October 29, 2024 • 19 mins
We are excited to have Kristi Steele back on today! Kristi brings nearly a decade of experience to the table around college admissions. Discover how she has demystified the scholarship process in her course, "Unlock the Secrets to Scholarships for College," tailored for families navigating the intricate financial maze of higher education. Listen as Kristi shares invaluable tips on treating scholarship applications like pivotal investments, encouraging even modest daily efforts for substantial financial returns.
Learn more about Kristi's course here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi, this is Stephanie Schaefer and you're listening
to the North Star Narrative, apodcast from North Star Academy.
I want to thank you for joiningus.
I hope you're encouraged,challenged and motivated by what
you learned today.
Enjoy the story.
Hey everybody, thanks forjoining me today.
We have a guest with us that hasbeen here previously in the
(00:24):
spring of 2024.
Her episode actually aired onApril 3rd and you'll definitely
want to check that out.
This is kind of like a part twowith Christy still, but the one
in April was navigating thecollege admission season, so we
spent a lot of time talkingabout questions that a lot of
parents and students have, andso you definitely want to check
(00:45):
that out.
But today we're going to focuson scholarships, which is also
super important, and we need allthe tips we can get as parents
and students.
But Christy has created acourse Unlock the Secrets to
Scholarships for College, and soshe's going to give us some
tips today and just tell us alittle bit about how this course
(01:05):
can help you, and maybe you'llwant to check it out and enroll.
So, christy, thanks so much forjoining us again today.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Thank you.
It's so fun to be a part of NSAin such a varied way.
I have a lot of students thatparticipate in what you guys do
and they they just continuallyimpressed me, not only with
their academic rigor, but alsojust their general knowledge of
maturity and growth andprogression and maturity.
So you guys are doing a greatjob.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, I brag on our students all the time and it's
always fun.
We have a lot of students comeon and we get to highlight all
that you just shared about them.
All right, so let's jump intoscholarships and your course and
, yeah, previous podcast.
But what makes you qualified toreally help parents find the
right scholarship for theirstudent?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
for a private Christian university for about
almost five years and then nowhave been an independent
counselor for almost five years,and so have almost a decade of
parents asking me how do I payfor college?
And that's a valid question.
I have high schoolers as wellas a mom and it's a question
that you know all of us areasking how do we do this?
And especially this past year,I think, as we really come out
of, you know, that COVID bubblethat I think you know, for two
(02:48):
or three years we all felt Ireally began to see that I had
more opportunities to dofinancial aid presentations but
really felt like I was doingfamilies a disservice by not
giving more.
And the problem is you can'treally give more in like an hour
, you know, give time for thepresentation and then question
(03:09):
and answers, and every familyhas different circumstances and
I know you know probably by andlarge you as a family, when
you're listening, know that.
But I think no matter where youare in the world, you kind of
feel like there could be somesimilarities.
But really financial aidpackages don't happen in
isolation with universities andso when you talk about money in
(03:31):
college, how do you understandthat?
And it is kind of like startinga new job there's a whole
different vocabulary and a wholedifferent system to learn.
So that's really why I startedScholarship Secrets, because
after almost a decade of reallyworking with families and that
being the one main driver iscost, you know, as an
(03:54):
independent counselor I feellike the community that your
kids are going to be a part ofreally should have more
precedent than cost.
But I also understand you can'tget to that community unless you
understand how you're going tofund it, and so there is a
little chicken and egg thinghappening there, and so that was
the genesis behind why I reallylooked into this more and felt
(04:18):
like families needed more help,because even if you have a great
guidance counselor and you guysdo Tasha there still are a lot
of questions that even she can'tanswer because they're so
unique and expert to your familyalone.
And so I've taken what I'velearned over the last 10 years
(04:40):
and then attended, with thechanges with FAFSA, a lot of
webinars this year on thosechanges, and I think this year
you'll see the release now ispushed to December 1st and I
think you'll see a lot ofpositive things from that.
I don't think it'll behiccup-less, but I do think that
families understanding theirfinancial aid position and what
(05:04):
that means for them, and justunderstanding the system of it
will really be helpful.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Well, thank you so much for creating this class and
keeping everybody up to date.
So if someone enrolls, what arethey going to see?
How long will it take to gothrough?
What kind of tips Just explainto us, or parents listening,
that might be interested.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Well, as a high school parent myself, I'm very
sensitive to the fact that Idon't have a lot of extra income
.
Especially if you have a senior, you're spending a lot of money
on applications and test scoresand just maybe college visits.
It's like you're just alreadyspending a lot of money and also
just time.
I think anyone listening canidentify with the fact that
(05:48):
we're just overwhelmed.
And so my goal was really toinform in an efficient way.
It does not include the kitchensink.
It's a self-paced course thatreally you could probably finish
in a day, like on a Saturday,but also can go further if you
want it to, and so you couldfinish it in a month, you could
finish it in six months, youcould finish it in a day, but it
(06:11):
is self-paced so that you cankind of decide how and when you
want to work through it.
And then I also tried my bestto make it affordable.
So it's $97.
It felt like you know there's alot of information out there on
the web.
But really what families, whatI?
From the questions that I get,stephanie, I felt like families
just needed basic answers andjust principles to understand
(06:36):
how scholarships work, and sothe course is laid out in sort
of three ways, and that's whatyou'll see.
You can go to the website andsee you and see each title of
the three sections.
And the first section is thesystem, and that's understanding
financial aid and scholarshipsin the collegiate arena in the
US.
It is a big beast, and so howdo you understand when someone
(06:59):
says financial aid, what doesthat even mean?
When someone says scholarship,what does that really mean?
And then, after the systemunderstanding the system, then
also understanding the secretshow do you find scholarship?
What are the secrets to that?
And we can talk a little bitmore about that.
And then, thirdly, the strategy.
How do I set up my child, orhow, as a student, do I set
(07:23):
myself up for success, toactually apply and successfully
work through getting thosescholarships?
Because it's not enough to meto tell you the secrets if you
don't have a strategy for how toactually follow through.
And so there's a workbookincluded.
There's a lot of bonusesincluded, everything from terms
and definitions, all in some 529insights, also to an entire PDF
(07:47):
that includes appeal lettertemplates.
So if you are a family that'soverseas and you need help
appealing your residency forin-state, if you're here or
wherever you are in the worldand you've had a major change in
your job or a medical situationor just some extenuating
circumstances.
Then there's different appealletter templates for those types
(08:08):
of situations.
So I've tried to really givefamilies what I know you're
asking me all the time and havefor almost 10 years, and so
anything I can do to help makethat transition a little bit
easier and give you thevocabulary to work has been the
goal of the course.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, that's great Really comprehensive and pulling
everything together in one spot, so saving parents lots of time
, it sounds like.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
So tell us a little bit more about the secrets.
One of the things I found withscholarships was really students
feeling like there were, youknow, sort of some myths around
it, and the two main ones areone I make too much money, you
know, no one's going to considerme for scholarships.
And two and this is reallycommon with a lot of students
and it's valid is I don't havetime.
I don't have 20 hours a week to, you know, try to find some
(09:01):
scholarships, and so there'ssome strategies in there for
that.
But I think the biggest secretthat I've found for scholarships
really is specificity, andthat's one of the biggest things
that you know students look forall these huge, you know
$25,000 and there's nothingwrong with that.
But really drilling down andreally narrowing down with some
(09:23):
specifics will really help youidentify some scholarships that
are good for you as anindividual.
And when you look at how thefinancial aid system works, that
specificity really is yoursecret sauce.
And that goes with FAFSA, thatgoes with scholarships within
the university, that goes withscholarships that you may look
(09:44):
for.
I mean, I know when I was inhigh school I was left-handed
and I applied for thatscholarship.
You know just those types ofspecific things.
And, of course, if you knowyour major, that can be helpful.
But you don't really have toknow your major.
There's a lot of specificscholarships for certain
residents of the state.
There's specific scholarshipssometimes endowed for regions or
(10:06):
counties, and then there's alsoones for industries that are a
little bit broader, like pre-medor pharmacy or psychology.
They don't have to be supernarrowed down to chemical
engineering, although there arethose types of things.
And then I think reallyunderstanding whether you know
your major or not yourself andthat's part of the whole
(10:30):
workbook that's included isreally identifying those
specific things that are for you.
That will help you findscholarships.
And that's what I love aboutthe whole concept of financial
aid is that no matter how manykids you have in your family,
they are eligible for differentscholarships just because of who
they are.
Now, some of them may be thesame, just based on some basic
(10:53):
things like maybe all of yourkids are super, you know,
academically wired, or maybe allof your kids have love and are
participating in communityservice.
Well, there's opportunitiesthere for them.
I know I work with a lot ofTCKs and I mean there's major
shipping companies that havemoving scholarships.
(11:14):
Well, I mean, that's a secretthat students need to be aware
of, and that's the kind of thingthat really taking a few
minutes will help identify thosespecific things that are good
for you great things to thinkabout.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
I know I found out too late about an add
scholarship for students thatmight have ADD anxiety.
The state of Mississippi givesbull rides and then once you
graduate, they help you find ajob and they stay with you until
you do and I was like wow.
But that may have not been asecret to a lot of Mississippi
(11:52):
residents, but it was to meuntil it was too late for one of
my children.
All right, do you have anystories?
Do you have somebody inparticular in mind that has gone
through the course and it'sreally helped them and you've
seen them be able to financiallymake it through college?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I've had several families.
One set of twins really sticksout and of course, you know, as
normal with twins, they're verydifferent.
You know people, I think a lotof times you're like well,
you're identical, thereforeeverything about you must be and
usually that's completelyuntrue.
You know, the twins are like no, there's nothing similar about
us, maybe except for our faces.
But really helping themidentify their unique
(12:34):
differentiating factors andhelping them do that, and they
found a lot of smaller things,unique differentiating factors
and helping them do that.
And they found a lot of smallerthings.
And that's kind of the premiseof one of.
You know, I think that themyths about scholarships is that
if you can't secure a $25,000or a full ride, then that's the
end of the story, that's the endof the road.
And I'm one that says if youapply for three or four, two,
(12:57):
three $5,000 scholarships, Imean if you got three $5,000
scholarships, that's your roomand board.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
So you know and if you've listened to me for any
amount of time, students, youknow that I have this theory
that if you let's say it's asuper hard scholarship
application and it takes you anhour, a super hard scholarship
application and it takes you anhour because you can reuse your
essay, you can kind of tweaksome things in your essay and
(13:27):
repurpose it for a lot ofdifferent scholarship essays, if
that's even required.
But if you have to do that andsay it takes you an hour, and it
was a $3,000 scholarship, Iwill never make $3,000 an hour
in my lifetime.
I won't.
Stephanie probably will,because she's fabulous, but I
will not make that kind of moneyin an hour.
And so, really, students, youhave to sort of picture it as a
(13:49):
return on your investment, and Ialways encourage students, you
know, spend 30 minutes a day,don't spend any more time than
that on it, because you willburn out and that's not helpful
to you and it's not helpful toyour parents and it's not
helpful to the financialpressure that you may or may not
put on yourself.
And so, really, understandingthat there's a limit we all have
(14:10):
limits, but also that a littlebit of time can yield great
things and I think the otherimportant thing that students
really need to recognize is thatthat time you know an hour,
maybe two hours, on your collegeapplication is also, for a lot
of universities, a scholarshipapplication, and so filling out
your activities, filling outthose optional questions, you
(14:34):
know, why do you want to come toABC University?
What do you value about XYZUniversity those kinds of
questions really do help add inthe money that is potentially
there.
Is it going to be a full ride?
Maybe not, but having thatextra two $3,000 makes a huge
(14:55):
difference and I thinkunderstanding those specific
things for you and then yourability to search well and apply
for those things will only helpyou really piece together those
things for students to reallybe able to fund their college
experience well.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Definitely can be overwhelming if you think of it
as a whole, but just breaking itdown in little steps, everyone
can do it, and especially withyour help.
I know you have many moreresources that you've shared
with us before, but tell uswhere everyone can find the
course and maybe some other ofyour main resources.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You can go to kc360.coco.
So kc360.co, and there's abutton at the top that just says
start navigating, and you cannavigate whatever fits best for
you, and there's several optionsthere for you.
There's some free options, andI think you know what I've
learned over the years as a mom,but also just as a counselor,
(15:54):
is that every family needssomething different at a
different point in time, and soif you feel like you need
something different than yourbest friend or your neighbor or
your cousin, that's okay.
Your situation is going to bedifferent.
Every student that you have isgoing to be different.
If you are not interested indoing, or you're not close to a
(16:15):
senior year point yet, you canlisten to the KC360 podcast for
free, and I try my best to giveadmission tips and tricks in 15
minutes or less, because I dofeel like, again, we're just
overwhelmed.
And so taking those concepts outand really chunking them down
into smaller pieces is onlygoing to help all of us,
(16:36):
including your students, becausethey, for the most part, are
working really hard during theday, and so adding in something
else that they're going toprobably sit in front of the
computer for is a really hardask, and so having those
motivators for them and sit downand have those conversations
with them.
You know, honey, this is howmuch we can financially give
(16:57):
$500, a year or zero.
But helping your studentunderstand a year or zero, but
helping your student understand,you know I will need to make
that.
$5,000 an hour is reallyhelpful so that they understand
from an expectation standpoint,and then other resources that
are in place for them just tohelp them understand that it can
be less overwhelming and lessanxiety driven.
(17:21):
There is an option for that.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Really good, so definitely want to check out
Christy's website this course,her podcast and, most
importantly, lots of prayer,praying for God to guide you and
yeah, it can be really scary,overwhelming choices, but he
always shows his path and I'msure you've seen that in many
(17:45):
families.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
He does and he provides in really creative ways
, and I love that about thewhole process and I think it's
really a great opportunity foryour students to witness that.
So don't delay that opportunityfor them, you know, really allow
them to walk through thatopportunity with them so that
they can see the creativeprovisions.
(18:09):
And, of course, that doesn'tmean we don't do anything.
I think a lot of families andstudents especially think if I
go to college, I shouldn't haveto work for it.
But we're created to work andwe're created to do things and
that's why I encourage studentsto, if they're going to look at
college versus, like you know, atrade school or an
(18:31):
apprenticeship, make sure it'ssomething that you really enjoy,
that you want to get up for inthe morning.
If you don't like microbiology,that's probably not the major
for you and you will not get upin the morning for class and you
will not be motivated to go.
But if there is a major thatyou really enjoy, talk to those
professors and spend time at youknow, virtual college fairs if
(18:54):
you can't go, or college visits,so that the money that you're
spending is an investment in youas much as it is in your
academics.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Good.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us again and sharing,
and if you're listening today, Iknow you probably know someone
to pass this podcast on to aswell.
So please share the North Starnarrative.
We try to have lots ofinformation for you to help you
along your journey anddefinitely share about Christy's
course.
Thank you, christy.
Thank you, thank you so muchfor listening today.
(19:30):
If you have any questions forour guest or would like
information about Northstar,please email us.
At podcast at NSA dot school,we love having guests on our
show and getting to hear theirstories.
If you have anyone in mind thatyou think would be a great
guest to feature, please emailus and let us know.
And don't forget to subscribeso you don't miss out on
(19:52):
upcoming stories.
Hi, this is Stephanie Schaefer and you're listening
to the North Star Narrative, apodcast from North Star Academy.
I want to thank you for joiningus.
I hope you're encouraged,challenged and motivated by what
you learned today.
Enjoy the story.
Hey everybody, thanks forjoining me today.
We have a guest with us that hasbeen here previously in the
(00:24):
spring of 2024.
Her episode actually aired onApril 3rd and you'll definitely
want to check that out.
This is kind of like a part twowith Christy still, but the one
in April was navigating thecollege admission season, so we
spent a lot of time talkingabout questions that a lot of
parents and students have, andso you definitely want to check
(00:45):
that out.
But today we're going to focuson scholarships, which is also
super important, and we need allthe tips we can get as parents
and students.
But Christy has created acourse Unlock the Secrets to
Scholarships for College, and soshe's going to give us some
tips today and just tell us alittle bit about how this course
(01:05):
can help you, and maybe you'llwant to check it out and enroll.
So, christy, thanks so much forjoining us again today.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Thank you.
It's so fun to be a part of NSAin such a varied way.
I have a lot of students thatparticipate in what you guys do
and they they just continuallyimpressed me, not only with
their academic rigor, but alsojust their general knowledge of
maturity and growth andprogression and maturity.
So you guys are doing a greatjob.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, I brag on our students all the time and it's
always fun.
We have a lot of students comeon and we get to highlight all
that you just shared about them.
All right, so let's jump intoscholarships and your course and
, yeah, previous podcast.
But what makes you qualified toreally help parents find the
right scholarship for theirstudent?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
for a private Christian university for about
almost five years and then nowhave been an independent
counselor for almost five years,and so have almost a decade of
parents asking me how do I payfor college?
And that's a valid question.
I have high schoolers as wellas a mom and it's a question
that you know all of us areasking how do we do this?
And especially this past year,I think, as we really come out
of, you know, that COVID bubblethat I think you know, for two
(02:48):
or three years we all felt Ireally began to see that I had
more opportunities to dofinancial aid presentations but
really felt like I was doingfamilies a disservice by not
giving more.
And the problem is you can'treally give more in like an hour
, you know, give time for thepresentation and then question
(03:09):
and answers, and every familyhas different circumstances and
I know you know probably by andlarge you as a family, when
you're listening, know that.
But I think no matter where youare in the world, you kind of
feel like there could be somesimilarities.
But really financial aidpackages don't happen in
isolation with universities andso when you talk about money in
(03:31):
college, how do you understandthat?
And it is kind of like startinga new job there's a whole
different vocabulary and a wholedifferent system to learn.
So that's really why I startedScholarship Secrets, because
after almost a decade of reallyworking with families and that
being the one main driver iscost, you know, as an
(03:54):
independent counselor I feellike the community that your
kids are going to be a part ofreally should have more
precedent than cost.
But I also understand you can'tget to that community unless you
understand how you're going tofund it, and so there is a
little chicken and egg thinghappening there, and so that was
the genesis behind why I reallylooked into this more and felt
(04:18):
like families needed more help,because even if you have a great
guidance counselor and you guysdo Tasha there still are a lot
of questions that even she can'tanswer because they're so
unique and expert to your familyalone.
And so I've taken what I'velearned over the last 10 years
(04:40):
and then attended, with thechanges with FAFSA, a lot of
webinars this year on thosechanges, and I think this year
you'll see the release now ispushed to December 1st and I
think you'll see a lot ofpositive things from that.
I don't think it'll behiccup-less, but I do think that
families understanding theirfinancial aid position and what
(05:04):
that means for them, and justunderstanding the system of it
will really be helpful.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Well, thank you so much for creating this class and
keeping everybody up to date.
So if someone enrolls, what arethey going to see?
How long will it take to gothrough?
What kind of tips Just explainto us, or parents listening,
that might be interested.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Well, as a high school parent myself, I'm very
sensitive to the fact that Idon't have a lot of extra income
.
Especially if you have a senior, you're spending a lot of money
on applications and test scoresand just maybe college visits.
It's like you're just alreadyspending a lot of money and also
just time.
I think anyone listening canidentify with the fact that
(05:48):
we're just overwhelmed.
And so my goal was really toinform in an efficient way.
It does not include the kitchensink.
It's a self-paced course thatreally you could probably finish
in a day, like on a Saturday,but also can go further if you
want it to, and so you couldfinish it in a month, you could
finish it in six months, youcould finish it in a day, but it
(06:11):
is self-paced so that you cankind of decide how and when you
want to work through it.
And then I also tried my bestto make it affordable.
So it's $97.
It felt like you know there's alot of information out there on
the web.
But really what families, whatI?
From the questions that I get,stephanie, I felt like families
just needed basic answers andjust principles to understand
(06:36):
how scholarships work, and sothe course is laid out in sort
of three ways, and that's whatyou'll see.
You can go to the website andsee you and see each title of
the three sections.
And the first section is thesystem, and that's understanding
financial aid and scholarshipsin the collegiate arena in the
US.
It is a big beast, and so howdo you understand when someone
(06:59):
says financial aid, what doesthat even mean?
When someone says scholarship,what does that really mean?
And then, after the systemunderstanding the system, then
also understanding the secretshow do you find scholarship?
What are the secrets to that?
And we can talk a little bitmore about that.
And then, thirdly, the strategy.
How do I set up my child, orhow, as a student, do I set
(07:23):
myself up for success, toactually apply and successfully
work through getting thosescholarships?
Because it's not enough to meto tell you the secrets if you
don't have a strategy for how toactually follow through.
And so there's a workbookincluded.
There's a lot of bonusesincluded, everything from terms
and definitions, all in some 529insights, also to an entire PDF
(07:47):
that includes appeal lettertemplates.
So if you are a family that'soverseas and you need help
appealing your residency forin-state, if you're here or
wherever you are in the worldand you've had a major change in
your job or a medical situationor just some extenuating
circumstances.
Then there's different appealletter templates for those types
(08:08):
of situations.
So I've tried to really givefamilies what I know you're
asking me all the time and havefor almost 10 years, and so
anything I can do to help makethat transition a little bit
easier and give you thevocabulary to work has been the
goal of the course.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, that's great Really comprehensive and pulling
everything together in one spot, so saving parents lots of time
, it sounds like.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
So tell us a little bit more about the secrets.
One of the things I found withscholarships was really students
feeling like there were, youknow, sort of some myths around
it, and the two main ones areone I make too much money, you
know, no one's going to considerme for scholarships.
And two and this is reallycommon with a lot of students
and it's valid is I don't havetime.
I don't have 20 hours a week to, you know, try to find some
(09:01):
scholarships, and so there'ssome strategies in there for
that.
But I think the biggest secretthat I've found for scholarships
really is specificity, andthat's one of the biggest things
that you know students look forall these huge, you know
$25,000 and there's nothingwrong with that.
But really drilling down andreally narrowing down with some
(09:23):
specifics will really help youidentify some scholarships that
are good for you as anindividual.
And when you look at how thefinancial aid system works, that
specificity really is yoursecret sauce.
And that goes with FAFSA, thatgoes with scholarships within
the university, that goes withscholarships that you may look
(09:44):
for.
I mean, I know when I was inhigh school I was left-handed
and I applied for thatscholarship.
You know just those types ofspecific things.
And, of course, if you knowyour major, that can be helpful.
But you don't really have toknow your major.
There's a lot of specificscholarships for certain
residents of the state.
There's specific scholarshipssometimes endowed for regions or
(10:06):
counties, and then there's alsoones for industries that are a
little bit broader, like pre-medor pharmacy or psychology.
They don't have to be supernarrowed down to chemical
engineering, although there arethose types of things.
And then I think reallyunderstanding whether you know
your major or not yourself andthat's part of the whole
(10:30):
workbook that's included isreally identifying those
specific things that are for you.
That will help you findscholarships.
And that's what I love aboutthe whole concept of financial
aid is that no matter how manykids you have in your family,
they are eligible for differentscholarships just because of who
they are.
Now, some of them may be thesame, just based on some basic
(10:53):
things like maybe all of yourkids are super, you know,
academically wired, or maybe allof your kids have love and are
participating in communityservice.
Well, there's opportunitiesthere for them.
I know I work with a lot ofTCKs and I mean there's major
shipping companies that havemoving scholarships.
(11:14):
Well, I mean, that's a secretthat students need to be aware
of, and that's the kind of thingthat really taking a few
minutes will help identify thosespecific things that are good
for you great things to thinkabout.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
I know I found out too late about an add
scholarship for students thatmight have ADD anxiety.
The state of Mississippi givesbull rides and then once you
graduate, they help you find ajob and they stay with you until
you do and I was like wow.
But that may have not been asecret to a lot of Mississippi
(11:52):
residents, but it was to meuntil it was too late for one of
my children.
All right, do you have anystories?
Do you have somebody inparticular in mind that has gone
through the course and it'sreally helped them and you've
seen them be able to financiallymake it through college?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I've had several families.
One set of twins really sticksout and of course, you know, as
normal with twins, they're verydifferent.
You know people, I think a lotof times you're like well,
you're identical, thereforeeverything about you must be and
usually that's completelyuntrue.
You know, the twins are like no, there's nothing similar about
us, maybe except for our faces.
But really helping themidentify their unique
(12:34):
differentiating factors andhelping them do that, and they
found a lot of smaller things,unique differentiating factors
and helping them do that.
And they found a lot of smallerthings.
And that's kind of the premiseof one of.
You know, I think that themyths about scholarships is that
if you can't secure a $25,000or a full ride, then that's the
end of the story, that's the endof the road.
And I'm one that says if youapply for three or four, two,
(12:57):
three $5,000 scholarships, Imean if you got three $5,000
scholarships, that's your roomand board.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
So you know and if you've listened to me for any
amount of time, students, youknow that I have this theory
that if you let's say it's asuper hard scholarship
application and it takes you anhour, a super hard scholarship
application and it takes you anhour because you can reuse your
essay, you can kind of tweaksome things in your essay and
(13:27):
repurpose it for a lot ofdifferent scholarship essays, if
that's even required.
But if you have to do that andsay it takes you an hour, and it
was a $3,000 scholarship, Iwill never make $3,000 an hour
in my lifetime.
I won't.
Stephanie probably will,because she's fabulous, but I
will not make that kind of moneyin an hour.
And so, really, students, youhave to sort of picture it as a
(13:49):
return on your investment, and Ialways encourage students, you
know, spend 30 minutes a day,don't spend any more time than
that on it, because you willburn out and that's not helpful
to you and it's not helpful toyour parents and it's not
helpful to the financialpressure that you may or may not
put on yourself.
And so, really, understandingthat there's a limit we all have
(14:10):
limits, but also that a littlebit of time can yield great
things and I think the otherimportant thing that students
really need to recognize is thatthat time you know an hour,
maybe two hours, on your collegeapplication is also, for a lot
of universities, a scholarshipapplication, and so filling out
your activities, filling outthose optional questions, you
(14:34):
know, why do you want to come toABC University?
What do you value about XYZUniversity those kinds of
questions really do help add inthe money that is potentially
there.
Is it going to be a full ride?
Maybe not, but having thatextra two $3,000 makes a huge
(14:55):
difference and I thinkunderstanding those specific
things for you and then yourability to search well and apply
for those things will only helpyou really piece together those
things for students to reallybe able to fund their college
experience well.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Definitely can be overwhelming if you think of it
as a whole, but just breaking itdown in little steps, everyone
can do it, and especially withyour help.
I know you have many moreresources that you've shared
with us before, but tell uswhere everyone can find the
course and maybe some other ofyour main resources.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You can go to kc360.coco.
So kc360.co, and there's abutton at the top that just says
start navigating, and you cannavigate whatever fits best for
you, and there's several optionsthere for you.
There's some free options, andI think you know what I've
learned over the years as a mom,but also just as a counselor,
(15:54):
is that every family needssomething different at a
different point in time, and soif you feel like you need
something different than yourbest friend or your neighbor or
your cousin, that's okay.
Your situation is going to bedifferent.
Every student that you have isgoing to be different.
If you are not interested indoing, or you're not close to a
(16:15):
senior year point yet, you canlisten to the KC360 podcast for
free, and I try my best to giveadmission tips and tricks in 15
minutes or less, because I dofeel like, again, we're just
overwhelmed.
And so taking those concepts outand really chunking them down
into smaller pieces is onlygoing to help all of us,
(16:36):
including your students, becausethey, for the most part, are
working really hard during theday, and so adding in something
else that they're going toprobably sit in front of the
computer for is a really hardask, and so having those
motivators for them and sit downand have those conversations
with them.
You know, honey, this is howmuch we can financially give
(16:57):
$500, a year or zero.
But helping your studentunderstand a year or zero, but
helping your student understand,you know I will need to make
that.
$5,000 an hour is reallyhelpful so that they understand
from an expectation standpoint,and then other resources that
are in place for them just tohelp them understand that it can
be less overwhelming and lessanxiety driven.
(17:21):
There is an option for that.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Really good, so definitely want to check out
Christy's website this course,her podcast and, most
importantly, lots of prayer,praying for God to guide you and
yeah, it can be really scary,overwhelming choices, but he
always shows his path and I'msure you've seen that in many
(17:45):
families.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
He does and he provides in really creative ways
, and I love that about thewhole process and I think it's
really a great opportunity foryour students to witness that.
So don't delay that opportunityfor them, you know, really allow
them to walk through thatopportunity with them so that
they can see the creativeprovisions.
(18:09):
And, of course, that doesn'tmean we don't do anything.
I think a lot of families andstudents especially think if I
go to college, I shouldn't haveto work for it.
But we're created to work andwe're created to do things and
that's why I encourage studentsto, if they're going to look at
college versus, like you know, atrade school or an
(18:31):
apprenticeship, make sure it'ssomething that you really enjoy,
that you want to get up for inthe morning.
If you don't like microbiology,that's probably not the major
for you and you will not get upin the morning for class and you
will not be motivated to go.
But if there is a major thatyou really enjoy, talk to those
professors and spend time at youknow, virtual college fairs if
(18:54):
you can't go, or college visits,so that the money that you're
spending is an investment in youas much as it is in your
academics.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Good.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us again and sharing,
and if you're listening today, Iknow you probably know someone
to pass this podcast on to aswell.
So please share the North Starnarrative.
We try to have lots ofinformation for you to help you
along your journey anddefinitely share about Christy's
course.
Thank you, christy.
Thank you, thank you so muchfor listening today.
(19:30):
If you have any questions forour guest or would like
information about Northstar,please email us.
At podcast at NSA dot school,we love having guests on our
show and getting to hear theirstories.
If you have anyone in mind thatyou think would be a great
guest to feature, please emailus and let us know.
And don't forget to subscribeso you don't miss out on
(19:52):
upcoming stories.
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