The College Prep Podcast

It’s final exam time! What can teachers do to better set students up for their exams? What can students do to better prepare? Gretchen lays down the anti-cram law with some study tips for everyone. Specifically she and Megan discuss: * Why “dead week” is such a valuable process for schools to institute* The difference between homework and studying* How to organize for final exams* The importance of quizzing one’s self and re-teaching one’s self in a new way* How teachers can model this in the classroom, and how students can do this for themselves* and more! If you’d like more information about applying Gretchen’s Study Cycle to exam planning, download her free guide at www.gretchenwegner.com/actionguide

Many parents and students are terrified that low grades will keep them from getting into college. But that’s not the case at all! Megan reassures us that there are many options, and provides some tips for how to sift the good ones from the bad. She covers: * The ways that community college might (or might not) be a good option, depending on the student,* How to avoid scams– the for-profit universities & programs targeting students with lower grades — like the “no money down/ no credit” car loans! * A tip to search for colleges by acceptance percentage * How and why to double check a school’s graduation rate and financial stability, so that you * How to adjust your expectations for what kind of school you can go to,* And more!

Many students and educators go into a week long vacation like Thanksgiving with high hopes for how to be productive while away from school. Maybe you have a lot of late work to make up? Maybe you want to study for finals? Or perhaps teachers assigned too many projects? Megan and Gretchen provide some pointers, including: * How to plan ahead at the start of vacation, to set yourself up for success* How to create accountability, so you actually follow through* The importance of being realistic about what can and can’t get done, and when* How to set boundaries* And more!

Parents: What if you know your teen needs coaching, but they simply aren’t interested? Gretchen gives you some pointers for how to get them ready to accept the idea of getting academic support. This podcast episode is from the archives. It originally ran on September 2, 2019. If parents have follow up questions about how to convince THEIR resistant teen, please come talk to Gretchen about it at her next free live event. Find out more at www.gretchenwegner.com/live.

How good are your notes? Have you gotten “lazy” as Gretchen has? Note-taking is arguably the most important skill academic coaches teach students, and we could ALL benefit from an audit of how well we do, students and educators alike. Here are some questions Gretchen recommends you ask yourself: * Do you have a dedicated & organized PLACE to take notes? * Do you write too much or too little? * Do you write word for word what you hear or see? * If taking book notes, do you skim to plan your notes beforehand? * Do you review your notes afterwards? * Do you have methods to make your notes QUIZZABLE? * Do you SCHEDULE time for honing your notes on your calendar? If you’d like Gretchen to do an audit of one page of notes FOR you at her next LIVE! event, please send a picture of one page to her at gretchen@gretchenwegner.com. Make sure you also sign up to attend the event at www.gretchenwegner.com/live.

Should you be nervous when you go to your first college night, info session or tour? What should you expect, and how can you make the best use of your time when you talk to a college representative. Megan walks you through three tips for an awesome visit, including: * The 3 different types of college events, and what to expect from each* How to prepare beforehand, * How to follow up afterwards,* Whether there’s a dress code,* and more!

Find out what colleges are looking for in a good recommendation letter, what teachers should and shouldn’t say, and what families can do to help ensure that your letters knock it out of the park. In this episode that originally aired October 6, 2014, Megan and Gretchen discuss all things related to letters of rec. Students and parents will want to make sure they understand: * the true purpose of a recommendation letter: how to help colleges get to know students as real people* how to think strategically about who to ask for recommendations, and what they should say* how to create a recommendation packet for teachers so that you’re making it easy for them to follow through* how to ensure that teachers don’t write form letters or use overly flowery language that sounds fake Teachers will be interested in these tips: * how to choose which students for whom you can write an effective recommendation* how to write specific stories about the student without taking a lot of time* what to do and say if your experiences with a student are mostly negative, but they ask for a recommendation anyway* how to know your district’s policies about writing positive and negative reviews of students. Enjoy the episode, including hearing what Megan and Gretchen sounded like back in the early days of the podcast.

Have you ever had a teacher who called you out in class? Did you feel humiliated? Gretchen and Megan talk out a recent situation Gretchen encountered with a college student, including how to assess what your next actions should be when a classroom environment feels toxic to you. Together, they brainstorm: * How to get a reality check about whether other students also experience the environment as toxic* How to advocate for yourself, both with the teacher and with other school officials* What options there are for next actions in this type of situation* How teachers can be more aware of how their attitude of frustration comes across to students* And more! Want to discuss this situation, or another one like it, directly with Gretchen? Check out her free monthly event at www.gretchenwegner.com/live.

Accountability is a word that sounds dry and tedious. But what if it were inspiring and fun? Gretchen reimagines accountability by telling a story of a sneaky way she supports her clients (adults and kids) to take action, and asks a deep question for all of us to reflect on. Tune into this episode to hear about: * the difference between accountability and inspiration,* the importance of mentorship and community when it comes to following through,* the new hashtag #GretchenMadeMeDoIt, * and so much more! Also, come to the next www.gretchenwegner.com/live, if you want to start getting a shot of inspiration from Gretchen and the anti-boring community. We’re here for you!

It’s not as complicated as you think to identify your college admissions weaknesses. But it CAN be confusing to figure out how to fix them! Megan breaks down a simple process for figuring out how to look your best for your college apps. Specifically she discusses: * How to find out how college admissions functions for each of the schools on your list (you might like to reference this article). * How to identify what your specific issues are (grades, activities, purpose, etc). * What to do to fix things, if you identify these challenges ahead of time* What to do to fix things on your college application, if you neglected to identify it in advance* How to understand the realities of admission at each school to which you apply.

Some high schools are respond to the COVID crisis by allowing students to take some classes pass/fail. When does it make sense to do this, and when are you hurting your college admissions if you do? Megan breaks down the differences between choosing pass/fail in high school versus college. Specifically she discusses: * Background info about why high schools are starting to make this choice* How colleges have shifted their own policies during COVID* What the real purpose of pass/fail is when it comes to your transcript* and more!

The first tests of the school year are happening now for many students! Check out these 7 tips for how to get prepped to take your first assessments, including: * Understand the study cycle. For more info about this, see www.gretchenwegner.com/actionguide* Find small ways to test your retrieval on a regular basis (homework? honing notes?) * Make sure you have the right supplies to help yourself encode in a new way * Make your study plan at least 3 days out (but preferably more, if you can * Plans are meant to be made, not necessarily to be followed exactly. Stay on track; don’t throw out the whole plan just because you didn’t follow the first few parts of it exactly. 6* Parents & students — study a bit more than you think you need — things get harder each year * Take a look at the test to understand where studying fell short For more information about all these tips, download the free Study Cycle Action Guide at www.gretchenwegner.com/actionguide. To ask Gretchen questions live about studying for your next test (if you’re student), or supporting students in studying (if you’re a parent, teacher, or academic coach), come to the next live Q&A. Sign up at www.gretchenwegner.com/live. Note: This episode is from the archives. It originally aired on September 11, 2017.

Have you heard of the new AP Capstone experience? Megan shares about what it is, whether it’s worth all the work for students and schools, and what’s truly impressive for colleges (and what isn’t). This podcast episode was inspired by the following email we received last Spring: I am a high school counselor. I listen to your podcast to and from work and you’ve become like friends to me. I would love to hear your opinion on AP Capstone and how impressive it is to selective colleges. I met with a student yesterday who is considering doing it but he is also taking several other AP courses. We haven’t had the program for too long and we haven’t had very many students become capstone graduates. I have not researched how much of a difference it makes on a student’s high school transcript. Thanks for any thoughts…) Do you have additional questions for Megan or Gretchen? Feel free to email us at collegepreppodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. We’d love to hear from you!

What’s the one question we should be asking students, and ourselves, this school year? Gretchen shares what a simple question that is becoming more and more central in her work with students, educators, and coaches starting their own businesses. The conversation includes: * Why there’s no such thing as “busy work”* Why it’s important to understand the purpose behind every assignment* Why it saves time, energy and aggravation to reflect on the purpose before taking action* How this advice works for any kind of action, not just school work* How teachers, parents and educators can support students Want to discover what kinds of learning purposes students can choose from? Check out www.gretchenwegner.com/actionguide. Got follow up questions for Gretchen about this advice?! If so, she has a new monthly Q&A event coming up. Sign up for the next one at www.gretchenwegner.com/live.

Megan and Gretchen catch up, sharing stories about their epic adventures this summer. They also look ahead to what exciting things are coming for the fall. In this episode find out about: * Gretchen’s big road trip in her camper van, including a few mishaps* A big change in the way Megan’s family will travel in the future, as the kiddo’s age* An update about Gretchen’s orthodontics and Megan’s knee pain* Some fun additions to their business in the fall* And more!