The College Question Most Families Forget to Ask With Shellee Howard

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 Are00:53 Meet College Consultant Shelly01:28 Her Origin Story02:45 Clarity Before College Lists04:15 Athletes Priorities And Fit06:17 Undecided And Fear Of Failure06:52 Serve To Discover Yourself10:34 Start Early And Adaptable Careers12:20 Organic Chem Reality Check14:08 Family Alignment First17:11 Conversation Prompts For Parents18:09 Front Seat Future Vision20:52 Do You Even Want College21:25 Botanist Story Listen Deeper24:20 Campus Visits Spark Ownership26:32 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 followerswww.facebook.com/shellee.howard1College Ready Page 4.8k followerswww.facebook.com/CollegeReadyPlanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/collegereadyplan/Youtube: @collegereadyplanhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_WodPHDfSWEbiPdsRDbyQTikTok: collegereadyplanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@collegereadyplan?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pcGoogle: College ReadyTwitter: https://x.com/GoCollegeReadyThanks for joining me on Confident, Calm, and Clutch Car Ride Conversations! If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a moment. Share it with other parents or coaches who could use a little extra inspiration on the go.For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletterFor more specific tips on building mental toughness, buy my book Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychologyIf you are a coach looking for ways to build mental toughness into your practices then check out my coaching resources (books, assessments, conversation starters, community and more) here.Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for ParentsHave an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: [email protected] Me on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoachingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoachingYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666Watch every episode of Car Ride Conversations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V