The College Question Most Families Forget to Ask

Stop Asking “Where Do You Wanna Go?” | Starting the College Conversation the Right Way (with Shelly Howard) ‪@collegereadyplan‬ 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:   / shelleehoward   Facebook: Shellee Maree Howard 5.3K followers www.facebook.com/shellee.howard1 College Ready Page 4.8k followers www.facebook.com/CollegeReadyPlan Instagram:   / collegereadyplan   Youtube: @collegereadyplan    / @collegereadyplan   TikTok: collegereadyplan https://www.tiktok.com/@collegereadyp... Google: College Ready Twitter: https://x.com/GoCollegeReady Thanks for joining me on Car Ride Conversations for Sports Families! 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 https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/n... For 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 psychology https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/c... If you are a youth sports 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. https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/c... Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for Parents   / 1xbc48thlu   Have an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here. https://valstoncoaching.typeform.com/... Follow Me on: Facebook:   / valstoncoaching   Instagram:   / valstoncoaching   YouTube:    / @valstoncoaching9666   Watch every episode of Car Ride conversations here:    • Car Ride Conversations for Sports Families