Ready For College? – Dr. Bob Neuman and Jude Neuman

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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, … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

College applications consist of two parts: the measurable side of the a application: grades and standardized test scores the personal side of the application: what kind of person is this student?. This second side of the application goes to the fact that colleges want to admit students who will make their campus a better, livelier place, more conducive to learning.… Read more about this episode...

Ask your children if they know how to learn. Mostly likely, they’ll look at you like you had just asked a really dumb question. Their answer would be, “Of course I do.  I’ve been learning since kindergarten.” Hmmmm…Now ask them HOW they learn. They may say they do their homework; go to class; study for tests. Is that a good … Read more about this episode...

AN ENCORE! It’s that time of year. Dr. Bob wants to remind you his books can help parents and students with all these events above. In this program. Don’t miss the special offer below! College Smart® middle school through college  Give your student a college success formula. If you’ve been listening to our programs, you know that the majority of … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

Dr. Bob reveals 4 ways to be get off to a great start on Day One of the first semester: Be mentally ready. How to avoid the slow start associated with the problem of the Summer Slide. Learn about summer slide and how it trips up students. What you can do to keep those mental muscles in shape and flexible … Read more about this episode...

Today’s guest, Deb, has worked in university admissions for 30 years. Recently retired, she talks about the services, events, and programs that admissions offices and counselors can provide. She also talks about why parents would be smart to take advantage of them. Discover questions you should ask about both academic and non-academic issues. Families should measure colleges from many angles. … Read more about this episode...

It’s called a “gap year.” Not all students move immediately from high school to college. A few choose to take a break to add to or enrich their personal experiences before starting college. They report that this year off is a wonderful way to “grow up” and get used to being “on their own.” Today’s guest, Laura, traveled to Germany. … Read more about this episode...

It’s a kind of attitude, a lifestyle — a way that students have of handling themselves and their days. Whatever their level of education, students need a new kind of awareness of themselves as students. They need to look at school in new ways. Can your student be College Smart? Absolutely!!! Do students know how to do it on … Read more about this episode...

Listen to a national expert. Recent studies find 80+% of college students report anxiety and depression. It’s in the news. It’s being called everything from an Epidemic of Anguish to a Mental Health Crisis. Here are some facts from the National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1 of 3 students report prolonged bouts of depression. 50% claim “below average” or … Read more about this episode...

Vital for ALL Students. The 9 must-do’s take up an entire chapter in College Smart. Think of the new semester as an athletic event. These are 9 “plays” you use to win. Before you enter a basketball game, you get pumped-up, you listen to the coach, you go over the plays — and make sure your shoes are tied! Today, … Read more about this episode...

What sparked today’s program was a comment from one of our listeners, who heard a college freshmen bragging about not needing to spend any more than an hour a night studying. His friend added with certainty: “Everybody knows that college doesn’t really get hard until junior and senior year.” She was in high school. That’s the kind of … Read more about this episode...

Only two weeks before college starts. Today’s guest, Kyle, represents tens of thousands of new freshmen wondering what lies ahead. A time for jitters and excitement! Kyle is excited. He’s comfortable about going into engineering because he likes math and science. He has far fewer jitters than students who step on campus without a direction. Also his dad is an … Read more about this episode...

It’s a kind of attitude, a lifestyle — a way that students have of handling themselves and their days. Whatever their level of education, students need a new kind of awareness of themselves as students. They need to look at school in new ways. Can your student be College Smart? Absolutely!!! Do students know how to do it on … Read more about this episode...

Every week on Ready for College we talk about what is really essential for college prep. While our overall message is positive, the astounding truth is that almost 90% of kids do not have what it takes when they arrive on college campuses — this is a recipe for disaster! We can help you greatly change the odds — for … Read more about this episode...

College Smart® Ready for College? Our Books are now available! In this program, Dr. Bob announces the release of his three books. This program introduces you to them. Don’t miss the introductory offer below! College Smart® Give your student a college success formula by becoming College Smart. If you’ve been listening to our programs, you know that the majority of … Read more about this episode...

In high school, Tommy was a good student with a 3.6 grade point average. He had taken difficult courses, and he looked forward to going to college. He began his courses: business as usual. But soon he noticed that his grades on a few assignments weren’t as high as he expected. Then one of his profs took him aside and … Read more about this episode...

Listen to Kensey and Taylor. These young women have different financial circumstances. They’re thinking about different schools. One will live at home to save money and has chosen her school. One will leave home, but hasn’t yet decided among a handful of possible schools. Both talk about their career directions. They’ve done a lot of thinking about what they’d like … Read more about this episode...

Incoming freshmen arrive on their new campus with a certain amount of anxiety along with their excitement. It happens even if that campus is near home. Arriving on campus is like setting foot in a foreign country. You can help your children reduce their jitters. (They’re there, even you child doesn’t talk about them.) How? A few weeks ago, one … Read more about this episode...

Meet Jess. She just finished her first year at a large university. She wanted a large university, and she loves it. She also talks about what she’s learned in the life of a freshman. Adapting to the new routine Signing up for courses and going through orientation Her stressful first semester and how it shaped her second semester. Ways she … Read more about this episode...

This is the first in a series of college and high school student interviews. Meet Brett, a college student who works at a local coffee bar. Brett has just finished his first year of college at a state university. But he began thinking about his future years ago. He’s a planner, he knows what he wants to do, he’s determined, … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

In the early years of childhood, parents act “very parental.” They “tell” their children how to act and how to behave. But from about middle-school on, the role of parents changes. Young teens don’t want to be “told” what to do. They are beginning to assert their independence. Now what? Just as their children are changing, so must parents. What’s … Read more about this episode...

Listen to Amy and Steve whose third daughter is now in a state college. They will tell you how the Learn- As-You-Go approach to financing college affected them. While they were financially aware as a family and planned for many other financial events in their lives, they were late at turning their attention to college. Suddenly it was there, just … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

Ask your children if they know how to learn. Mostly likely, they’ll look at you like you had just asked a really dumb question. Their answer would be, “Of course I do.  I’ve been learning since kindergarten.” Hmmmm…Now ask them HOW they learn. They may say they do their homework; go to class; study for tests. Is that a good … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

On Ready for College? we often talk about the fact that the majority of students are not ready. As college students, they don’t know how to manage their time or themselves, study productively, keep up with assignments, get enough sleep, and do college work in the face of what so many young people consider their newfound freedom at college. This … Read more about this episode...

Why do the majority of students take 5, 6, or more years to graduate? Here are two of many reasons. #1: Incoming freshmen think college is going to be high school away from home. It’s not.   #2.  Because they don’t believe #1, they arrive overconfident, they get off to a bad start, and the dominoes begin falling in the wrong … Read more about this episode...

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 … Read more about this episode...

Dr. Bob and Jude take you through 4 school websites— a two-year community college and 3 four-year college sites to tell you what to look for and why it’s so important. College is about finding a direction in life — even if your child doesn’t have a goal yet. Undecided college students need to find a school with enough offerings … Read more about this episode...

You’d never buy a car without sitting in it and giving it a test drive. The same is true for choosing a college. Sure, you can check out websites to explore areas of study and admission requirements. But that’s only the start. It’s the homework you do that narrows field among schools. How many colleges should you visit? When should … Read more about this episode...

Ideally, 9th grade is the pivotal year for students to start getting ready for college — a time that parents should start playing important roles in the process. As Dr. Bob Neuman often says to students, “You really start college on the first day of high school.” And the researchers agree. True, college seems so far away but by … Read more about this episode...

 Can your student talk on his/her feet without struggling, stumbling, and groping for words? Feel confident speaking?  Can your student shift “speaking gears” to talk to different kinds of people? Neighbors, people in authority? Or does your child only use “teen-speak”?  Is your child a good listener? Or a distracted listener?  Can he or she write well? In … Read more about this episode...

Want to know how many college graduates have lined up a job by the time they graduate? If you’ve got a child going to college or already in college, it’s a number you want to know. You should listen to this program. Fact: More than 80% of students go to college because they believe their degree will get them a … Read more about this episode...

If you’re planning on sending your child to college — or your child is already there — you need to hear this conversation. It covers things you should know but probably don’t. How likely is it that your child will graduate on time? What’s the real cost of extra semesters? Much more than you think. What’s the connection between what … Read more about this episode...