November 21, 2024 • 28 mins
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Jennifer Ledwith.
She has a business degree from the University of Oklahoma. She is the owner of Scholar Ready, an educational services company. She meets with clients online and her company Scholar Ready tutors Math, conducts personal essay writing workshops, and prepares students for PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams.
Houston native, entrepreneur, and educator, Jennifer Ledwith understood from a young age that education and literacy were crucial to success. Again and again, people told her that her mother — a single parent with serious debt and no child support — made too much money for her to get any free money for college.
She didn't finish in the top 10% of her high school class (which is academic poison in her home state of Texas).
Thankfully, her PSAT scores were high, and she could write the essays to get the money.
She knew how to beg for money tactfully in 100 words. She knew why she wanted to get a business degree from the University of Oklahoma. From her junior year of high school to her junior year of college, she wrote essays for over 30 scholarships. She won enough money to pay for tuition and fees.
She had the most scholarships when she walked across the stage at graduation. The announcer was still reading them after she had crossed the stage.
Even then, she didn't have enough money for school. She worked and worked and continued to apply for scholarships. She graduated from an out-of-state university (University of Oklahoma) with no credit card debt and only $1,000 in student loans. Hey, a girl needs plane tickets.
Jennifer Ledwith is the owner of Scholar Ready, an educational services company. She meets with clients online. She also studied Personal Financial Planning at Rice University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™.
Company Description *
Scholar Ready tutors Math, conducts personal essay writing workshops, and prepares students for PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams.
Many of Scholar Ready's students have earned academic scholarships, including full rides to Mississippi Valley State University, Fordham University, Texas A & M University, and the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
We strive to instill our students with confidence that is earned and true. We teach them how to learn, how to advocate for what they need in the classroom, how to study, and how to set goals and expectations. We do not allow our students to be limited by experiences of the world they currently inhabit. We want them to have the confidence and work ethic to reach a better life and achieve any goal they set for themselves.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the show. I'm Rashan McDonald, the host of
Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to stop
reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with nod profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald, our host
this weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and
information that this show provides off for everyone. It's time
to start reading other people's success stories and start living
(00:46):
your own. I'm here to help you reach your American dream.
If you want to be a guest on my show,
please visit Moneymakingconversations dot com and click the be a
Guest button. Let's get ready here. My next guest has
a business degree from the Universal of Oklahoma. She's as
soon as y'all. She is the owner of scholar Ready
and the educational services company she meets with the client's
(01:09):
online and the company Scholar Ready tutors, math conducts personal
essay writing workshops, and prepares students for PSAT, SAT and
ACT exams. Please welcome the Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Jennifer
led with how you doing.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Jennifer, I'm doing well. Over Shaun, how are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Scholar Ready tell us about the name of your business
and why that means. It should resonate to any parent
or any young person who's about to go to college
in general, not just hph used, but as one would
call predominant white institutions to pwi's is the phrase is
used a lot when you're talking about I graduate graduating
from the University of Houston. You graduated from the University
(01:50):
of Oklahoma. They're called pwi's.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
So scholar Ready is important because there are so many
opportunities available to our students, whether they choose a predominant
White institution or PWI or historically black college or university
or an HBCU. We just have to be ready for
the opportunities. And I named the company scholar Ready because
I was inspired by my first client, who is me
(02:17):
and I graduated from k I'm from Houston, Texas, and
I graduated from North Shore senior high school, and I
was tired of going to school with the same people
for twelve years. As an adult, I can appreciate that
stability that allowed me to do that, but as a
sixteen or seventeen year old, I did not appreciate that. Therefore,
(02:39):
from the time I was a junior in high school
to the time I was a junior in college, I
applied for over thirty scholarships and I want enough to
where I only had to take out one thousand dollars
in student loans and rashan, I didn't even need the
loans for I didn't even use the loans for academic purposes.
I used the loans and go buy plane tickets because
(03:01):
I had a boyfriend in Houston. I didn't. But the
key is you have to. And when I was in
college and I didn't, my parents couldn't pay for me
to go to school because we made My family made
too much to qualify for financial aid, but not enough
to write a check. Times too, because I have a
twin sister to go to college and I was able
(03:23):
to receive that money because I was ready. I was prepared.
My test scores were really good, my essay writing abilities
were good, and I was. Another thing that made me
ready is that I was always seeking a new opportunity
because I am incredibly persistent, and that's what scholar ready
is about. I thought that what I did was normal.
(03:45):
And then when I graduated and I realized so many
of my family members and my classmates were graduating with
all this student loan dead, I wanted to start a
company to make sure that we were ready to take
care to take advantage of all of the opportunities already.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Now they're difford Like I, I was horrible on my
SAT horrible as Smith. I went to the University Houston,
had an opportunity to go to Southern University. At the
last minute, opted to go to the University Houston. My
degree is in mathematics minor in sociology. But I graduated
the top ten percent of my class, which enabled me
to attend the Universe Houston. How will you academically at
(04:22):
your class because there are options there, Like, you scored
very well on your test scores. How were you academically
in school? High school?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Oh? High school? Oh wow, I wasn't in the I
may have been in the top fifteen percent. I definitely
wasn't in the top ten percent of my class. But
what helped me were my test scores. My test scores
and my essay. I'm an incredibly good writer, and those
things helped me to do well to get to be
(04:53):
able to number one, get into college, and then number
two be able to get those scholarships.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Wow. Now there's the question here when should your child
or any child start preparing for college?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
When you want to start So there's kind of the
so preparing for college as early as possible, and you
really want to start with just setting expectations. For example,
when I was a little kid, my aunt, you know,
no one ever sat down and told me, my brother
and my sister that we're going to go to college.
(05:28):
There was never like this kitchen table discussion of you're
going to go to college and that's the way it's
going to be. It was little things like my aunt saying, oh,
you know, when you go to college, you have to
make sure that you keep a clean room. Because when
I went to Prayer of You, we used to talk
about the girls who were nasty like it was it
(05:49):
was it was.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
It was things like that, you want to be a
nasty girl in college. A nasty dude come on with that.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
No, no, and it was.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
But now case they call us a funky the funky dude,
you know, they lay into a dude who had a
couple of dudes. I remember right now you flashing some
memories on some funky dude room walking there, going do
what any of you're eating toes up in there? Do
what's going up in there. But the interesting thing about
your interview that I wanted to bring on the show
because I'm an HbCO advocate, Jenifer and I talk a
(06:22):
lot about the opportunities the HBCU college fairs and I'm
aware of but I've never had an individual that talked
about predominant white institutions and the opportunities, the scholar opportunities.
They say, opportunities they are available for their children because
not everybody and have the right to choose where they
want to go. And I try to bring a balance
to money making conversations. Massic Lass. I say, look, you
(06:45):
come to my show and you can hear opportunities if
your child wants to go to the University of Texas,
University of Nebraska LSU, because like you said, you were
born and raised in Houston, but you went out of
state to University Oklahoma, and you had out of they
feased you had to pay. And like she said, when
she graduated, she didn't owe anything but that little loan
(07:05):
that she used to go see her board friend in Houston,
Okay on Southwest Airlines. Because I know what airlines she
was flying. I know only Win airlines she was flying.
Back in that day that she said she went back
and forth a lot on the thousand dollars. I do it,
I know it, bug so, but you know the whole thing.
(07:26):
I remember, I remember a good friend of mine called
a good friend of mine marry him, like she knew
she was going to be valedictorian. I mean that girl
from the ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, wasn't nobody
going to beat her. She had a four point on
when she graduate. That was a focus. And that sounds
like a focus that you had. I was exactly the opposite.
I just wanted to get out of high school. But
I was. I was. Teachers mentioned me, they so value
(07:50):
in me. Now, people like me tend to not prepare
well for SATs P, s A t's acts. Now we
can say you can start in kindergarten and prepping yourself
we can say you start in tenth grade, but your
course is on exactly that long, and you can prepare
students a lot faster for SATs, ACTS and PSATs. Tell
(08:13):
us how your class the class length for some of
these courses, so we can talk. And I also gonna
let everybody know she's say in Houston, Texas, but she's
available nationwide. She can do everything virtual, because I want
to bring everybody into this conversation and don't shut down.
Because Jennifer got her act together, she's preparing students, they're
getting scholarships through essay writing, and more importantly, they scoring
(08:36):
strong on their PSATs, SATs acts. Talk about the courses
that you make available through your online courses, all right, So, as.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
You said, Rashan, courses are online. People can take classes
from anywhere, and we have courses where you prepare students
for PSAT, SAT and ACT and those courses can be
around eight weeks. And you know, we really what makes
us different is that we are really thinking about what's
happening with the student in the times of now. And
(09:08):
you know, most parents will tell people now, will say, well,
my student isn't good at exams, and I've been doing
this for twenty years, and that's what I hear over
and over again. My student isn't good at taking tests,
especially since the pandemic, And I just get that out
of the way because I know that's an objection to
hold people back from wanting to actually prepare for the exams.
(09:29):
And we can and again, we can all agree that
the students have gaps, especially because of the time that
they spend during the pandemic outside of an in person classroom.
And what I do is I review the fundamentals that
they need to do well in the exam to help
them get that confidence to move forward. Another thing that
(09:52):
we do is we address that issue of test anxiety,
because some people will say, oh, no, we're not going
to you know, we're not going to take the test
because we're not gonna have the student take the test
because the student has text anxiety, and consequently they leave
all these opportunities behind. And I mean, look, Rashan, I
(10:14):
would be nervous if you ask me to do something
I haven't trained for. So some of my best favorite
students are athletes. And you know, let's just take basketball players.
If you said, if you are my coach, and you said,
all right, Jennifer Wance, you go take this basketball and
run out on the court and go and win. And
(10:35):
not only are you asking me to win, it's a
playoff game, and you know I'm starting and everybody, you know,
people are depending on me. I can't tell you the
last time I touched the basketball. I have never mastered dribbling, passing,
or shooting. So if I get on that court and
try to play basketball, I am going to be incredibly anxious.
(10:58):
I'm going to be incredibly nervous. And while test anxiety
is a real thing, I do believe that we can
help students because often, like that whole basketball analogy, that's
what we do to kids all the time. We throw
them into situations for which they are not prepared and
then expect them to perform. And we really just in
(11:21):
order to combat that test anxiety, we help them to
We teach them strategies and help them to figure out
their own You know, I'm very open minded with my students.
As long as your strategy gives you the correct answer,
you are consistent in being able to use that strategy
to get the correct answer, and you are comfortable with it,
we can roll with it. And another thing that we
(11:44):
do in our courses is we we know that people
have had these unfavorable let's just say, unfavorable experiences in
online learning. But the thing about us which is different
about us is that it is it's me live and
in living color, teaching every bit, and I have my
(12:05):
students play games. I have students, we've done escape rooms before.
There are different ways that you can mix it up
online to keep the students get engaged. Yes, sir, so
that's how our classes work.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Well, it's important that you outline that because a lot
of people what the beauty of life now since COVID
is that doing studies doing lessons online is not a
foreign thing to parents and it is much more accepting now.
But the thing I liked about the fact that is
that somebody can be watching this show or listening to
this show from Chicago or Los Angeles or Seattle, Washington,
(12:43):
or New York City or Kansas City, Missouri, and they
can use your services. So tell us how that works.
How does one listening to this show, Jennifer get in
touch with you, and then steps step by step, how
we can get them a register and once they register,
how do you reach back at them?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
All?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Right? So they can visit www dot scholar ready dot
com and they can they can there's a there'll be
a special link for the listeners of this show to
visit the website. They can share their their their email address,
and in exchange for sharing their email address, they will
(13:25):
receive more information about the class. And what we'll do
is what I like to do with people is I
like to I like to have them set an appointment
so I can have an understanding of what their thoughts
are behind taking the class, because I believe that people
need to be very strategic when it comes to preparing
for exams. Because yes, the classes are about eight weeks.
(13:46):
They are eight weeks and they at the same time,
they are very intensive. It requires you know, coming to
class consistently, putting in the work, participating, and we need
to know, we need to have a plan to make
sure that everybody's using their resources properly. So once we
have a plan in place, I'll send people an invoice
(14:08):
so they can pay, and then once they pay, they'll
be registered for the class, and then they'll receive two
books for two textbooks for the subject matter, whether it's SAT,
PSAT or ACT, and we have a start date for
the class. I send them a link to join the
class and we go from there.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
(14:53):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Now here's the cool thing about hearing what you're saying
and this is that being prepped and ready. That's the
key part of this conversation. And can a young person
eighteen seventeen do it? Have to get permissions they're under
eighteen to go to your website and contact you, or
they have to be over the age of eighteen.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
They ideally they would be. So there are some students
who are hungry enough to seek me out and pay
and come to class and participate. Most students need encouragement
from their parents, but if they but if a student
wants to do it on their own, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Now you were talking about eight weeks and you said, Rashan,
they got to put in the work. What is that
is that an hour day during the week Monday through
Fridays that after school. Talk about that schedule and the
time commitment that a student has to have to go
experience your eight week court eight weeks course and then
be able to handle the testing of an act psat SAT.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Okay, So students may be in that's a really good question.
Students may be in class from anywhere from four to
six hours a week, and then they need to spend
about So if they're for every hour, you know, we
were in college, they would say for every hour in class,
you need to study this many hours. So I would
say for every hour they're in class, they need to spend.
If we're at six, I would say probably if it's
(16:24):
four to six hours, they need to plan to spend
about two to three hours outside of class preparing for
the test. So they have to do so there's attendance
and there's homework.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Well, the reason I'm bringing this up because my daughter,
I remember, she got into a university's and the engineering
program and they had SAT cutoffs scored this particular and
she had the grades and everything, but if she didn't score,
so she had to take an SAT. She did tutoring,
took an SAT again, scored a point and she got
(16:59):
an engineering Then, like she said, she was interested in
going to Georgia Tech. Their SAT score was higher than
the University of Houston's SAT, but she wanted to go
to the University of Houston because that's where her mom
and dad graduated from. When I'm just letting everybody know
that it's important to understand that SATs matter, especially in
(17:19):
the technical fields. They put an emphasis and put a
curved point on it. What you got to have to participate.
You may have the academic you might be valed victorian,
but if you don't have the SAT score as a
graduating vali Victoria, you might not get in that school. Correct.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
That's correct. That's correct, and that and those are the opportunities.
That's why it's scholar ready, because you have to be
ready to take advantage of the opportunities. And you know,
sometimes it's not obvious, Like sometimes it's not obvious to
people that they have to have a certain test score
to pursue a major in a in a technical field.
But it's it's it is there.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Okay, let's talk about something you brought up earlier, because
I'm going to tell you something. When I got out
of high school, English was my thing, Okay. In fact,
when I enrolled at the University Houston, I had to
take remedial English, which means I had to go to
a community college to create qualifying English skills, to develop
qualifying English skills. Then I transferred those courses back to
(18:19):
University Houston, and that's how I was eventually be able
to stay at the school, and eventually I became a
Hollywood sitcom writer. So that talent and that skill set
paid off. But I'm pretty sure I wasn't as talented
as you. Essays you hear these essays become a part
of the story. Some of them say two hundred and
fifty words, five hundred words? What exactly do you train
(18:40):
when you talk to people or young people about the
perfect essay?
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Okay, So I actually started my business to help students
write essays because so many people get intimidated by the
essay and they don't pursue different they don't complete applications
because they don't apply to things because they're afraid of
the essay. What I tell students with essays, I teach
my students how like you said, you're a Hollywood screenwriter.
(19:06):
I teach my students to write stories, and I actually
use I don't know if you've ever read this book.
I think his name is Robert McKee. He wrote this
book called Story and it's like this big dick and
and that's and that's what I use when I teach.
I don't well, I actually use other books that are
more appropriate for their you know, grade level. But my
but the way that I teach them about stories is
(19:27):
informed by a book written by Hollywood screenwriter. And we
always start with one of what I like to start with.
I want my students to focus on telling a story.
And when they tell a story, they have to focus
on they have to start with like an inciting incident.
So the inciting incident is the thing that puts the
story in motion. And it's and I mean and every
(19:48):
essay is going to ask for an inciting incident. They're
just going to ask for it in the form of
write about an opportunity, a challenge, an obstacle that you faced,
and how did you overcome it? And I have them,
I have them write in scenes. So I have them
to and I say, okay, scenes include action. I need
you to include action, I need you to include dialogue.
And I do that because and I tell them, hey,
(20:11):
whenever you are writing something for someone, they are reading
your work as a courtesy to you. And you want
to be memorable. You want to be entertaining for because
people remember stories. That's how you know. People will remember
if you can tell them a good story, and that's
what you want to do. So aside from telling them stories,
(20:34):
I also have them working on multiple ideas at the
same time because a few years ago I noticed that
all of my students would hold on to like their
first idea, and everybody's first idea is bad. Everybody's first
idea is bad. It's bad. And I would be like,
why are they holding on of these bad ideas? Like
you know, obviously it's terrible, Like why don't they know
(20:57):
it's terrible? But then but then I started thinking about it,
and I was like, Jennifer, if everybody is doing the
thing that you don't like, then what's the common denominator.
The common denominator is you, So why don't what are
you doing? Why don't your student what are you doing
to encourage them to hold on to this bad idea?
So what I started to do was I started to
(21:18):
have my students working on like three different ideas at
the same time, and that way they would it was
easier for them to let go of the bad idea.
So that's something that we do. So I have them
working on multiple ideas at the same time. I have
them to tell stories. I also have them research the
organization that is offering the scholarship or the college admission
(21:43):
if you are applying to. I had a student a
few weeks ago who was applying to the University of
Texas at Austin. And yes, we are in Texas, but
Austin is a very liberal place, and especially a university
of a public university in Austin will be a liberal place.
And this student wrote this essay and he quoted this
(22:05):
scientist in the essay and I was like, who is
this scientist? Oh, miss Jennifer. He believed in eugenics. I said, baby,
what's eugenics? And he gave me the scientific term of eugenics,
and I was like, all right, I need you to
read about this. And you know, basically, eugenics is the
idea of creating this super master smart human race, right,
(22:30):
that's the scientific idea behind it. But it is rooted
in racism and sexism. And I told and I had
him look him up and I was like, this man
you're quoting, his name has been removed from things in
his home country because of this. I said, if you do,
(22:51):
I said, you cannot write to the University of Texas
Austin about this scientist. They will not select you for
what you were, what you are pursuing. So we have
to look at You need to research the organization, like
in my service organization on a scholarship chair of a
local scholarship organization, and our scholarship is all about service.
(23:15):
It's about community service and leadership. So when you're writing
your essay, it needs to be about your community service
and your leadership. You have to research the organizations and
tailor your message to that organization.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
I'm talking to Jennifer led With of scholar Ready. Whether
students select an HBCU or PWI, it's important for them
to have charges, especially with their test scores Psat sat ACT,
here's a little note. They open opportunities for scholarships and
academic programs like I spoke of earlier. Often African Americans
(23:51):
are locked out of these opportunities. On average, African American
score a nine oh eight out of sixteen hundred on
an SAT or a sixteen out of thirty six on
the ACT. Coming to her program, Jennifer has developed an
eighth week course. It's an eighth week course, but you
have to be committed if you a student who wants
(24:11):
to walk in that life. If you're a parent who
wants you or your child have an opportunity as an
HBCU or a PWI in university, it's important that you
may seek training. And Jennifer is on this call with
me today to discuss her business model. Her business model
is to academically prepare your child to be ready for college,
(24:35):
to be ready for programs that are asking for particular
SAT scores ACT scores. That is important to know. You
can be tops in your class in high school and
you might be rejected for the degree plan you want
at the college that you're choosing to attend, and that
could be frustrating, but you can knock that out right
(24:55):
now because doing her preliminary test, she will ask you
or curriculum where you want to go, what degree you
want to go, and she will tell you, well, if
you go to Georgia Tech, I believe engineering is like
thirteen fifty for SATs. Oh I didn't know that. Okay, well,
we got to get you there, and that's the purpose
of your course that you're delivered for eight weeks, caressing Jennifer.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Correct, that's the purpose. The purpose is and that's what
happens when people do test prep. They need to have
a goal, they need to have a reason for what
they're doing. So, whether it's at thirteen fifty at Georgia Tech,
that's what we're pursuing. That, that's what we're committing to
pursue as we close out.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
You've been wonderful, easy to talk to, which is great.
You know you're articulate. I'm watching you on the screen
doing this podcast interview. You know, she's easy on their
eyes as they say, guys and ladies and parents. You know,
she's not over there looking like you know, one hundred
year old teacher. She's not looking like she's got a
(25:53):
great smile. I'm just letting y'all know this is a
visual of course she's teaching. Now, your child's not gonna
be afraid of her. Okay, that's a saying they're not
gonna be scared to death like they're talking to their
grandmama across the across the screen, they're gonna be engaged
with her. She has a brilliant smile and she has
a sense of humor. But more importantly, how do we
reach out to you and tell us the process as
(26:14):
we close out this interview.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
All right, so to reach me, visit www dot scholar
ready dot com. There's also gonna be a special page
for people who listen to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. There's
also a page that allows you to contact us and
we'll get your will gather your information, your first name
and your email address, and we will go from there
(26:37):
and helping you to reach your goals. No, as one
of my parents told me, you know, she really was
unfamiliar with the college going process. Things that you know,
things change and so on, and she was afraid of
asking questions. And one of her regrets is that she
didn't ask more questions. So call me, email me, ask
me questions and we'll get and we'll get started.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Well, guess what we got started today, Jennifer. She reached
out to me, Ladies and gentlemen, filled out my b
a gas form. That's how she got on the show
Money Making Conversations Master Class. So you could reach out
to her because She's reached out to me, so let's
make a relationship and get your child focused and ready.
I'm very adapt at this conversation because my daughter, we
(27:22):
experienced this type of training for her and I know
it changed her life. And now she works at our
company with us, and she was an undergraduate from University
of Houston, and I appreciate you being able to offer
this opportunity throughout the country. She had to go to
a brick and mortar for her training, but you're offering
it no matter where your child lives. A student, you
(27:42):
are in college right now, I want to learn about SSATS.
Like you said, it's not just required. She was doing
this from a junior in housing year to a junior
year in college. I listen everything she say now, I
really do. Thank you Jennifer coming on Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Thank you Rashaun, thank you for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
This has been another edition of Moneymaking Conversation Masterclass hosted
by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests on
the show today and thank you our listening to the
audience now if you want to listen to any episode,
I want to be a guest on the show. Visit
Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
(28:21):
your gifts. Keep winning.
Welcome to the show. I'm Rashan McDonald, the host of
Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to stop
reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with nod profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald, our host
this weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and
information that this show provides off for everyone. It's time
to start reading other people's success stories and start living
(00:46):
your own. I'm here to help you reach your American dream.
If you want to be a guest on my show,
please visit Moneymakingconversations dot com and click the be a
Guest button. Let's get ready here. My next guest has
a business degree from the Universal of Oklahoma. She's as
soon as y'all. She is the owner of scholar Ready
and the educational services company she meets with the client's
(01:09):
online and the company Scholar Ready tutors, math conducts personal
essay writing workshops, and prepares students for PSAT, SAT and
ACT exams. Please welcome the Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Jennifer
led with how you doing.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Jennifer, I'm doing well. Over Shaun, how are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Scholar Ready tell us about the name of your business
and why that means. It should resonate to any parent
or any young person who's about to go to college
in general, not just hph used, but as one would
call predominant white institutions to pwi's is the phrase is
used a lot when you're talking about I graduate graduating
from the University of Houston. You graduated from the University
(01:50):
of Oklahoma. They're called pwi's.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
So scholar Ready is important because there are so many
opportunities available to our students, whether they choose a predominant
White institution or PWI or historically black college or university
or an HBCU. We just have to be ready for
the opportunities. And I named the company scholar Ready because
I was inspired by my first client, who is me
(02:17):
and I graduated from k I'm from Houston, Texas, and
I graduated from North Shore senior high school, and I
was tired of going to school with the same people
for twelve years. As an adult, I can appreciate that
stability that allowed me to do that, but as a
sixteen or seventeen year old, I did not appreciate that. Therefore,
(02:39):
from the time I was a junior in high school
to the time I was a junior in college, I
applied for over thirty scholarships and I want enough to
where I only had to take out one thousand dollars
in student loans and rashan, I didn't even need the
loans for I didn't even use the loans for academic purposes.
I used the loans and go buy plane tickets because
(03:01):
I had a boyfriend in Houston. I didn't. But the
key is you have to. And when I was in
college and I didn't, my parents couldn't pay for me
to go to school because we made My family made
too much to qualify for financial aid, but not enough
to write a check. Times too, because I have a
twin sister to go to college and I was able
(03:23):
to receive that money because I was ready. I was prepared.
My test scores were really good, my essay writing abilities
were good, and I was. Another thing that made me
ready is that I was always seeking a new opportunity
because I am incredibly persistent, and that's what scholar ready
is about. I thought that what I did was normal.
(03:45):
And then when I graduated and I realized so many
of my family members and my classmates were graduating with
all this student loan dead, I wanted to start a
company to make sure that we were ready to take
care to take advantage of all of the opportunities already.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Now they're difford Like I, I was horrible on my
SAT horrible as Smith. I went to the University Houston,
had an opportunity to go to Southern University. At the
last minute, opted to go to the University Houston. My
degree is in mathematics minor in sociology. But I graduated
the top ten percent of my class, which enabled me
to attend the Universe Houston. How will you academically at
(04:22):
your class because there are options there, Like, you scored
very well on your test scores. How were you academically
in school? High school?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Oh? High school? Oh wow, I wasn't in the I
may have been in the top fifteen percent. I definitely
wasn't in the top ten percent of my class. But
what helped me were my test scores. My test scores
and my essay. I'm an incredibly good writer, and those
things helped me to do well to get to be
(04:53):
able to number one, get into college, and then number
two be able to get those scholarships.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Wow. Now there's the question here when should your child
or any child start preparing for college?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
When you want to start So there's kind of the
so preparing for college as early as possible, and you
really want to start with just setting expectations. For example,
when I was a little kid, my aunt, you know,
no one ever sat down and told me, my brother
and my sister that we're going to go to college.
(05:28):
There was never like this kitchen table discussion of you're
going to go to college and that's the way it's
going to be. It was little things like my aunt saying, oh,
you know, when you go to college, you have to
make sure that you keep a clean room. Because when
I went to Prayer of You, we used to talk
about the girls who were nasty like it was it
(05:49):
was it was.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
It was things like that, you want to be a
nasty girl in college. A nasty dude come on with that.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
No, no, and it was.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
But now case they call us a funky the funky dude,
you know, they lay into a dude who had a
couple of dudes. I remember right now you flashing some
memories on some funky dude room walking there, going do
what any of you're eating toes up in there? Do
what's going up in there. But the interesting thing about
your interview that I wanted to bring on the show
because I'm an HbCO advocate, Jenifer and I talk a
(06:22):
lot about the opportunities the HBCU college fairs and I'm
aware of but I've never had an individual that talked
about predominant white institutions and the opportunities, the scholar opportunities.
They say, opportunities they are available for their children because
not everybody and have the right to choose where they
want to go. And I try to bring a balance
to money making conversations. Massic Lass. I say, look, you
(06:45):
come to my show and you can hear opportunities if
your child wants to go to the University of Texas,
University of Nebraska LSU, because like you said, you were
born and raised in Houston, but you went out of
state to University Oklahoma, and you had out of they
feased you had to pay. And like she said, when
she graduated, she didn't owe anything but that little loan
(07:05):
that she used to go see her board friend in Houston,
Okay on Southwest Airlines. Because I know what airlines she
was flying. I know only Win airlines she was flying.
Back in that day that she said she went back
and forth a lot on the thousand dollars. I do it,
I know it, bug so, but you know the whole thing.
(07:26):
I remember, I remember a good friend of mine called
a good friend of mine marry him, like she knew
she was going to be valedictorian. I mean that girl
from the ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, wasn't nobody
going to beat her. She had a four point on
when she graduate. That was a focus. And that sounds
like a focus that you had. I was exactly the opposite.
I just wanted to get out of high school. But
I was. I was. Teachers mentioned me, they so value
(07:50):
in me. Now, people like me tend to not prepare
well for SATs P, s A t's acts. Now we
can say you can start in kindergarten and prepping yourself
we can say you start in tenth grade, but your
course is on exactly that long, and you can prepare
students a lot faster for SATs, ACTS and PSATs. Tell
(08:13):
us how your class the class length for some of
these courses, so we can talk. And I also gonna
let everybody know she's say in Houston, Texas, but she's
available nationwide. She can do everything virtual, because I want
to bring everybody into this conversation and don't shut down.
Because Jennifer got her act together, she's preparing students, they're
getting scholarships through essay writing, and more importantly, they scoring
(08:36):
strong on their PSATs, SATs acts. Talk about the courses
that you make available through your online courses, all right, So, as.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
You said, Rashan, courses are online. People can take classes
from anywhere, and we have courses where you prepare students
for PSAT, SAT and ACT and those courses can be
around eight weeks. And you know, we really what makes
us different is that we are really thinking about what's
happening with the student in the times of now. And
(09:08):
you know, most parents will tell people now, will say, well,
my student isn't good at exams, and I've been doing
this for twenty years, and that's what I hear over
and over again. My student isn't good at taking tests,
especially since the pandemic, And I just get that out
of the way because I know that's an objection to
hold people back from wanting to actually prepare for the exams.
(09:29):
And we can and again, we can all agree that
the students have gaps, especially because of the time that
they spend during the pandemic outside of an in person classroom.
And what I do is I review the fundamentals that
they need to do well in the exam to help
them get that confidence to move forward. Another thing that
(09:52):
we do is we address that issue of test anxiety,
because some people will say, oh, no, we're not going
to you know, we're not going to take the test
because we're not gonna have the student take the test
because the student has text anxiety, and consequently they leave
all these opportunities behind. And I mean, look, Rashan, I
(10:14):
would be nervous if you ask me to do something
I haven't trained for. So some of my best favorite
students are athletes. And you know, let's just take basketball players.
If you said, if you are my coach, and you said,
all right, Jennifer Wance, you go take this basketball and
run out on the court and go and win. And
(10:35):
not only are you asking me to win, it's a
playoff game, and you know I'm starting and everybody, you know,
people are depending on me. I can't tell you the
last time I touched the basketball. I have never mastered dribbling, passing,
or shooting. So if I get on that court and
try to play basketball, I am going to be incredibly anxious.
(10:58):
I'm going to be incredibly nervous. And while test anxiety
is a real thing, I do believe that we can
help students because often, like that whole basketball analogy, that's
what we do to kids all the time. We throw
them into situations for which they are not prepared and
then expect them to perform. And we really just in
(11:21):
order to combat that test anxiety, we help them to
We teach them strategies and help them to figure out
their own You know, I'm very open minded with my students.
As long as your strategy gives you the correct answer,
you are consistent in being able to use that strategy
to get the correct answer, and you are comfortable with it,
we can roll with it. And another thing that we
(11:44):
do in our courses is we we know that people
have had these unfavorable let's just say, unfavorable experiences in
online learning. But the thing about us which is different
about us is that it is it's me live and
in living color, teaching every bit, and I have my
(12:05):
students play games. I have students, we've done escape rooms before.
There are different ways that you can mix it up
online to keep the students get engaged. Yes, sir, so
that's how our classes work.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Well, it's important that you outline that because a lot
of people what the beauty of life now since COVID
is that doing studies doing lessons online is not a
foreign thing to parents and it is much more accepting now.
But the thing I liked about the fact that is
that somebody can be watching this show or listening to
this show from Chicago or Los Angeles or Seattle, Washington,
(12:43):
or New York City or Kansas City, Missouri, and they
can use your services. So tell us how that works.
How does one listening to this show, Jennifer get in
touch with you, and then steps step by step, how
we can get them a register and once they register,
how do you reach back at them?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
All?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Right? So they can visit www dot scholar ready dot
com and they can they can there's a there'll be
a special link for the listeners of this show to
visit the website. They can share their their their email address,
and in exchange for sharing their email address, they will
(13:25):
receive more information about the class. And what we'll do
is what I like to do with people is I
like to I like to have them set an appointment
so I can have an understanding of what their thoughts
are behind taking the class, because I believe that people
need to be very strategic when it comes to preparing
for exams. Because yes, the classes are about eight weeks.
(13:46):
They are eight weeks and they at the same time,
they are very intensive. It requires you know, coming to
class consistently, putting in the work, participating, and we need
to know, we need to have a plan to make
sure that everybody's using their resources properly. So once we
have a plan in place, I'll send people an invoice
(14:08):
so they can pay, and then once they pay, they'll
be registered for the class, and then they'll receive two
books for two textbooks for the subject matter, whether it's SAT,
PSAT or ACT, and we have a start date for
the class. I send them a link to join the
class and we go from there.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
(14:53):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Now here's the cool thing about hearing what you're saying
and this is that being prepped and ready. That's the
key part of this conversation. And can a young person
eighteen seventeen do it? Have to get permissions they're under
eighteen to go to your website and contact you, or
they have to be over the age of eighteen.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
They ideally they would be. So there are some students
who are hungry enough to seek me out and pay
and come to class and participate. Most students need encouragement
from their parents, but if they but if a student
wants to do it on their own, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Now you were talking about eight weeks and you said, Rashan,
they got to put in the work. What is that
is that an hour day during the week Monday through
Fridays that after school. Talk about that schedule and the
time commitment that a student has to have to go
experience your eight week court eight weeks course and then
be able to handle the testing of an act psat SAT.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Okay, So students may be in that's a really good question.
Students may be in class from anywhere from four to
six hours a week, and then they need to spend
about So if they're for every hour, you know, we
were in college, they would say for every hour in class,
you need to study this many hours. So I would
say for every hour they're in class, they need to spend.
If we're at six, I would say probably if it's
(16:24):
four to six hours, they need to plan to spend
about two to three hours outside of class preparing for
the test. So they have to do so there's attendance
and there's homework.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Well, the reason I'm bringing this up because my daughter,
I remember, she got into a university's and the engineering
program and they had SAT cutoffs scored this particular and
she had the grades and everything, but if she didn't score,
so she had to take an SAT. She did tutoring,
took an SAT again, scored a point and she got
(16:59):
an engineering Then, like she said, she was interested in
going to Georgia Tech. Their SAT score was higher than
the University of Houston's SAT, but she wanted to go
to the University of Houston because that's where her mom
and dad graduated from. When I'm just letting everybody know
that it's important to understand that SATs matter, especially in
(17:19):
the technical fields. They put an emphasis and put a
curved point on it. What you got to have to participate.
You may have the academic you might be valed victorian,
but if you don't have the SAT score as a
graduating vali Victoria, you might not get in that school. Correct.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
That's correct. That's correct, and that and those are the opportunities.
That's why it's scholar ready, because you have to be
ready to take advantage of the opportunities. And you know,
sometimes it's not obvious, Like sometimes it's not obvious to
people that they have to have a certain test score
to pursue a major in a in a technical field.
But it's it's it is there.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Okay, let's talk about something you brought up earlier, because
I'm going to tell you something. When I got out
of high school, English was my thing, Okay. In fact,
when I enrolled at the University Houston, I had to
take remedial English, which means I had to go to
a community college to create qualifying English skills, to develop
qualifying English skills. Then I transferred those courses back to
(18:19):
University Houston, and that's how I was eventually be able
to stay at the school, and eventually I became a
Hollywood sitcom writer. So that talent and that skill set
paid off. But I'm pretty sure I wasn't as talented
as you. Essays you hear these essays become a part
of the story. Some of them say two hundred and
fifty words, five hundred words? What exactly do you train
(18:40):
when you talk to people or young people about the
perfect essay?
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Okay, So I actually started my business to help students
write essays because so many people get intimidated by the
essay and they don't pursue different they don't complete applications
because they don't apply to things because they're afraid of
the essay. What I tell students with essays, I teach
my students how like you said, you're a Hollywood screenwriter.
(19:06):
I teach my students to write stories, and I actually
use I don't know if you've ever read this book.
I think his name is Robert McKee. He wrote this
book called Story and it's like this big dick and
and that's and that's what I use when I teach.
I don't well, I actually use other books that are
more appropriate for their you know, grade level. But my
but the way that I teach them about stories is
(19:27):
informed by a book written by Hollywood screenwriter. And we
always start with one of what I like to start with.
I want my students to focus on telling a story.
And when they tell a story, they have to focus
on they have to start with like an inciting incident.
So the inciting incident is the thing that puts the
story in motion. And it's and I mean and every
(19:48):
essay is going to ask for an inciting incident. They're
just going to ask for it in the form of
write about an opportunity, a challenge, an obstacle that you faced,
and how did you overcome it? And I have them,
I have them write in scenes. So I have them
to and I say, okay, scenes include action. I need
you to include action, I need you to include dialogue.
And I do that because and I tell them, hey,
(20:11):
whenever you are writing something for someone, they are reading
your work as a courtesy to you. And you want
to be memorable. You want to be entertaining for because
people remember stories. That's how you know. People will remember
if you can tell them a good story, and that's
what you want to do. So aside from telling them stories,
(20:34):
I also have them working on multiple ideas at the
same time because a few years ago I noticed that
all of my students would hold on to like their
first idea, and everybody's first idea is bad. Everybody's first
idea is bad. It's bad. And I would be like,
why are they holding on of these bad ideas? Like
you know, obviously it's terrible, Like why don't they know
(20:57):
it's terrible? But then but then I started thinking about it,
and I was like, Jennifer, if everybody is doing the
thing that you don't like, then what's the common denominator.
The common denominator is you, So why don't what are
you doing? Why don't your student what are you doing
to encourage them to hold on to this bad idea?
So what I started to do was I started to
(21:18):
have my students working on like three different ideas at
the same time, and that way they would it was
easier for them to let go of the bad idea.
So that's something that we do. So I have them
working on multiple ideas at the same time. I have
them to tell stories. I also have them research the
organization that is offering the scholarship or the college admission
(21:43):
if you are applying to. I had a student a
few weeks ago who was applying to the University of
Texas at Austin. And yes, we are in Texas, but
Austin is a very liberal place, and especially a university
of a public university in Austin will be a liberal place.
And this student wrote this essay and he quoted this
(22:05):
scientist in the essay and I was like, who is
this scientist? Oh, miss Jennifer. He believed in eugenics. I said, baby,
what's eugenics? And he gave me the scientific term of eugenics,
and I was like, all right, I need you to
read about this. And you know, basically, eugenics is the
idea of creating this super master smart human race, right,
(22:30):
that's the scientific idea behind it. But it is rooted
in racism and sexism. And I told and I had
him look him up and I was like, this man
you're quoting, his name has been removed from things in
his home country because of this. I said, if you do,
(22:51):
I said, you cannot write to the University of Texas
Austin about this scientist. They will not select you for
what you were, what you are pursuing. So we have
to look at You need to research the organization, like
in my service organization on a scholarship chair of a
local scholarship organization, and our scholarship is all about service.
(23:15):
It's about community service and leadership. So when you're writing
your essay, it needs to be about your community service
and your leadership. You have to research the organizations and
tailor your message to that organization.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
I'm talking to Jennifer led With of scholar Ready. Whether
students select an HBCU or PWI, it's important for them
to have charges, especially with their test scores Psat sat ACT,
here's a little note. They open opportunities for scholarships and
academic programs like I spoke of earlier. Often African Americans
(23:51):
are locked out of these opportunities. On average, African American
score a nine oh eight out of sixteen hundred on
an SAT or a sixteen out of thirty six on
the ACT. Coming to her program, Jennifer has developed an
eighth week course. It's an eighth week course, but you
have to be committed if you a student who wants
(24:11):
to walk in that life. If you're a parent who
wants you or your child have an opportunity as an
HBCU or a PWI in university, it's important that you
may seek training. And Jennifer is on this call with
me today to discuss her business model. Her business model
is to academically prepare your child to be ready for college,
(24:35):
to be ready for programs that are asking for particular
SAT scores ACT scores. That is important to know. You
can be tops in your class in high school and
you might be rejected for the degree plan you want
at the college that you're choosing to attend, and that
could be frustrating, but you can knock that out right
(24:55):
now because doing her preliminary test, she will ask you
or curriculum where you want to go, what degree you
want to go, and she will tell you, well, if
you go to Georgia Tech, I believe engineering is like
thirteen fifty for SATs. Oh I didn't know that. Okay, well,
we got to get you there, and that's the purpose
of your course that you're delivered for eight weeks, caressing Jennifer.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Correct, that's the purpose. The purpose is and that's what
happens when people do test prep. They need to have
a goal, they need to have a reason for what
they're doing. So, whether it's at thirteen fifty at Georgia Tech,
that's what we're pursuing. That, that's what we're committing to
pursue as we close out.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
You've been wonderful, easy to talk to, which is great.
You know you're articulate. I'm watching you on the screen
doing this podcast interview. You know, she's easy on their
eyes as they say, guys and ladies and parents. You know,
she's not over there looking like you know, one hundred
year old teacher. She's not looking like she's got a
(25:53):
great smile. I'm just letting y'all know this is a
visual of course she's teaching. Now, your child's not gonna
be afraid of her. Okay, that's a saying they're not
gonna be scared to death like they're talking to their
grandmama across the across the screen, they're gonna be engaged
with her. She has a brilliant smile and she has
a sense of humor. But more importantly, how do we
reach out to you and tell us the process as
(26:14):
we close out this interview.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
All right, so to reach me, visit www dot scholar
ready dot com. There's also gonna be a special page
for people who listen to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. There's
also a page that allows you to contact us and
we'll get your will gather your information, your first name
and your email address, and we will go from there
(26:37):
and helping you to reach your goals. No, as one
of my parents told me, you know, she really was
unfamiliar with the college going process. Things that you know,
things change and so on, and she was afraid of
asking questions. And one of her regrets is that she
didn't ask more questions. So call me, email me, ask
me questions and we'll get and we'll get started.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Well, guess what we got started today, Jennifer. She reached
out to me, Ladies and gentlemen, filled out my b
a gas form. That's how she got on the show
Money Making Conversations Master Class. So you could reach out
to her because She's reached out to me, so let's
make a relationship and get your child focused and ready.
I'm very adapt at this conversation because my daughter, we
(27:22):
experienced this type of training for her and I know
it changed her life. And now she works at our
company with us, and she was an undergraduate from University
of Houston, and I appreciate you being able to offer
this opportunity throughout the country. She had to go to
a brick and mortar for her training, but you're offering
it no matter where your child lives. A student, you
(27:42):
are in college right now, I want to learn about SSATS.
Like you said, it's not just required. She was doing
this from a junior in housing year to a junior
year in college. I listen everything she say now, I
really do. Thank you Jennifer coming on Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Thank you Rashaun, thank you for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
This has been another edition of Moneymaking Conversation Masterclass hosted
by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests on
the show today and thank you our listening to the
audience now if you want to listen to any episode,
I want to be a guest on the show. Visit
Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
(28:21):
your gifts. Keep winning.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.