and be thankful for the work you and your student have done so far on the path to college. Your student has the time and the power to influence their college journey through both continuing to send in applications, applying for scholarships, and working on improving their grades and their study skills. We'll share reminders on why senior year grades are important, even after the acceptance letter comes in, and why a student's worth (or yours) should not be tied to what college accepts them. We are thankful and appreciative for you listening to our podcast, focusing this episode on high school seniors, parents, and college-bound students! Happy Thanksgiving!

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Sign up for our newsletter at keystocollege.org

Thank you for joining us today!

Please visit us and sign up for our newsletter today!
We also welcome your emails and questions at [email protected].