The short answer is yes. Today explores 5 reasons why 4-year and 2-year degrees are needed to succeed in the 21st century.

Make it as affordable as possible. Start saving early. Learn about borrowing options early. To hear one couple’s story, check our archive at Ready for College? June 1, 2015

Earning power of a degree.  A graduate will earn twice as much in a lifetime as someone with no degree.

You can minimize your debt!  Most large college debt comes from students not being prepared to manage themselves when they get to college. Yes, college is expensive, but students who take 5 or 6 years to graduate increase debt by 25-50%! Only about 1 in 3 graduate on time? 40% take 7 or more years. Help your student and lower your debt, Use the College Smart 12 strategy formula for success.

The need for 2 and 4-yr degrees in the 21st Century. We’ve already seen jobs “disappear.” The trend is going to accelerate. Plus, many of the jobs students will compete for don’t yet exist! How do students prepare for that? By being College Smart:

• By learning how to prepare themselves to be adaptable in a changing career market
• By developing their minds, personal talents and strengths — that begins in college.

21st Century Hiring Needs. Facing a new highly competitive global economy, employers are looking for idea people

• who can innovate
• who absorb information quickly (efficient learners)
• who’ve “got it together” personally
• who know what’s expected of them and deliver.

That’s what college wants too.

That’s being College Smart.  Start right now.

The post Ready For College? – Is College Worth it? appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

For years, Dr. Bob has spoken at Freshmen Orientation Programs and talked to parents during Admissions Programs. And on these occasions, parents have lots of questions. College is, after all, a big expense, plus parents want to be clear about the ins and outs of college. Today, he chooses from his list of most-often asked questions. Here are just a few:

• What if students have not decided on a major? What should he/she do?
• Can a student take more than one major?
• What if the student is living at home — especially for 2-year colleges
• Is this campus safe?
• What if there’s a roommate problem?
• What if a student gets sick — long-term?
• Can a student take summer courses at another college and transfer credits?
• What about foreign study programs?
• What about advanced placement courses?
• Is it okay for students to work part-time during the school year?
• What happens when a student needs medical care?
• Do parents get copies of final grades?

These and more questions will be answered. Listen in to this Ready for College? discussion. You’ll learn a lot in under an hour.

The post Ready For College? – Answers to Parent’s Frequently-Asked Questions appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Encore: Whenever students start a new semester, they have to get off on the right foot. Dr. Bob coaches students on what to do before school starts as well as what to do in the first two weeks.

At the start of a new semester, students often aren’t really paying attention. These kinds of starts create problems. College starts rolling on DAY ONE. No reviews, a fast start. Don’t trip over your laces. You might fall on your face.

An entire chapter in College Smart is devoted to how to start a semester. A new semester is like an athletic event. These are the “plays” you use to win, no matter what your age. Practice them now!

What happens before you play a basketball game? You get pumped-up, you listen to the coach, you review the plays — you make sure your shoes are tied! The same thing should happen at the starting of a semester. Learn the plays! When the whistle blows at the start of the game, don’t stand around waiting for something to happen to you.

Listen to your coach and learn.

The post Ready for College? – Jumpstart every semester — 9 must do’s — Vital for students 7th grade through college. appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Encore: When kids are in middle school, parents should be transitioning from telling students what to do to helping students figure out options and make good decisions on their own. Today’s program will show parents what it takes and how to make it work. It’s a very important turning point in their child’s life.

In the early years of childhood, parents “tell” their children how to act and how to behave. Plus, parents do lots of things “for” their kids. Yet, in middle-school, young teens no longer want to be “told” what to do. They are beginning to assert their independence. Help them do that constructively.

How do you help your child begin to “grow up”? How to help channel that independence your child wants so badly? Learn how to begin helping teens make good decisions on their own: how to take care of themselves, how to become more responsible.

To do this, parents have to become sounding boards to help their kids make wise decisions about school, all things related to school, and their emerging lives. It’s a personal skill and a kind of mindset that’s essential in preparing kids for college. Parents can help their kids learn to —

• problem-solve
• see long-term
• begin to understand what growing up is about
• deal with things they find hard to do — or don’t want to do
• use their independence to handle themselves on their own and all that entrails

In short, parents begin to open the window to the adult world: to explain what growing up means. Listen in to learn how.

Want to know how to become an adviser and guide? College Smart: Practical Tips for Parents is an easy to use guide that helps students grow into the 12 College Smart Strategies they’ll need to succeed in college. Start the new year off right. Take advantage of this discounted offer!

►College Smart®: Students middle school through college.
Been listening to our programs? Then you know the majority of college students — even the “very smart” — aren’t doing well. They don’t know what to do to “fix” their problems. Students who start getting ready early avoid these problems. Give a young person in your life a step-by-step guide to success.

►College Smart® Practical Tips for Parents — A really easy, quick read.
“What should I do?” “How do I do it?” Here’s your roadmap. Dr. Bob talks directly to you. Read one short chapter at a time — or skip around. Learn how to help your student: in middle school, high school, and college. Play a significant role in your child’s growth and success.

►Start College Smart® — For high school students and younger college students
Get your student started off on the right foot. From day one. A bad start can turn everything upside down. Low grades, dropped courses, extreme stress. Did you know? 25% of freshmen leave college.
College is all about big changes. Positive ones. Student need to know how to cope.

Get a special discount. All 3 books for $33.33! A $42.84 value. Act now!

Use the links and codes below! Or purchase at a discount on www.GetCollegeSmart.com

College Smart
https://www.createspace.com/5597488 CODE FE24LPE8

Start College Smart

https://www.createspace.com/5597604 CODE FE24LPE8

College Smart Practical Tips for Parents

https://www.createspace.com/5597575   CODE FE24LPE8

The post Ready For College? – Parents: from Hand-holder to Adviser.How to help your child. appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

When we talk about poor graduation rates or extra years spent in college, many parents will say, “Well he’s not talking about my kid. My kid always gets A’s and B’s. My child is smart, perhaps even gifted.” Students need more. Listen in and discover the traits needed for success in college.

Today, we introduce you to Eric. Despite his brilliance — Eric got a perfect score on the ACT — he has great regrets about his education.

In hindsight, he tells us what happened to him as a truly gifted child. Because so many things came so easily to him, he was passive. He had great capabilities but little drive. In high school, he was distracted by his girlfriend, video games, and reading only what interested him. He resisted the offers of teachers to engage his talents. Looking back, he believes he lost lots of the things that prepare people for success in life:

• knowing about hard work
• the feeling of daily achievement (very different than great test scores)
• the satisfaction that comes from completing challenging tasks
• what it feels like to give something your all

He didn’t take charge. He didn’t have the ambition to create his own path in life. He feels he cut himself off. As he says, he avoided his responsibility to himself. What happened to Eric? He’ll return in a few weeks to tell us the rest of his story. He’s now the father of two.

The post Ready For College? – Why being smart isn’t enough appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

There’s an alphabet soup of them. PSAT, PLAN, ACT, SAT, AP, DAT, LSAT, MCAT, and the list goes on.

All those little white circles just waiting to be filled in.

Are they nerve-wracking? That depends on how ready your child is for them. They aren’t like eye charts. You don’t just “read” them and hope for the best.

The answer to the question, “Should students prepare for standardized tests?” A resounding, “YES!” They are the gateways to every new avenue in your child’s life.

Find out more about standardized tests, when your children should start thinking about them, how to prepare for them, and the real reasons they’re so important.

The post Ready For College? – Standardized tests: You gotta love ‘em appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

While you may not have thought of a College Smart book as a holiday gift, the 12 College Smart Strategies offer a Formula For Success that can alter a young person’s life. He or she could be among the only 1 of 3 college students who get their degree on time and are ready to enter a career.

As advertisers would say, It’s the gift that keeps on giving…. Research shows that students who do well in college live happier lives. How’s that for gift-giving?

►College Smart®: Students middle school through college.
Been listening to our programs? Then you know the majority of college students — even the “very smart” — aren’t doing well. They don’t know what to do to “fix” their problems. Students who start getting ready early avoid these problems. Give a young person in your life a step-by-step guide to success.

►College Smart® Practical Tips for Parents — A really easy, quick read.
“What should I do?” “How do I do it?” Here’s your roadmap. Dr. Bob talks directly to you. Read one short chapter at a time — or skip around. Learn how to help your student: in middle school, high school, and college. Play a significant role in your child’s growth and success.

►Start College Smart® — For high school students and younger college students
Get your student started off on the right foot. From day one. A bad start can turn everything upside down. Low grades, dropped courses, extreme stress. Did you know? 25% of freshmen leave college.
College is all about big changes. Positive ones. Student need to know how to cope.

Get a special discount. All 3 books for $33.33! A $42.84 value. Act now!

Use the links and codes below! Or purchase at a discount on www.GetCollegeSmart.com

College Smart
https://www.createspace.com/5597488 CODE FE24LPE8

Start College Smart

https://www.createspace.com/5597604 CODE FE24LPE8

College Smart Practical Tips for Parents

https://www.createspace.com/5597575   CODE FE24LPE8

The post Ready For College? – This Holiday, give a Roadmap for Success and Personal Happiness Results that extend through College and into the Workplace. appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Stress. Nerves. Worry. Jitters. Panic. 

Welcome to the weeks between Thanksgiving and the end of the semester. Suddenly, students realize that they are facing final exams, end of semester papers, projects, and assignments. They also still have to keep up with their daily readings. Everything’s happening at once. There’s not enough time. How are they going to do it? All freshmen suffer some kind of anxiety from mild to major.

Here are 7 tips for handling end of the semester stress. For many, it’s no laughing matter. Listen in to what students should do, how they should go about it, and the role that family can play.

Think about this: Maybe families should wrap up a copy of College Smart and Start College Smart as holiday presents. Your student can read how to avoid that panicked feeling next semester. They’ll thank you for it in the long run.

Go to www.GetCollegeSmart.com  Go to Buy the Book. You can order from Amazon, or get a discount by ordering directly from our site!

The post Ready for College? – It’s CRUNCH TIME: Upcoming finals for college freshman. What should they do? 7 tips appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

This week, Grace and Molly, two second-semester juniors from our local high school, share their views—

• What they feel that they’ve gotten out of high school so far that will benefit them in college.
• How they believe right now about college
• What they think college is going to be like
• Visiting colleges and how they judged each
• Do they feel prepared?
• Do they know what they’ll do after college?
• How they think they might change as a result of going to college

Come join us and get first-hand information from real, live high school students. Be prepared for lots of giggles.

The post Ready For College? – Two High School Juniors: Talk about their Thoughts on College appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Today Dr. Bob answers three questions on his Most Frequently Asked List. They are topics that students should be discussing with their parents before the student ever leaves for college.

How to find a major? choose a career?  When to start? how to go about it?

Ideally, parents and students should start thinking about this in high school. If they haven’t, they certainly should use the summer before freshman year to explore these topics.  True, colleges or universities set their deadline for declaring majors at the end of the sophomore year. But the students shouldn’t wait that long, especially if he/she would like to earn a degree in 4 years. Freshman year is the time to seriously investigate. Find out why and how to start shopping for a major or a career. Here’s a truth: Majors don’t” find” students. Students “find” majors.

What parts make up a college degree?

Think of a pie and cut it into pieces: required courses, elective courses, major courses, and courses that count toward a minor. They all play a role. Unlike high school, college graduation depends on self-direction. Students must decide on what courses they will take, when to take them, and how to choose them. Learn more in today’s discussion.

What makes a college grad “marketable” in today’s workplace?

You might be surprised.  Listen to find out.

The post Ready For College? – FAQs about Starting College appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

It can be a maze. How does financial aid work? What needs to be paid back? What kinds of financial “gifts” are there? What are they based on?   Who is eligible?

When should parents start familiarizing themselves? How do they do it? Who do they talk to?

This week, our guest expert gives you straight talk about the options of financing an education. Her advice?  Start learning earlier rather than later. The more you know, the more prepared you are. The more options you can explore.

There are even some surprising twists. For example: Students may often get more “gift” money from a private school than a state school. Find out why. Here’s another.  It may be cheaper for a student to live on campus rather than commute.

This is a great conversation. Don’t miss it!

The post Ready For College? – About Financing College — a Crash Course. FAFSA Loans, Scholarships, Grants, Institutional Grants, and Work-Study appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.