Stop Asking “Where Do You Wanna Go?” | Starting the College Conversation the Right Way (with Shelly Howard)
Host Valerie Alston welcomes college funding and admissions consultant Shelly Howard, founder of College Ready, to discuss why families should not start the college process by picking a school. Howard explains her approach begins with helping students gain clarity about who they are, what excites them, and their priorities - academic, social, athletic, and financial - before building a balanced list of reach, target, and safe schools and setting realistic expectations about rejection. She emphasizes starting early, normalizing “fail forward,” and using community service and campus visits to help students test interests and build motivation. The episode offers practical family conversation prompts, including asking what excites the student about their future, whether they see themselves going to college, and listening beyond job labels to the deeper goals behind them.
00:00 Start With Who You Are
00:53 Meet College Consultant Shelly
01:28 Her Origin Story
02:45 Clarity Before College Lists
04:15 Athletes Priorities And Fit
06:17 Undecided And Fear Of Failure
06:52 Serve To Discover Yourself
10:34 Start Early And Adaptable Careers
12:20 Organic Chem Reality Check
14:08 Family Alignment First
17:11 Conversation Prompts For Parents
18:09 Front Seat Future Vision
20:52 Do You Even Want College
21:25 Botanist Story Listen Deeper
24:20 Campus Visits Spark Ownership
26:32 Wrap Up And Next Episode
You can reach Shelley on social media here:
Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleehoward/
Facebook:
Shellee Maree Howard 5.3K followers
www.facebook.com/shellee.howard1
College Ready Page 4.8k followers
www.facebook.com/CollegeReadyPlan
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/collegereadyplan/
Youtube: @collegereadyplan
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_WodPHDfSWEbiPdsRDbyQ
TikTok:
collegereadyplan
https://www.tiktok.com/@collegereadyplan?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Google: College Ready
Twitter:
https://x.com/GoCollegeReady
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