Beyond the Tassel

I think hustle, exploration, and throwing a 15-pound ball down 60 feet of hardwood is entirely underrated, vastly underappreciated but it plays a huge role in so many of the success stories we hear about. And not just the success stories that we hear about, but the quieter ones too. The ones that never appear in the national media or on the first page of a Google search. And, for the record, the success I'm talking about is the kind I heard defined by a man named Earl Nightingale many years ago. This episode may be a bit of a stretch, but listen carefully and you'll hear its merit — the value of making the most of the journey, not getting too hung up on the destination before you've had a fair shot at considering the options.

If you're going to make a dent in this world, you're going to need to take a big, authentic swing at it. This week, we discuss the importance of positioning yourself as your own authentic brand with respect to your college applications. The aspects of your story you may find uninteresting or ordinary may often be the most differentiating aspects of how admission officers may see you. Your most extraordinary self is often hiding in plain sight in your everyday self. Sharing your interests and expressing them through bedrock authenticity can be a very compelling component of your college application, and we explore why that is through a few illuminating lenses.

Where will the money to pay for college come from? Some parents were able to sock away enough money from the time their children were very young to be able to draw on that account now, and fully fund college, but many families just didn't manage to do that. In fact, about half fall into that second category. So when it comes time to talk about the college option, there's usually plenty of anxiety and even more than a little panic to go around. I'm fond of saying where there's a will there's a way, and that formula works here too. In this episode, we jump in and sort out the big questions about college finance.

If you're going to make a dent in this world, you're going to need to take a big, authentic swing at it. This week, we discuss the importance of positioning yourself as your own authentic brand with respect to your college applications. The aspects of your story you may find uninteresting or ordinary may often be the most differentiating aspects of how admission officers may see you. Your most extraordinary self is often hiding in plain sight in your everyday self. Sharing your interests and expressing them through bedrock authenticity can be a very compelling component of your college application, and we explore why that is through a few illuminating lenses.

This week we go into full myth-buster-mode and explore some of the things you might have thought you understood about college as well as some of the things that probably never occurred to you. In short, we debunk some myths about what college is, what it isn't, who goes, and who doesn't.  Bonus: We break down the economics of what a 4-year degree can mean over your lifetime as compared to a high school diploma. And, newsflash, it isn't quite as obvious as you might think.

The differences between the actual degree earned at a public institution versus a private one are fairly inconsequential. But between the two formats, there are plenty of variances to consider: Cost, selectivity, culture, social vibe, and more. We explore the primary differences in this episode between public schools and their private counterparts. Both have their strengths, and, in the end, the choice is yours and should always be about fit. Listen, as we provide you with a few insights you may not have considered.

In 1624, an Englishman by the name of John Donne wrote the words, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” What he meant was we are all connected, one-to-another. Not only connected, but dependent in ways we may not even entirely understand. And, while that sentiment may fly in the face of the the ascendant rugged American individualism so popular in some quarters today, the fact is, John Donne was right; we really do need each other. I’ll illustrate what I mean and then I'll walk through some thoughts on how and why connections really work. 

The college essay is an essential piece to your college application. The common app calls it your personal statement. And, in many ways, this essay is as personal as it gets. But more people than you’d imagine consider a request to write something meaningful as a stressor on-par with skydiving or giving ones self stitches. And, I get that. Writing something meaningful can be really hard. Most admissions people tell us that the college essay most applications require can be responsible for as much as 30% of the admissions decision. So it’s definitely something you’ll want to prioritize and give what I’ll call ‘a meaningful effort.’ But there’s good news, most of the essay you’ll ultimately write, is already in your possession; you’ve already constructed it and you probably didn’t even know it. Today, I pop the seal on this thing and explain what I mean as well as provide some proven strategies for putting your best foot forward with the college essay.

Heading off to college after high school is — let’s face it — a huge adventure in and of itself. But when a student leaves their family and the home they’ve lived in for 17 or 18 years to attend college in a completely different city, state, or even country, it is a genuine life-event. This week we explore the idea of attending college more than a short drive from home. There are enormous benefits in terms of confidence and independence building, as well as in seeing the world through a new set of eyes. We visit this idea through one student who overcame a significant challenge to attend, not only more than a short drive, but more than a long flight, from her hometown.

Ramping-up for the college application process is part preparation, part inspiration, and part anxiety navigation. This week, we discuss the steps of a solid application, the keys to making the most of each of them, and the importance of keeping your eyes on your own work, of being somewhat circumspect or even private about your progress toward admissions to your dream school. You’ll find supplemental content at our website, journey12.com.

In the world of things that matter to your academic outcomes, I cannot overemphasize the importance of understanding institutional programmatic strength. That’s just gotta be job one, if you’re primarily concerned with the strictly academic outcome. But here’s the thing, college is about more than strict academic outcomes. Sure, it matters. It matters a lot. But there are other things that also matter. How those other things compete for attention in your mind is something only you can answer. But I know enough about the college experience and talk to enough students, moms, and dads, to know that for them other things do matter. And some of those things will absolutely give academics a pretty good run for their money. The social scene. The distance from home. The guiding institutional principles — is it faith-based, is it super rigorous, is it known for helping undergrads land great jobs or get into top grad schools? These things may very well compete for priority attention with something like programmatic strength. But it will be up to you to decide how important it is and where it will fall in your overall scheme of priorities. The fact is, if you want to go into journalism, you can do no harm by going to Western Kentucky University, but the fact is, if you went to Northwestern instead, you’d almost certainly have a broader range of grad school or career options waiting for you upon completion. Now, if you don’t want to leave Kentucky for college or can’t quite see yourself in a Chicago winter in a dorm room, 500 miles from your parents, Northwestern, no matter how good its programmatic strength, is not the right call for you. See what I mean?

We’ve come through infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Each and every one of us is made up of uniquely individual characteristics and experiences, which give shape to who we are, and hopefully each of us will plot a path forward that best aligns with our interests, aptitudes, and capabilities. The post-secondary transition is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ program. There are those who will serve our Nation by enlisting in the military. There are those who will join a family business or a family farm right out of high school. There are those who will head-off to a trade school and enter the world of work soon after, while some will move directly into shift-work, freelance work, or start their own business. But the majority of high school seniors will be heading to college after they complete high school. In rural America, the statistics, nationwide, are about 68%, with nearly 45% choosing a 4-year college or university and about 23% choosing to attend a community college, usually one within 30 miles of their home. There isn’t a bad option among these post-secondary intentions. There is only bad fit, which also leaves us with ‘good’ fit. And the idea that we have this continuum, from bad fit to good fit, suggests that with a little thought and some exploratory effort, we can reasonably expect to land in what others have called the Goldilocks zone. The ‘just right’ zone. Those who’ve been with me for awhile on our podcast will recall that, while I am a huge advocate for post-secondary education now, there was a time in my life when it was not very important to me at all. So there is also a timing piece to this puzzle. To all things, their season. At 18, I was deeply engrossed in building my own business — which I did — but by 45, college became very, very important to me, and so I made it happen. Today, I’d like to talk about finding our dominant path, what colleges and universities refer to as declaring your major. But finding your dominant path isn’t JUST about college; you can apply many of these ideas to a non-college trajectory as well. The work of author and researcher, Simon Sinek in his ‘Start with Why’ book series, has been called among the most important guidance a person can seek. Because finding fit in all your life paths is so crucial to finding happiness and fulfillment, Sinek helps his readers identify their most authentic drivers and, from there, helps them better understand how their engagements can fulfill their most genuine needs and desires, professionally, personally, intellectually, socially, and spiritually. It’s a fairly deep topic, let’s dive in.

Roommating is hard. And sometimes — more frequently than you might imagine — roommate situations erupt into really tough, super distracting outcomes. I spoke with a few current college students and several recent grads for this episode, and let me tell ya, this is one of those things your guidance counselor probably isn’t talking much about very much. We examine a few ideas, here, about the best way forward as both a roommate and a student with roommates. There are a few things you can do to make the potentially difficult road ahead much smoother, and we discuss them here from the perspective of current and former students with stories to tell.

When most students think of where they’ll go to college, many immediately consider the three schools with which they’re most familiar: their state flagship school, their regional university, and their community college. I’m going to talk about those first two today. We covered Community College pretty thoroughly a few months back, so we’ll leave that option out of today’s discussion. For many students, these schools are outstanding fits for all kinds of excellent reasons. But just like any other collegiate consideration, there are pros AND cons. We’re going to examine them here.

The post-secondary path often takes a circuitous route through a series of dark tunnels, switchbacks, dead-ends, trial balloons, and unknowns but at the end of the day, those who remain true to the journey, approach it with an open mind, and retain a willingness to put their back into it, stand a very good chance of finding excellent fit. And if there’s anything I love, it’s good post-secondary fit! But when we’re wrapping-up the Junior year in high school and heading into Senior year, it can seem a daunting task to find our way onto the right trailhead and even once we’re on it, mysteries about the process often still abound. Especially in this very different Covid era. So, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at what actually happens behind the college admissions curtain, unwind a few of those ‘mysteries,’ and examine a few strategies for making the most of it all.

Educators tell me all the time that it takes a village to successfully build a robust, energized school community with positive outcomes. And that’s not something that happens automatically. The state can’t do it. The school board can’t do it. The best faculty in the world can’t do it. And it cannot be administered into submission. It takes everyone. Parents, students, teachers, civic leaders, community volunteers, the business community, alumni, and a kind of cohesion of purpose that is difficult to conjure. But every now and then, I come across a community that has landed on a winning formula and Effingham, Illinois is such a community. This rural Illinois city of 14,000 is set amidst hundreds of thousands of acres of soybeans, corn, and wheat fields, bisected by not one but two major interstates, and whose county is home to six high schools. All in a county of just 34,000. The community is chock-full of innovative small business people and seems to pulsate with unusually high entrepreneurial energy, all of which is connected to a central business advocacy presided over by one of the Nation’s longest serving and most highly respected chamber of commerce leader — Norma Lansing. Norma joins us today to talk about how this community has made the most of its business and education connectedness, how they’ve managed through the pandemic and have come out stronger, and how they are preparing their young people for a productive future with home-grown commitment to education and career development.

We live in an extraordinarily interconnected society. But that’s really not new. Truth is, we always have. And those of us who grew up in small towns understand that reality, perhaps, better than most. Seems like having the inside scoop on the goings-on of my hometown, population 3,372, was almost an olympic sport when I was growing up. There was a crowd-sourced web of information gathering woven into the fabric of daily life. And, for the most part, the intel delivered through this web was fairly accurate. But it was also a powerful source of discomfort for those who suffered the indignity of false accusations and undeserved whacks at their reputation. When I was a senior in high school, there were no cell phone videos, no Twitter, and no Instagram or Facebook. So, while the crowd-sourced intelligence-gathering woven into the fabric of my hometown might have known who was gathered at the rock pile on a Friday night, red Solo cups in-hand, there was no formal record of it. The events that took place and the words uttered there may have resulted in damaged friendships or local reputations, those words, events, and activities floated upon memory alone, and were seldom, if ever, formally captured.Today, we live in a very different world. That’s not really even a question. Social media and its vast reach into our lives, granted of course, by us, has made that so. The question before us — really — is, how will we make the most of it? You already know some of it. But I’m guessing there are a few things you can do to leverage this new reality you haven’t yet considered. Let’s take a few minutes today and explore that.

Today, I want to explore these three important attributes of successful people. What they are, how we can acquire them, and how we can leverage them to accomplish remarkable things in our lives beyond the high school tassel. Not coincidentally, these are also the three things most often sought by college admissions departments, and so we’ll talk about what that looks like, as well. Those things? Passion, intellectual curiosity, and perseverance — The Golden Keys.

First of all, can we all just accept that learning new things, along with the practical insights and strategic advantages they bring, is really one of THE most remarkable things about being human? I mean, sure, you could argue that all our fellow phyla in the animal kingdom do their share of learning and adapting, too, but best we know, none of them have quite the intellectual leveraging capabilities of humankind. Because of the way we’ve developed, and the resulting extent of the raw computational horsepower nested in our brains, we’re able to make all sorts of connections between disparate ideas, disciplinary variants, leveraged through language, our opposable thumbs, and a remarkable knack for tool-making and systems development and navigation. Phew! That said, learning can be picked up in all kinds of places — and, factually speaking, it is. Human beings are learning machines. Natural problem solvers. I would argue that one of the of the greatest human accomplishments of all time has been the codification of knowledge and its distribution through formal education. Not everyone loves school but, regardless, everyone IS learning. Always. Some more than others, but you get the idea. By the time most of us reach high school, we’ve become pretty good at understanding the patterns of formal learning. And, as it turns out, even the very process of LEARNING is learning. The evolution of education is almost a cliche. Some of it has created anxiety that not everyone loved — think: common core. But lots of other bits have landed squarely in the plus column. And I think dual credit is one of those.

This week, I’d like to do something a little different than usual. I’d like you to meet two students with rural roots but very different personal stories. Jackeline Garcia is a senior at Effingham High School in Effingham, Illinois, a county with a population of just 34,000. She is the first generation daughter of Mexican immigrants and she has an acceptance letter from The University of Notre Dame. We’ll hear from her and learn more about her Journey. We’ll also speak with a third year student at the University of Chicago and discuss his unusual route for getting there from a rural, coal-mining town in deep southern Illinois through a top, suburban prep-school in Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri. Both students are on fascinating journeys and both have done much to prepare for them.

I think hustle, exploration, and throwing a 15 pound ball down 60 feet of hardwood is entirely underrated, vastly under appreciated but it plays a huge role in so many of the success stories we hear about. And not just the success stories that we hear about, but the quieter ones too. The ones that never appear in the national media or on the first page of a Google search. And, for the record, the success I’m talking about is the kind I heard defined by a man named Earl Nightingale many years ago. This episode may be a bit of a stretch, but listen carefully and you’ll hear its merit — the value of making the most of the journey, not getting too hung up on the destination before you’ve had a fair shot at considering the options.

If you’re going to make a dent in this world, you’re going to need to take a big, authentic swing at it. This week, we discuss the importance of positioning yourself as your own authentic brand with respect to your college applications. The aspects of your story you may find uninteresting or ordinary may often be the most differentiating aspects of how admission officers may see you. Your most extraordinary self is often hiding in plain sight in your everyday self. Sharing your interests and expressing them through bedrock authenticity can be a very compelling component of your college application, and we explore why that is through a few illuminating lenses.

Where will the money to pay for college come from. Some parents were able to sock away enough money from the time their children were very young to be able to draw on that account now, and fully fund college, but many families just didn’t manage to do that. In fact, about half fall into that second category. So when it comes time to talk about the college option, there’s usually plenty of anxiety and even more than a little panic to go around. I’m fond of saying where there’s will there’s a way, and that formula works here too. In this episode, we jump in and sort out the big questions about college finance.

The college essay is an essential piece to your college application. The common app calls it your personal statement. And, in many ways, this essay is as personal as it gets. But more people than you’d imagine consider a request to write something meaningful as a stressor on-par with skydiving or giving ones self stitches. And, I get that. Writing something meaningful can be really hard. Most admissions people tell us that the college essay most applications require can be responsible for as much as 30% of the admissions decision. So it’s definitely something you’ll want to prioritize and give what I’ll call ‘a meaningful effort.’ But there’s good news, most of the essay you’ll ultimately write, is already in your possession; you’ve already constructed it and you probably didn’t even know it. Today, I pop the seal on this thing and explain what I mean as well as provide some proven strategies for putting your best foot forward with the college essay.

It is January 19, 2021, and at this moment, nearly 2 million high school juniors are beginning to ramp up to take the ACT and/or the SAT this spring. By the time Halloween rolls around, more than 50% of the class of 2022 will have taken one or both of these standardized tests. Even though many top colleges and universities were already going test optional before COVID further accelerated an institutional relaxation of the testing requirement in 2020, having your best score tucked in your pocket can still be an excellent part of your college application strategy.

As I talk to students and their parents from around the country living in rural communities, I’m always impressed with the commitment to hard work and a willingness to make the most of resources. But there is this tendency toward ‘not-good-enough-ism’ that rears its head far too often. I see kids choosing not to even apply to top schools because of this notion that somehow they’re not sufficiently accomplished, academically, or that their ACT scores aren’t high enough, or that they couldn’t afford it anyway even if, by some miracle of miracles, they did get in. The truth as to how admissions officers with top schools make their decisions is actually kind of surprising and not nearly as straight-line as you’d think. I’d like to tell you a little more about it.

We hear the term college interchanged with university fairly regularly, but are they the same thing? Or are they, in fact, quite different? Generically, most people would say that they’re the same, and they’d be right, but there are a number of differences, some quite pronounced and others quite subtle, that are worth a bit of exploration. We dive into the origins and the meaning of both in this episode, and also take a moment to brush-up on our liberal arts!

Many rural high school students choose community college as their post-secondary go-to. Some choose a 4-year college. Both can represent an excellent fit, so long as you’re making your choice for the right reasons. In this episode, we explore the relative merits of community college and the traditional 4-year college experience and we discuss the critical differences between the two. Hint: It’s not as much about the money as you may think!

Ramping-up for the college application process is part preparation, part inspiration, and part anxiety navigation. This week, we discuss the steps of a solid application, the keys to making the most of each of them, and the importance of keeping your eyes on your own work, of being somewhat circumspect or even private about your progress toward admissions to your dream school. You’ll find supplemental content at our website, journey12.com.

This week we go into full myth-buster-mode and explore some of the things you might have thought you understood about college as well as some of the things that probably never occurred to you. In short, we debunk some myths about what college is, what it isn’t, who goes and who doesn’t. Bonus: We break down the economics of what a 4-year degree can mean over your lifetime as compared to a high school diploma. And, newsflash, it isn’t quite as obvious as you might think.

I started this Podcast because I have long valued the benefits of engaged learning and the pursuit of greater understanding of our world. But there’s more to the story that most of my listeners may not know. And it is actually quite personal. I’d like to share it with you this week with a particular purpose, which will emerge toward the end of today’s episode.

This week, we examine the for-profit education sector, and provide a bit of clarity as to how the three main formats of post-secondary schools compare and, in particular, what you need to know when considering a for-profit school, because there are some differences which are quite significant. I’m going to put this right up front: For-profit educational institutions have cropped-up everywhere, and along with them, some of the worst cases of academic misrepresentation, corruption, and ethical abuse. I’m not saying there isn’t value in for-profit educational institutions, but I am saying that there is ample reason to be on-guard. That said, some for-profit schools offer outstanding value and deliver well on their promises. Many do an exceptional job in areas like tech, the trades, and professional training. So they are definitely worth consideration, depending upon your particular area of interest.

We discussed finding college fit back on November 3, and part of that discussion centered on making a list of your targeted schools. I dropped a lot of information on you during that episode, having to do with making the choice that would best assure fit. But this discussion is different. This discussion has to do with how high up the selectivity ladder you can jump; what rung can you safely grab a hold of, which rungs are within reach even without jumping, and than which rungs are so high on that ladder that you’d have to count on a good up-wind, the perfect jump, and otherwise perfect conditions. Our discussion today is about what is reasonably ‘gettable’ for you, from the standpoint of how well your qualifications align with the typical admitted applicants of various institutions.

Heading off to college after high school is — let’s face it — a huge adventure in and of itself. But when a student leaves their family and the home they’ve lived in for 17 or 18 years to attend college in a completely different city, state, or even country, it is a genuine life-event. This week we explore the idea of attending college more than a short drive from home. There are enormous benefits in terms of confidence and independence building, as well as in seeing the world through a new set of eyes. We visit this idea through one student who overcame a significant challenge to attend, not only more than a short drive, but more than a long flight, from her hometown.

Choosing for best fit is important when you’re considering college options, and environment plays a huge factor. Big city, suburban, or smaller communities can all present hundreds of outstanding options for your ideal college or university. You will find some of the nation’s best schools in each category. But not only is backdrop community size and density important, so is the environment, period. It can be an amazing part of your college education, so make an effort to leverage it however you can.

Making the decision to attend college is the first of many important decisions, but of all the decisions you’ll face in the process, the choice of school itself may be the most important. Weight the factors carefully in order to find the best fit. Use our self-guided tour of what matters most to you as your punch list for refining your choice of reach, target, and safety schools. Remember, this is your college experience, not someone else’s and it’s all about fit. For you!

The differences between the actual degree earned at a public institution versus a private is fairly inconsequential. But between the two formats, there is plenty of variance to consider: cost, selectivity, culture, social vibe, and more. We explore the primary differences in this episode between public schools and their private counterparts. Both have their strengths, and, in the end, the choice is yours and should always be about fit. Listen, as we provide you with a few insights you may not have considered.

Where will the money to pay for college come from. Some parents were able to sock away enough money from the time their children were very young to be able to draw on that account now, and fully fund college, but many families just didn’t manage to do that. In fact, about half fall into that second category. So when it comes time to talk about the college option, there’s usually plenty of anxiety and even more than a little panic to go around. I’m fond of saying where there’s will there’s a way, and that formula works here too. In this episode, we jump in and sort out the big questions about college finance.

When most students think of where they’ll go to college, many immediately consider the three schools with which they’re most familiar: their state flagship school, their regional university, and their community college. I’m going to talk about those first two today. We covered Community College pretty thoroughly a few episodes back, so we’ll leave that option out of today’s discussion. For many students, these schools are outstanding fits for all kinds of excellent reasons. But just like any other collegiate consideration, there are pros AND cons. We’re going to examine them here.

We hear the term college interchanged with university fairly regularly, but are they the same thing? Or are they, in fact, quite different? Generically, most people would say that they’re the same, and they’d be right, but there are a number of differences, some quite pronounced and others quite subtle, that are worth a bit of exploration. We dive into the origins and the meaning of both in this episode, and also take a moment to brush-up on our liberal arts!

Many rural high school students choose community college as their post-secondary go-to. Some choose a 4-year college. Both can represent an excellent fit, so long as you’re making your choice for the right reasons. In this episode, we explore the relative merits of community college and the traditional 4-year college experience and we discuss the critical differences between the two. Hint: It’s not as much about the money as you may think!

Ramping-up for the college application process is part preparation, part inspiration, and part anxiety navigation. This week, we discuss the steps of a solid application, the keys to making the most of each of them, and the importance of keeping your eyes on your own work, of being somewhat circumspect or even private about your progress toward admissions to your dream school. You’ll find supplemental content at our website, journey12.com.

This week we go into full myth-buster-mode and explore some of the things you might have thought you understood about college as well as some of the things that probably never occurred to you. In short, we debunk some myths about what college is, what it isn’t, who goes and who doesn’t. Bonus: We break down the economics of what a 4-year degree can mean over your lifetime as compared to a high school diploma. And, newsflash, it isn’t quite as obvious as you might think.

This week, we explore college choice and finding fit. Just as every student is unique, every educational institution has its unique characteristics and makeup. We walk through some basic definitions of various institutional types and then dive into a range of things to examine when considering your college choice. Public vs private, Community College vs 4-year institutions, close to home vs out of the region, state, or country, and much more.

This week, we talk about big decisions. Specifically, the decision of whether or not to attend college and earn a degree. It’s a big decision, after all, and getting a college degree will take some time. For most people, four years. So, you might be asking yourself, "Is it worth it? Should I go to college?” In this episode, we discuss the benefits of going to college and candidly detail a few of the potential drawbacks. Spoiler alert: a college degree and the experience behind it is an amazing asset. But no two high students are identical and I will never apply a generalized template to their postsecondary path. We’re going to break down the four major benefits of going to college and give you three reasons why college might not be the best choice for you.

This week we discuss the 8-primary postsecondary paths taken by high school seniors after graduation. While Beyond the Tassel’s primary focus is on strategies and insights to make the most of the college admissions process, we recognize that college isn’t for everyone. In Episode 33 we lift the hood on, and take ‘The Big 8’ for a spin. Military, Trade School, Community College, Travel the World, Family Farm or Business, Start a Business, 4-Year College, and World of Work. We examine the pros and cons of each option and learn a secret about novelist, John Grisham. Learn more here and on our website at journey12.com.

Getting into college is one thing, paying for it is quite another. Parents have so much anxiety about how they’re going to pay for their students’ college education, that often they view the range of college options as quite narrow based on financial limitations. We help anxious parents navigate the maze of financial aid and learn more about options for needs-based admission to some of America’s top private colleges and universities where the cost to attend is, in many cases, far less than a typical public university. There are a range of little-known admissions tactics and strategies that can make a tremendous difference in the net cost of your student’s college education. Learn more about it here and on our website at journey12.com.