A year and nearly 50 episodes later, we’re pressing pause on the Real College Talk Podcast. It’s difficult to summarize just how hard this decision has been, but what’s most important is that this is not the end and this is not goodbye. We can’t wait to get back to creating and delivering fresh content that empowers listeners around the world toward personal, academic, and career fulfillment very soon! But at this time, we have come to the tough conclusion that the best way to reclaim our voice and creativity is to take a temporary break - shifting from #RealTalk to a season of silence and reflection.   

Stepping back from the brand and platform that has meant so much to us and (we hope!) to listeners like you is REALLY hard, but we believe that even here, there is something to be learned. So in this episode, we’re keeping it real by sharing the details as to why we’re postponing our next episode indefinitely. Until we can confidently step back into the podcasting space, we invite you to take the mic. If you have a message or a story that you feel the world needs to hear, take this as your cue to get out there and share it. Reach out to us and let us know what you’re up to! We can’t wait to join you again soon and as always, #KeepItReal.   

The Real College Talk Podcast is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. While we’re currently taking a break from working on new content, check out our previous episodes and stay on the lookout for our next one! In the meantime, Keep It Real.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"  

For such an innocent question, it sure can be intimidating! This week, Nikhil tackles the uncertainty of not having a career path, and how it has shaped his academic, personal, and professional journey. After reflecting on his struggles with picking a career, your host examines how choosing too soon could actually do more harm than good. To wrap up, Nikhil shares how he discovered that, sometimes, uncertainty has its benefits too. There's more to your career than meets the eye!  

The Real College Talk Podcast is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

*Before getting to our usual description, we want to first extend our condolences to the family of George Floyd, as well as the countless other individuals who have lost their lives due to racism, violence, and police brutality. Real College Talk is a platform founded on open conversation for the purposes of making educational resources accessible to ALL - not just those with the tools and environmental support for college and career preparation. Upon this foundation, we stand with those who are fighting for true equality and justice under the law through long overdue dialogue and peaceful protests addressing the generational oppression that continues to impact Black and African-American communities in the United States and around the world. These are complex issues that deserve our utmost attention, and we urge our listeners to engage in transparent discussions of the nature of systemic racism and how we can all join together to bring about change once and for all. To take action in support of racial equality, follow the links below to learn more about the enduring effects of racism and what you can do. All lives will not matter until black lives matter.  

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/07/870251488/beyond-protests-5-more-ways-to-channel-anger-into-action-to-fight-racism 

https://bucketlisters.com/blog/265-how-to-help-fight-for-racial-justice-and-equality-right-now 

https://mlmanhattan.com/12-ways-to-support-the-fight-against-racial-injustice 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/158-resources-understanding-systemic-racism-america-180975029/ 

https://www.thoughtco.com/write-effective-letters-to-congress-3322301  

This week’s episode puts a light-hearted spin on a scary topic, as Morgan and Nikhil confront some of their biggest fears for college, career, and life. On a postsecondary podcast, it’s only fair to address our college fears first, so your hosts start by breaking down what struggles and challenges they anticipate in the coming academic year. College is supposed to pave the path to the start of a career, but as we can all relate, that future can be uncertain and daunting. But Morgan and Nikhil shed light on the amazing (and nerve-wracking) opportunities that lie ahead with insights on how they manage to live in the moment with so much looming on the horizon. This episode wraps up with some personal (and maybe embarrassing) fears that you might not expect! Can you relate? If you share some of our fears, or want to share your own, make sure to connect with @morgs_anne, @nikhil.vn, and @realcollegetalk on Instagram.

What's love got to do with it??? This week, we're breaking up our normal episode structure to give you our #real thoughts on what it's like to prepare for going to college. Both of us (Morgan and Nikhil) know what it's like to pick between your first choice school and some other college. And you might be surprised by our advice! In this episode, we're not holding anything back. Give it a listen and let us know what you think!  

The Real College Talk Podcast is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

Well...the title gives it away! After graduating high school back in May 2019, Morgan took a gap year to explore her passion for business and entrepreneurship. But now, she's so thrilled to share the journey she's been on and how, in a series of plot twists, it's led her to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Listen to the full episode to hear her story, as well as the TOP 5 BIGGEST LESSONS she's learned through working in the real world of business over the course of the past year. This episode is packed with storytelling AND game-changing life lessons - you won't want to miss it.    

The Real College Talk Podcast is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

Now more than ever, the spread of coronavirus has made students across the country and around the world consider taking a gap year or gap semester after high school or in the very midst of their college career. But long before the pandemic came around, Morgan and Nikhil became well acquainted with this untraditional, yet increasingly popular approach to education. After Nikhil took a gap semester during his freshman year at University of Notre Dame and Morgan took a gap year immediately after graduating high school, they learned a thing or two about the process.  

In this episode, we cut straight to the chase to make you aware of the things you MUST consider before committing to your decision. Everything from the logistics of requesting a gap year, to retaining your financial aid, to making the most of your gap semester, to avoiding common pitfalls associated with gap year students, this episode covers it all. We'd love to hear about your journey in making these tough decisions, so feel welcome to reach out to us via Instagram and use #KeepItReal in your posts!  

Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss. RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

In this important election year, the rising cost of college has become a prominent issue in our nation’s political spheres. With new college tuition policies coming right and left, Morgan and Nikhil connected with their friends Tyler Swanson and Luke Webster from The Bipartisan Post to break down solutions to the student-loan debt crisis. In this episode, your hosts analyze what caused the problem of rising tuition, debate the merits of free four-year colleges, and discuss other programs that could make education more affordable. College costs have tremendous cultural, educational, and political implications, so stick around to the end to hear what these policies could mean for you!  

To connect with The Bipartisan Post, visit their website at thebipartisanpost.com!  

Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss. RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

Welcome to Real College Talk! RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general.   

IT'S STILL COLLEGE DECISION SEASON!!! Not only is this a big time for students - this is a big decision for parents and families to weigh in on as well. In this episode, we're digging deep into the ways in which parents can best contribute to the decision-making process, as well as some important mistakes to avoid.   To start, Morgan and Nikhil emphasize the importance of establishing, as a family, clear goals and expectations surrounding a student's choice of college (0:40). This requires that the student AND all parents or family members included in the college decision (a) take the time to become fully aware of any pre-conceived notions they may have about college and (b) take direct action toward becoming factually-informed (2:47). Making a sound college decision also requires transparent communication (4:39). It's crucial that parents seek to understand their students' hopes, aspirations,  and vision for what their college experience will be like, presenting an opportunity for students to be receptive and respectful of their parents insight and advice as well (6:50). But proceed with caution! The college decision is NOT something that necessarily needs to be shared with everyone! Discuss as a family which people, if any, you will include in the decision-making process to ensure that your choice of college does not become overly impacted by outside opinions (7:42).   

Prioritizing this level of communication around the college decision process creates a solid foundation for a healthy parent-student relationship when that student DOES go to school (12:16). Listen through the end to hear our best tips for preparing your family for a student's transition to college, and be sure to tag @realcollegetalk when announcing your decision online!  

Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

Welcome to Real College Talk! RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general.   

IT'S DECISION SEASON!!! It's so exciting to see all of your hard work come to fruition, and we're right here to help you turn that into two, four, or more years of amazing education. Your hosts know how tough college decisions can be, so Morgan and Nikhil dedicated this episode to helping you choose your best fit school, including the factors that helped them find their own.   

But your decision is so much bigger than a checklist, and you need to dig into the intangible elements of schools. Morgan and Nikhil share the importance of getting in touch with current students and graduates, including a special resource for everyone whose college visits were cut by coronavirus (attached below). To conclude, Nikhil breaks down how your ego could be affecting your decision, and Morgan analyzes the struggles of navigating social media during this time. Tune in next week for our college decision episode for the whole family!  

Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10uwnSdljcLsO2FRdS3gJvOwm5LIZfGrHinOcZUdI0uA/edit?usp=sharing&fbclid=IwAR1pjjPeEGHjdj0n-q31PPJqu10mUvrLe2ER197h0zLuSDaKZ7Jd78zLjuY

👉If you are a college-age student who has been isolated, quarantined, or had to face any level of adaptation to your academic life as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, please join this exclusive Real College Talk Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/52103...) to connect with other peers around the globe facing the same challenges as you are. At a time when the world shares in sentiments of confusion, frustration, and even fear, we invite you to join Real College Talk in fostering a community of unity, hope, and empowerment. Stay safe, stay healthy, and as always, #KeepItReal 👈    

Welcome to Real College Talk! RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general.   

This episode is specifically dedicated to students and families across the United States and around the globe whose academic, professional, and personal lives have been radically shaken by the spread of COVID-19. As we all focus on staying safe and healthy, let's also take this opportunity to invest in ourselves and to look out for one another.  

Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss. To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!

Welcome to Real College Talk! RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. We bring the best of the best to our podcast to share both their personal and professional experiences and advice regarding all things school, college, career paths, and life in general.   

Fresh off Nikhil's trip to India, your hosts reconnect for an episode that crosses national borders and geographic barriers by tackling the cultural significance of the Asian-American experience with American higher education and college admissions. In this episode, Morgan and Nikhil address the disparities between Asian and American education systems, reflect on how families can bridge that gap, and examine the cultural tensions in education among Asian-American families. If you've ever wondered how different cultures experience American education, this episode is for you!  Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss. 

To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications! You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!