The College Prep Podcast

Parents often expect their students to spend time outside of class reviewing lecture notes. How effective is this habit? Should students do it? And if so, how do parents motivate students to spend extra time studying? In this episode Megan asks Gretchen for some advice for a friend of her family’s. The son does a good job with short term tests but struggles to do well on final exams. The parents expect him to review his notes on a daily and weekly basis, and they’re convinced this will help him perform better. Gretchen, however, is not so sure. Tune in as Gretchen lays out which review habits are a waste of time…and which are super effective.

Are you searching for the perfect planner to help you organize your due dates and assignments for the next school year? One that is oriented towards a student’s real-life needs? Lesley Martin of Class Tracker joins Gretchen to describe her newest planner for students, and why it might be just what you’ve been missing. During this guest expert interview, we discuss — * What makes planners for schools different than planners for individual students * The most important elements to have in a planner for students * Whether paper planners are still relevant in this online world * The link between planners and solving procrastination * How to get your planner set up for a rockin’ school year * and more Lesley has over twenty years experience in education as a high school teacher, academic coach, product designer and author. Her two books, “Where’s My Stuff?” And “Make the Grade”  focus on teaching students the skills and strategies needed to be successful in school in life. Currently Lesley splits her time between her private practice as an academic coach and running ClassTracker, the company she founded 10 years ago that produces custom academic planners for schools. This year, Lesley is launching her first planner product sold directly to students and their families as well as a new planner designed just for teachers. Visit www.myclasstracker.com for individual planners and www.classtracker.com for school planners. 

Megan is looking for the perfect college with her daughter and has just returned from a five day campus visit trip. Find out some insider tips for planning visits, asking the right questions, limiting your choices, and evaluating schools. Tune in to the episode to hear more about: * How to plan your college trip, including the importance of advance scheduling, and how to pick the right mix of schools * What questions to ask to move past the “official story” and get the real scoop * How to take notes on the schools you visit * How to shortlist the schools that seem to be the best fit, * How to strike a balance between finding information for your child without making the decision for them, * and more!

How the heck do you teach teens to budget their money? Eighteen year old Jason Esguerra is a budgeting enthusiast who Gretchen first met in a Facebook group for YNAB (You Need a Budget), a unique budgeting software that has garnered a large group of avid supporters. She was impressed with how well he seemed to manage his money, and invited him to speak first hand about his experiences learning how to budget his income. Tune in as Megan, Gretchen and Jason discuss: * why teens benefit from starting to think about budgeting earlier rather than later * what YNAB is and how Jason uses it to manage his finances * tips for parents about how to introduce budgeting to their kids, * and more Jason Esguerra is an 18-year-old college student who has been religiously budgeting for over a year, but was initially and briefly exposed to it when he was 13 and grew a small online business that had a steady growth rate of almost 10,000% every week. Now he’s an avid user of YNAB (You Need a Budget) and has a passion for teaching other teens how to budget.  You can find Jason on twitter @whateverjason, Instagram @whateverjason and his  YouTube channel  Jason Esguerra.

Teachers — you are powerful people in students’ lives! There are a few simple tweaks you can make that will help students be better and less anxious learners and time managers. Now is a great time to plan. Listen in to get details about Gretchen and Megan’s suggestions: * Please strive to return tests within a week of taking. * Do not make assumptions about learning differences or needs to use accommodations * Try to update grades on a regular schedule. * Don’t “gossip” about other students or share stories that may be taken as lack of confidentiality * Make sure students have the correct answers to tests after they’ve been given, so they can accurately assess themselves when studying, and * Reach out to parents BEFORE the crisis and/or to send “warm fuzzies”

Summer is a great time to get started on college admissions essays. However, many students start their writing in the wrong order! Megan breaks down exactly what to do to set yourself up to write essays that contribute to a well rounded application to college. Tune in to the episode to get details about the following advice: * Where to access the questions about which you’ll need to write essays * Why it’s important to always write the “optional” essays too * How to first map out a strategic approach to you entire application * What it means to “work backwards” in deciding what topic to write about * How to be yourself in your writing, and * What it means to write a “Frankenstein essay” and how NOT to do this. Megan also has a short course that will guide you deeper into writing your admissions essay for more about this, visit www.collegeprepresults.com

Are you worried your kid will lose their summer to video games and YouTube? There are activities that students can do this summer — in 10 minutes a day — to help them get a jumpstart on the new school year. Tune in as Megan and Gretchen discuss: * the importance of building specific skills over the summer * specific activities students can do to build both academic and nonacademic skills * how to make sure there’s time and accountability for each of these activities * and more. And here is a link to Megan’s weekly vocabulary program were you can get one year of weekly lessons for $52 or two years with bonus materials for $98. http://www.collegeprepresults.com/vocabularyresults/

So often parents wish their students had more self-control. However, it turns out that “effortful restraint” (which is one word researchers use for “self control” is hard for the best of us, students and adults alike During today’s episode, Gretchen and Megan discuss what science teaches us about the myth of self control. They discuss: * why we should stop worshipping “self control” * what we can learn from the people who believe they’re good at self-control * techniques to make self-control feel more effortless, * and more! To read the article on which they base their discussion, entitled “The Myth of Self Control,” click here.

Budgeting is a skill that many adults don’t have! However, it’s a super important skill to teach your students before they go off to college. On today’s episode, Megan and Gretchen discuss some tips for how to get started helping teens practice how to take care of their finances. We discuss: * what specific skills do students need to master before leaving for college * how to talk to your teens about how to make financial choices * what financial problems to look out for in their first year of college, * and more!

Advanced Placement courses can provide a huge advantage to students when they hit college, but they can also be a huge drain on a high school student’s schedule and sense of balance. Recent a mom named Tamra wrote in with the following question: I’m listening to podcast 160, about all the AP and other exams in May, which has me wondering about AP courses in general. My first child will start high school in the fall, in a new school district. When we’re looking at course options do you recommend choosing AP courses to get requirements “out of the way” in subjects he doesn’t particularly enjoy, or is it better for him to focus his efforts on getting ahead in areas that do spark his interest?  In her wide ranging answer to this question, Megan covers: * What is the difference between Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes? * What to ask your school when you’re an incoming freshmen to learn about how AP and IB classes work at that school. * How to research college requirements to have an idea of the role AP classes might play in your high school student’s life * How to put all these answers into a plan for what AP courses to take when in high school Tune in to find out the answers to all these questions, and more!

Although perfectionism can seem like a good thing, students with perfectionist tendencies can struggle with exhaustion, poor self-esteem, and unhealthy habits related to school/life balance. Guest expert Ann Marie Dobosz sheds insight into how perfectionist students can transform their perfectionism into healthy striving instead. Tune in to hear more about: * What perfectionism is and isn’t * What the underly beliefs are that provide the root of perfectionism * What behaviors in teens are signs of unhealthy perfectionism, and * What teens and parents can do about perfectionist tendencies, including when to address the behaviors versus the underlying beliefs Ann Marie Dobosz is a psychotherapist and writer in San Francisco. Her book, The Perfectionism Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help You Reduce Anxiety and Get Things Done, was published last year by New Harbinger. She specializes in helping people who are really hard on themselves feel calm, happy, and “good enough.” She work with adults and adolescents who struggle with mental health issues that arise from perfectionism and self-criticism, including anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviors. You can find more about her at www.annmarietherapy.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. 

Sometimes educators have to dish out advice that families simply don’t want to hear. In this episode, Megan and Gretchen detail their most unpopular advice for students and parents. The advice folks don’t want to hear includes: * Course Selection: You need to take more courses than you’re planning on. * How Long Change Takes: I can’t make your student perfect right away. It takes time. * College Admissions: You’re clearly not going to be admitted. Adjust your college list. * Daily Note-Taking Habits: You’re going to need to spend some time honing your notes after every lecture. * Improving SAT/ACT Scores: Simply taking the SAT/ACT again and again won’t increase your score, and * Writing in Planner: Yes, you need to write things down on paper, even if your school keeps all your assignments online. Although parents and students often don’t want to hear it, this is the best advice we have! Tune in to hear the details about what exactly the advice is and why it’s importance for parents and students to take heed.

You’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers! Join us as we discuss the following questions: Summer Programs for College Prep: We are looking at the Stanford University “High School Summer College” program for our son. The classes are interesting, and it looks like a good experience. My question is will this help him get into Stanford or other similar schools when he is a senior? When Teachers Give Incomplete Study Guides: What do you do if your teacher doesn’t list some facts/ideas on the study guide but does put those questions on the test? How do you study? Apps for Vocab Improvement: I’m wondering if you know of any apps or programs that would help a high school student develop a deeper understanding of words… I imagine through word study including roots, prefixes, and suffixes. I have some old=school tools but would like to give her something a little more user-friendly for working on at home. Ideas? Singing to Music When Studying: I’ve heard you say that it’s ok to listen to music while studying, but what about if you are singing along with that music? Can you really concentrate and use your full brain if you are singing while doing your homework? What’s Wrong With My College Application? My son is completing his 12th grade and has applied to several good universities. He did his 9th and 10th from a school in India and will graduate from high school in Texas. He scores A*s in all subjects. His current GPA is 4.1. He scored 800 in SAT Math and 760 in English. He plays guitar, is a black belt in Karate and knows multiple languages- English, French, German, Hindi. With all these qualifications he is still not getting selected by Universities. Why? What is missing for him? How can we supplement his existing applications in other universities? Can we appeal?

May is a crazy month for parents and students! Families often have the habit of thinking that May will be an easy month because school is winding down. Actually, May is worse than December in terms of scheduling a multitude of activities, including: * AP exams * May SAT’s * Practice tests prepping for June SAT tests * School testing * Final exams * Prom * Banquets and Award Ceremonies, * and more! Listen in as Megan deconstructs the myth that things will slow down before summer, and gives some tips to tame your schedule during the final slide to summer.  

Do writing assignments take you longer than necessary because you often feel stuck? Join Gretchen as she shares an interesting tool she created with a client to help him with his perfection paralysis.  Specifically, she and Megan discuss: * What perfection paralysis looks like in struggling writers * Why it’s important to learn to notice when you’re stuck * What the top signs are that let you know you’re stuck and spinning your wheels * Why asking yourself questions is a great way to start getting unstuck * Six specific questions to ask yourself to start cranking out work instead of staring unproductively at the computer