Are you planning for college like it's still 2005?

Remember when college applications meant taking the SAT and waiting for brochures to arrive in your mailbox? That world is long gone. Today's college admissions landscape has transformed into something barely recognizable to those of us who went through it decades ago.

Shaquita Basileo, a seasoned college admissions coach and proud graduate of Florida A&M University and Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, pulls back the curtain on what's really happening in college admissions today. With the timeline shifting dramatically earlier—applications now happening at the end of junior year rather than senior year—families need to start planning for college as early as freshman year. Even those reliable state schools that were once considered "safety schools" have become fiercely competitive.

The heart of a successful application today? A compelling story. "Your application needs to tell a story," Shaquita emphasizes. This narrative connects the dots between a student's experiences, interests, and future goals in a way that demonstrates genuine passion and commitment. Admissions officers, overwhelmed with applications, often only have time to read the first paragraph of an essay—making a powerful, coherent narrative essential for standing out.

For parents worried their teen hasn't found their passion yet, Shaquita offers practical advice on sparking interest and building a compelling application regardless. She also tackles tough questions: Is college still worth the investment? (Yes, but with a strategic plan.) Why are HBCUs becoming more competitive? (They're proving their value and creating supportive environments.) What additional considerations should families with disabled students keep in mind? (Start early and learn about available accommodations.)

Whether your teen is approaching college age or you're planning years ahead, this episode provides the insider knowledge you need to navigate this new landscape successfully. Subscribe, share with other parents, and start reimagining your approach to college admissions today. The landscape has changed—and now you're equipped to change with it.

For links and the transcript, visit wokehomeschooling.com/podcast

Transcript

College Admissions Has Changed Dramatically

Delina 0:00

Are your teens thinking about college? Are you thinking about how your kids will navigate the college admissions road? Welcome to Homeschool Yourself. I'm your host, delena. If there's one thing that's changed in the world since I was a teen, well, besides smartphones, the internet and, okay, everything but seriously getting into college, I had no idea how much it changed. There's been a world of change in this. There's been a world of change, and this is an area where those of us with teens need to homeschool ourselves. If your teen's future includes college, this is an area where we have to learn a lot, and, guys, it's a lot. I invited a college admissions coach to talk to us about everything that's different in college admissions and everything that we need to be thinking about in order to coach our kids into college. Take a listen. There's valuable information here. Hi Shakita, welcome to Homeschool Yourself. I would love it if you would introduce yourself. Welcome to.

Shaquita 1:05

Homeschool Yourself. I would love it if you would introduce yourself. Hi, I am Shaquita Basilio. I am a tutor, educator and college admissions coach. I am a proud graduate of Florida A&M University and Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. I've had about 10 years of experience doing admissions consulting and support. I started out doing graduate school business school admissions consulting, which was a paid gig, and now I work to support families, underrepresented minorities and young people in their quest to be accepted to the college in their dreams.

Delina 1:51

Awesome, I love that. Now tell me now, way back when, in the 1900s, when we went to college, like the landscape has changed dramatically. So tell me what? What are some of the things that, um, people our age, maybe they didn't go to college, or maybe they went to college way back when we did some. What are some of the ways that, um, they're going to find this, this space, different than they?

Shaquita 2:21

Completely different, yeah, so, yes, ours was so simple, right, we went, we took the SAT, the ACT or the PSAT. Um, and then all of a sudden, brochures just showed up at our house and we picked the one that looked like it was in the warm climate and said that's where I'm going to school, right? Um, and it was pretty, pretty simple and straightforward, and now it is far more competitive. Um, you know, we, when we apply for school, we apply primarily senior year. I remember it was December, january, when I was submitting college applications. Now, admissions happen earlier in, earlier in the cycle End of junior year, that summer, between junior and senior year, and, truthfully, by the time you get to November, you're almost too late.

Shaquita 3:07

The state schools that used to be, you know, the most reliable schools, where you know that was your backup plan, right, those are now truly competitive and there's several reasons for that. The first one that comes to my mind is scholarship offerings. So you have states like Louisiana and Georgia and Florida who have really made some efforts to keep their talent in state and not lose them, right? So they say you know, oh, you get a 21 or 22 or 23 on your ACT or you know a certain score on your SAT and you're guaranteed in-state tuition coverage, and so there's no reason for those students to leave. But now all those students are competing for the state schools and that's really changed the game.

Shaquita 3:57

The other thing is that the Potter scholarship money is smaller and it goes sooner and it goes truly early, and the best example I give for that is my own alma mater and when I went to FAMU I got my scholarship at school. Actually, I wasn't even at school the day I was given my scholarship. My guidance counselor put my name in a pot and I was one of the students who met the requirements for GPA and SAT to get a full ride to FAMU. Now I would not qualify for that scholarship. The GPA requirement has increased so I would not be eligible. There's that.

Shaquita 4:39

But also I had a young lady who was really interested in going to FAMU and I called in September thinking we're plenty early for her to get scholarship money and the woman in admissions told me she needs to be accepted to the university by mid-October in order to be considered for scholarships. That was accepted, not applying accepted, and so we have to shift our mindset that admissions does not happen during your senior year and, in truth, preparing for college admissions starts freshman year of college and we need to be ready to go yes, I'm sorry, high school. Yes, we need to be ready to go at the end of junior year that we're submitting applications, essays are drafted, recommendations are in hand. It is truly, the timeline has truly shifted and the competitive nature of the state schools is very different now than what we're used to.

Delina 5:40

Wow, I'm going to try not to have a panic attack during this interview because my son is a junior and, yes, I'm just going to take it slow, take deep breaths. Yeah, so competitiveness and the timeline has shifted. And what about this landscape? I keep saying landscape, but this, this industry that has cropped up around college admissions.

Shaquita 6:11

Yeah, so as parents have become busier, as we're already stressed, right, you just mentioned that Try not to have a panic attack, right?

Announcer 6:20

We've all the other things that are already on our plates.

Shaquita 6:24

This field of college admissions consulting has become more prominent, kind of seizing on that opportunity to take the work off the plate of parents and families to be able to guide them through this process.

Shaquita 6:37

That's a little bit rougher and more difficult than what we remember or know about, and so there are there, and there, to be very honest, there's different ways that college admissions consultants and guidance pops up. And the other thing I want to add to that too is the other reason is that where I mentioned my guidance counselor was the one who got my scholarship for me and helped me we have a shortage of guidance counselors in the schools. Right, and they are still dealing with post COVID trauma and the trauma that was already there. Right, they're still trying to help students just graduate through high school or get kids fed or deal with mental health challenges that they don't have the capacity to be able to give students the college guidance that we used to be able to get to back in, back in, you know, a long time ago. And so this, these college admissions- time ago wait, wait, wait.

Shaquita 7:35

Right, we were writing our applications on rock, so these admissions consultants.

Shaquita 7:42

They kind of popped up to fill the void for families and they show up in different ways. There are paid consultants who you can expect to pay about $10,000 to be able to guide your child through crafting essays, determining who's the right person for their recommendations, creating their list of activities or their resume, prepping them for interviews, and so that's where you've seen them kind of try to fill in that void. But there's other ways to get support that don't have to look like $10,000, right.

Shaquita 8:18

So there are some other places, there are some consulting groups that will do, you know, just have like a Facebook private group where you may pay a small fee to get in and get that access or get some structure around your college admissions process but also connect to other parents.

Shaquita 8:35

And then let's not forget that there are free communities that are on Facebook. I know there's one that's HBCU Scholarships and that's a great parent community where it's free and sometimes you just listening to other parents or seeing what other parents are going through and students are experiencing the schools that they are having you know great contact with, or schools that are non-responsive. That's helping you be able to build kind of that information find out about. You know admissions fair, college admissions fairs, or you know virtual events or even local events to get more information about schools. So it truly is an information gathering experience trying to get ready for college now, rather than you know you just waiting for brochures to show up at your door, because that doesn't happen anymore, rather than you know you just waiting for brochures to show up at your door, because that doesn't happen anymore.

Delina 9:27

Wow, wow. So what do you think makes a strong application?

Building a Strong College Application Story

Shaquita 9:38

So this is this is my strongest word, for this is a story, a story, a story. Yes, your application needs to tell a story. When I say that, I mean the dots need to connect. So I have one student I always talk about. I won't say her name, but she was accepted to. I wouldn't even say it was a school of her dreams. It was a school that she didn't even, it wasn't even on her radar, that she didn't even think was something she could achieve.

Shaquita 10:07

And I think about how her story made sense. So she suffered anxiety when she was making the transition between middle and high school and her family got her a therapy dog and this dog was, I mean, she would take this, the dog came to school, but sit in this high school that I taught in. The school would come. The dog would come, I'm sorry to school, lay next to her, spend the day with her, and it was such a life-changing experience for her that she decided to go train therapy dogs for other people. And so when you and then when she started thinking about going to school and what am I going to school for? You know, I'm thinking about mental health and how I support people and what I can do down the road. So you take these dots and you connect them. You know what am I? I don't just choose out of the thin air that I'm going to go, you know, major in. I don't know environmental science just because it sounds cool, or it looks cool, or oh, I like animals. It's a different thing to be able to say you know, I've spent my summers caring for animals at our local zoo. You know I've already put in the effort and the time and making that connection to an admissions counselor that I'm truly passionate about what I want to do.

Shaquita 11:27

There's two things I think about when I think about why a story is so important. One college admissions staff have to hold certain numbers, right. They have to admit students who are going to finish, they may, they want the money. Right, they the, the, the money is. You know, you're going to come, you're going to write a check, you're going to do all that. But the end of the day, what's my graduation rate, what's my retention rate? Right.

Shaquita 11:55

And so if I'm just accepting students who are coming because mom and dad said I had to go because it looked cool, because my girlfriend is coming to, you know, university of Texas or University of Florida oh, it's warm here. I want to get away from home. That doesn't signal to me that you are passionate about your education, that you're going to put in the extra work when it gets tough. When you tell me I've been dedicating the last two to three years of my life for a certain experience or a certain you know goal, then that says to me you're going to come, you're going to do the work, you're going to contribute to my community. Because it's not just this is I'm not just giving you a degree right, I need you to come and I need you to connect with faculty and make my school look great by awards and honors and going out and speaking at conferences. And then, as an alum, who's going to give back? Right, because they're not just looking at the four years of dollars you're giving them, you know, for the degree, you're going to be a successful alum and you're going to give back. That's the very first thing I think about with why that story is so important.

Shaquita 12:58

The second thing I think about is we talked about how competitive the landscape is and how many students are applying to these schools. So that's the other thing. Right, you've got this huge. You got more students applying to school. You've got, um, you know, a larger population, right, and you have students that are international, that are coming in, that can apply to our schools.

Shaquita 13:17

I remember when I was in um in grad school, there was uh, one of the admissions people Now this was a grad school there was, uh, one of the admissions people now this was a grad school, but, um, bear with me, he was. He was leaving to go home and he had one of those rolly suitcases, like the carry-on suitcase, and he's like walking to the elevator and I'm like, hey, you know, I was like are you? You know what's all that like, are you going on a trip? And he said, no, these are applications. I take this home with me and I've got to get through these applications.

Shaquita 13:48

You know, it's a short period of time, right, and I'm thinking he is not reading all that tonight. He's gonna read them, right, he is not. He is not getting through all that. What he might get through is the first paragraph, and if that first paragraph and that first piece of application is not capturing him, that application is going to the side and it's done, right, and so we can't just put out these little applications like we used to do, you know. So it has to have. It has to have a story of initiative, of leadership, of passion, of who am I and that I'm going to come to your school, I'm going to have a transformative experience and I'm going to contribute back to this school in some way and I'm going to be successful. That's what a strong college application looks like, in my opinion.

Delina 14:46

Wow, Wow. But okay, I'm going to say what I think many parents of teens might be thinking my child is a teen and they're not passionate about much.

Announcer 15:01

Tell the truth or they're not.

Delina 15:02

You know they're're not gonna have like three years of. You know, I volunteered here because this specific I mean it's hard enough to say, okay, choose a major think about what career you might want to have in the next 10 20 years so what do?

Shaquita 15:20

we do, so you, you say it as if I'm not. I'm not in the choir with you, right? I'm over here with my sophomore daughter in the same bucket, who doesn't even want to think about college, right? And the one thing I want to say, though, is don't panic, and it's not too late, right? So there's a, there's a few different things that I suggest. You know, I think, trying to work to get them excited in the, in the, in the subtle ways. We've had to do that, right. We had to do that with vegetables. We've had to do that with, you know, getting your homework done all those things.

Shaquita 15:54

So I think there are ways to get them excited about the possibility of school and then and I think some of that comes with connecting them to students already so that they can see like, oh, this is what you know, oh, this is what you did when you applied and you know things like that. So for me it's visiting campuses, meeting students that come when they come back from college, things like that, to try to kind of build up that, that interest and desire. It's not too late, you know. I think that you can craft a story. It's going to take a little bit and it may take some deep digging on both the parent and teens part to say you know what? There is a little bit of thread here. You know you've done, you've done this sport or this activity. What made you do that sport or activity Can? Is this something you can do when you get to this, to get to college intramural or professional, you know whatever NCAA, whatever um to make those connections and and try to build that story.

Shaquita 16:50

But there's also other things, like there are schools that don't. You know they aren't as passionate about that. It may be looking at some of the smaller schools that aren't necessarily on um everybody's radar. You know, maybe it's not. You know, um, I don't know. Maybe it's not. You know, I don't know, maybe it's not UT Austin, it's. You know, ut in a smaller place or somewhere like that, where you're going to get just as great education but it's not going to be as competitive.

The True ROI of College Education Today

Shaquita 17:14

But I also say this let the school tell you no, you know, even though your student may not feel like I can get into that school, still apply. You know the application fees they can add up. You know you have to be mindful of that. There's ways to get waivers. But let the school tell your child no, don't take that opportunity away from them because you don't think that their package is strong enough or take the time to bolster it up. You know there are there's a ton of pre-summer programs available for students at colleges that they can experience and also may help build up their interest. I know we did one this past summer for writing for my daughter and now all of a sudden she keeps mentioning that school. You know that school.

Shaquita 18:00

So it's not the school I necessarily wanted her to think about, but she's at least talking a little bit about college. So there's ways like that. You know, if you can get like to get them connected into something that's happening on a college campus, we're not going to be the ones to convince them completely. I think you know, like I said, you use those subtle kind of resources around you to get them to kind of build their interest and then trigger that oh, I need to start doing these things.

Delina 18:29

so that I have a strong college application. That's good advice. That's good advice Now, if you need someone to. You mentioned $10,000 before, but if you need someone, to help you with essays. Do you recommend that? Do you recommend like someone who helps your student craft these essays and craft the story?

Shaquita 18:48

That's not my first recommendation, no, um, so there are. So, first off, let's say we are we. We are very fortunate that we are in the age of the internet. There are a ton. Don't do that y'all. But there are resources online to help with like crafting the crafting essays. That's just a Google search. You know college essay support or recommendations or things like that. There's one. I follow the college essay guy. I think he's got some pretty good tips and tricks about how to write college applications.

Shaquita 19:31

I think that you get connected to those free groups. I mentioned the HBCU parent community. There's the Common Black College app has a parent community. That's also on Facebook. I think there's that.

Shaquita 19:45

I do small groups of students together and there are a few of us out there who do that, who do those small groups less expensive options where we're just bringing together kids to be able to connect with one another, to support each other through the journey and learn from each other. Maybe you visited FAMU and maybe you visited Georgia Tech or something and maybe we can talk about it. What did you see? What did you experience? But I don't think that the $10,000 route is the way to go. First, I think.

Shaquita 20:17

I think that the students who need the greatest support and help really aren't in a position to pay $10,000. Right, that's not what we're trying to just pay for tuition, you know. We're trying to save up for that. So, to the extent that we can use free resources, they are out there. Grab a book, grab, you know. Get together with a group of parents that you can sit down and support and help each other through the process. What have you heard? What have you learned? You know, I don't think that that needs to be the way to go. Local sororities actually, one of the local sororities here does college admission support and help with guiding kids through the process, and so you can reach out to them. Do you have a group? Do you have, you know, a young mentor group that you do to be able to help students through the college application process? There's definitely other resources that we can use for that.

Delina 21:05

Yes, that's good to know. So do you still think college is so expensive? Do you still think it's a good investment?

Shaquita 21:12

You know I have toyed with this question myself over the last couple of years. As I look at, the tuition rates rise. I think, yes, with a plan, that's my stance on it and what that means is that we don't get to just go to college to explore anymore. And I say that as I'm not sure that for you know, black, brown families, that that was ever an option to just go and explore. But it's most certainly not an option now.

Shaquita 21:51

You know, when I look at college tuitions in state where I live, the state school the tuition is $11,000 a year. The state school, the tuition is $11,000 a year, and then that's not counting. You know, room and board, getting them home from school, things like that. And I don't think that we have the luxury to go to college and just say I'm just going to choose a major, you know my junior year or my, you know at some other point, because and just learn right, I think you really do need to say what am I going to school for? Am I going for a, you know, a major that is going to be lucrative on the end. So you know, am I going to school for psychology or literature? Like that's not really an option, right?

Announcer 22:39

Art history right.

Shaquita 22:40

What's the plan here? Yep, you need to get internships. You cannot go and just chill in the summer. That's not an option. One of the things I think one of the biggest mistakes we make is telling students that a college degree is enough. In truth, you still need work experience, right, and you need work experience in your field. You going, coming home and working at Old Navy in the summer that's not going to cut it, right, unless that's what you're going to do, right, but that's not. That's not ideal. You need to be. You know. Your hustle needs to start with those summer internships, all four or all three summers, however many you're there. Right, you need to get, you need to have a plan.

Shaquita 23:20

You know, on average, we're still in a place where people who have a college degree will earn more on average, right, but that amount I think it's about 160,000, but that's over the lifetime, right? So that amount is really starting to narrow over the lifetime, right? So that amount is really starting to narrow. I don't think it's about the financial return on investment. I think it's about the options. I think a college degree still gives you options that someone who doesn't have one doesn't have. I think about things like, you know federal government jobs. They still require a bachelor's degree. It doesn't matter what that bachelor's degree is in, but they require it. Are you going to go back and get one? Is it harder for you to get one as an adult, when you probably started a family or something like that? Even substitute teaching in a lot of states requires having a bachelor's degree. So can you you even at you know, when you, you know, when we're starting to think about having needing flexibility because you started a family, do you have the option of even being able to do something like that?

Shaquita 24:28

I think there's still a level of credibility that a college degree offers that says I can learn, because that's truthfully, all it comes down to, right is I am capable of learning information and being able to use it. I think a college degree gives you a network that, to be honest, a lot of us don't have, you know, before we get to that point. So it does give us a professional network In a lot of ways, though I don't think it's enough. I think that for a lot of families, a college degree is the first step and then the graduate degree is a necessity for most fields, right, and so I think, when I think about whether or not, from a financial perspective, it's a good investment. I think you need to gun for scholarships for undergrad to make it worthwhile, because you are likely going to need to go to grad school. That's the way I think about it when I think about return on investment.

Shaquita 25:30

The one place, though, that I will say that I am seeing where I am starting to see and feel more of a waste of dollars is how you go to school. So, living on campus, you know we, we've often said like, oh, you want to go live on campus. So you get to, you know you, you become an adult and have to do things on your own, and things like that. Living on campus, that's the piece that nobody is really talking about. It's insanely expensive. So, again, I go back to my state $11,000 and say listen.

Delina 26:04

I need them to go spread their wings, OK they do need to spread their wings.

Shaquita 26:09

So here's another thing I'm seeing and I've seen this with families who are thinking a little bit more are thinking like forward thought, thinking about how they go away in a way that's more lucrative. So things like do you, should you buy a property rather than wasting money on a dorm? Does it make sense to get a small condo where they can rent out other rooms to somebody else? That, to me, is where I'm seeing a lot of waste is how are you going to school and then, and, and you know, are you throwing away dollars with things like that and then not being smart about how you know? Are you throwing away dollars with things like that and then not being smart about how I'm coming home or when I'm coming home? That's the wasteful piece. So we, we, we need to budget college in the way that we budget the rest of our lives and that's the way I think that we keep that, that we achieve kind of that return on investment. But college itself, yes, with a plan achieve kind of that return on investment.

The Rising Competitiveness of HBCUs

Delina 27:05

But college itself, yes, with a plan, hbcus are becoming more and more competitive.

Shaquita 27:10

Why do you think that is? I'm so glad, I'm so glad, I'm glad, I'm not glad. Actually, I'll take a little bit of that back. I'm going to say why in a minute. The one thing that makes me unhappy about it I think we are recognizing that we need that space, that as Black people, we need to be together and we need to grow from one another, that we are brilliant, we are excelling, we are achieving and, you know, we need to build up our own self-esteem together. And it's so interesting because when I went to grad school, I went to Stanford for grad school and one of my friends who did not attend HBCU undergrad said to me you are the most comfortable person in every room and I'm like that's because I had four years of being able to be comfortable and safe and so I don't care about these people. Like this is this I don't care.

Shaquita 28:12

I am going to be myself, because I've been a been allowed to be myself in a space for four years. I think we're wrecking and you've seen how being yourself, it was enough. It was more than enough, right, it was more than enough, more than enough. And so I think we're recognizing and you've seen how being yourself was enough, it was more than enough, right, it was more than enough, more than enough. And so I think we're starting to recognize that. I think you know I think we have some social media to thank for that that people are being able to see the insight and seeing the experience of being together and what that looks like together and what that looks like. I think that we have. We've proven it, we've proven ourselves.

Shaquita 28:44

You know, when I was first going to go to FAMU, one of my family members said you know well, you need to learn how to operate in a space where, you know, not everybody looks like you. And I really didn't. I was too young to really even think about it or know about it. But now, as an HBCU grad, I also see that that's the most lucrative place for us to be right Companies have. The reality is they have diversity goals, right, hopefully they keep. I mean, I know a lot of them are pulling back their initiatives, right, but still, at the end of the day, they still know that their workplace needs to look diverse, right, they may not want to say it out loud, but they also recognize that there is value in having different people in the room and at the table. And so when they're looking for, you know, black students, where is your biggest pie? I'm going to go to an HBCU. And so when I came out of FAMU and when I've seen other students come out of FAMU they're coming and they've come out with multiple offers. They're coming out with these connections with companies because they're getting the support there are intentional events to help them secure job offers, to get them in front of these companies. Go to a PWI and ask them when's your college fair? Nobody knows. Or your career, I'm sorry, your career fair? Nobody knows if they're even having one that the Black students are even aware of. And so I think that we've, you know, we've kind of we've proven ourselves. We're graduating, you know the greater number of engineers, and then they're getting employed. We're graduating, you know pre-med students and they're getting fed into these, into great med school programs. So we're. We've done the work and now everybody gets to see it, and so we're cashing in and we're getting our students back.

Shaquita 30:32

The one thing that makes me sad about HBCUs being more competitive is that there are students who don't have the grades necessarily coming out of high school, but it doesn't mean that they're not capable of being successful in college, and I've been exposed to a couple. You know they, for whatever reason, haven't gotten the support that they needed. They've been in a school where they don't get support as Black students, and so they may come out with a 2.5 or a 2.6. And I think our HBCUs still need to make space for them, because there's still people that are capable, that are passionate about having a great future. They're passionate about their goals, they're passionate about having an education, but maybe along the way they just didn't get some kind of support or things were happening at home and they just weren't able to have what their ability reflect in their grades, and so I think we need to figure out some kind of way to keep them in our fold. Our HBCUs need to make space for that.

Delina 31:39

So, and probably the story that you write to for college admissions a story about your journey to college makes a big difference in those situations as well. So what is our role? To play our role as parents, because it's their college journey, it's their college experience. But to get them there like what? What's our?

Shaquita 32:04

role Like today or tomorrow, like I don't know Theoretically what is our role.

Announcer 32:12

The role you want to play.

Shaquita 32:15

So, yeah, this is actually something I've been. I've been dealing with myself. It's so funny. I had a young lady that I mentored. She came to visit a couple of days ago and her mom said something about well, I want her to do this and I want her to do that, and I don't understand why she's not. And I said she's not you. And then I had to pause and think I go through the same. They're not me, right? And so my child is not me and she's going to do things differently, and I think we have to remember that their journey is their journey, it's not ours. And so that's tough, right, because I want her life to look the way I dreamed it when she was, you know, before she was even born. I dreamed it when she was, you know, before she was even born.

Shaquita 33:00

So I think there's a there's a time where we have to we, and we have to figure this out. We know our kids, and it's different for every child. There is a time where we have to kind of step back and let them explore a bit, but we know when they're getting ready to burn their hand, right, and so I think that you know that there's that, and then there's also, I think it's helpful for us to be to do what we want them to do or need them to do, and when we can step back and let them explore. So I think you know when I, as a as a high, as a parent of a high school team, I think we try to get them involved in things that will help them build their story. I think that's some of the work that we have to do, because I'm not sure that they're thinking about it right. I don't think that they are able, at the age that they're at for the most part, to make the connections and the dots. I think that comes later for them.

Shaquita 34:13

But I think as parents we can say hey, you know, you've been talking a lot about I't know, dentistry, I I saw this program or I saw this college program or something. Maybe you want to think about applying for it and then recognize when you aren't getting through and you might need to pull in another adult or a friend or somebody else to help kind of drive that point home, um, to help them build the story right now. Um, but then also we need to recognize if they're who they are right. We may think they're ready for college and they may not be Um, and that's a hard pill to swallow, right Cause you're like my kid is following the path that I followed. I want them to follow that, or the path that looked like the one I did, right. But maybe their path looks like going to community college for two years because they need that experience, which also is another way to bring down costs let's not forget that to get those gen eds out the way.

Shaquita 35:19

But we have to recognize that their journeys may not look like ours. Be supportive, give them the space to explore some things, make some mistakes that aren't detrimental, so that they can learn Right, and then just support them. I mean, and it's hard it's hard to say that because you know to support them to a point right To also say like, yeah, like there's sometimes they're like if you do this, this is going to, this is where it's going to hurt you down the road. I can't let you do this. And there's like so there's some places where it's just non-negotiable. But I think we have to give them space. It's just, it's just not easy, it's not easy.

Delina 36:16

Yeah, it's just not easy.

Shaquita 36:16

It's not easy, yeah, it's hard to have that balance it's your life, but when you mess up, it's all right.

Delina 36:21

This is true, that's the truth when yes, when you waste twenty thousand dollars. It also hurts me right, right right it to. Yeah, when you lose that scholarship because you were out doing shenanigans, right, and your GPA is 2.0. You know, right, it's hard.

Shaquita 36:42

Well, and I think so. That's the part where I say you know, there's the points where we get down to negotiate, but it's also the point of recognizing what is true, what your child truly needs. Right, and being honest with ourselves and that's not easy, not every child is ready to go off to school, not every to be away for school. Right, they may need a couple more years, they may need more time. And I think the other thing is, too, is making sure that you are tapped into, where you can keep an eye.

Shaquita 37:16

So one of the things back to like, like you know in college, you know there's FERPA, so once your student goes off to school, you don't have access to their, you can't get access to their grades unless they give you access to seeing their grades and their portals and things like that. And what would be helpful is to have that conversation before you get into school, right, because once school, once they're in and they're starting to fail, they're not showing you their portals. They're not right. But before they go, hey, I listen, I'm supporting you through school, but what I need is visibility to see your grades so I can see when you need help, because you may not want to get help or reach out to somebody. But I can help you with that.

Shaquita 37:59

But having that conversation long before you get into the place of emotion is really helpful, because I've had parents reach out to me and say, hey, I popped into, he needs coaching, I need some academic support, things like that. And then oh, and that's the other role, I need some academic support. You know things like that, and then oh, and that's the other role. I would say, the things that we assume that they know, they don't know, they don't know, and so, like reading a syllabus, putting their classes on their schedule, on their calendar, setting up a Google calendar so they can see their work.

Shaquita 38:35

It may feel like some administrative task, like you're their secretary, but it will pay off in the long run to sit with them and do those things and teach them. They're not getting that in school, and so we have to kind of fill in those gaps too of how you. So we have to. We have to kind of fill in those gaps too of how you. The life skills of operating through the college process, right Time management. Yeah, how do you? You know, because your professor isn't telling you these things what's that switch between high school and college? Do they know what the differences are in the expectations when they go to school? And again, all these things are better done before emotions enter the room, so before they go sitting down and having those conversations, Yep, that's, that's good advice.

Delina 39:22

How are things still changing for black and brown students and black students specifically, because there's been you supreme court cases. There's been, you know, different environments changing in college, different like states that are eliminating their dei initiatives, and how are things changing?

Shaquita 39:43

more, yeah, yeah, this is also driving some of us at hbcus, um, so, um, well, we, we had the the dobbs decision reversed. That made the affirmative action decision was reversed, um, and so students have to find a different way to signal that I am Black student and, although admissions are supposed to be blind, I think that gives the admissions office some way to be able to bring students in of different backgrounds. The reality is the numbers are down. I, harvard's numbers are down under enrollment. They didn't dip as much as they thought that they would dip, so, um, but they did dip significantly.

Shaquita 40:42

Um, I know Stanford's dropped quite a bit um enrollment, admissions and enrollment of black students, admissions numbers, um, numbers in undergrad. And the other thing that's making a big impact is states are removing legacy admissions and that is hurting because in a way, you know, a lot of us went to these schools not just to have it on our own resume, but to open that door for our kids, and now that door is being closed again. And so in the you know, the IVs and the prestigious you know, quote unquote prestigious schools, right? Quote unquote.

Delina 41:28

Schools.

Shaquita 41:31

The numbers are dropping because of having to be quote, unquote, colorblind in the admissions process, and this has impacted Black students and Hispanic students. Asian numbers have not dropped as much in the application process, because you know the reality is, and you know the reality is, we don't test the scores. Our scores aren't as high on average. It's not because we aren't capable, but we know all the things that play into the role of why the testing puts us at a disadvantage. So you know. I think that what it says, though, to our students is the rest of your story needs to be stronger. Your leadership needs to be stronger. The rest of the package that you're bringing, the activities you've been in, the reason why you've been in those activities, not just oh, I signed up for this club, right? Why did you do that? All those things making connecting those dots becomes so much more important in putting that best foot forward. If those are the schools that you want to go to, or we have a wealth of HBCUs, that will better position you, in my opinion, for the future. And that's where it's hurting us.

Shaquita 42:49

Legacy is hurting in some very unexpected ways. So California repealed their legacy admissions, but it's possible that this will spread, and I it wasn't too long ago I went back and I did a little research. I didn't realize. Like Howard University uses legacy, so some of the HBCUs even use legacy in their admissions process, and so in some ways though in that way I think it opens up some doors for our students who may not have been able to get into Howard or get into Hampton, those those private HBCUs, spelman things like that because their parents weren't Spelmanites or Howard students weren't Spelmanites or Howard students. And so I think in that way it helps students who didn't have that legacy chain be able to be admitted. It's tough, it's been tough for us and again, I think that that's contributing to us deciding to go to HBCUs where we are welcomed and celebrated.

Supporting Students with Disabilities

Delina 43:51

Let's talk about some of the things that we don't often talk about students with disabilities. What are some of the additional considerations that they have to think about when thinking about?

Shaquita 44:03

college, yep, so I'll go back to start early. This has to start early, and so let's, let's separate the two, right. You've got physical disabilities, um, and mobility challenges, and then the um, and then like, uh, learning, learning differences and learning challenges, so physical disabilities, um, things like that. You know, we have there's laws in place, obviously, with ADA, things like that, but it doesn't just because a building is accessible doesn't mean it's safe, right, and so when I think about that, like, I think about the fact that the ramps are often in the back of the buildings, so you open up students for assault, things like that, and so this really does like you've got to start early, if that's something that is something that is on your mind. Exploring the campus Are there? Are there disability services that are available there? Every college has an office for disability and accommodation, you know. Do they offer rides to campus, to class? You know, what mobility services do they have? Do they have dorm rooms that are accessible, safely accessible? Where are the classrooms? Where are the ramps? What are the pathways? Does it mean my child is going to need to get to, you know, be on campus or leave for class 30, 40 minutes earlier, even to be able to navigate. And then the other thing is what are their virtual class offerings? Because maybe that's a different way for a student with physical disabilities to be able to manage that and especially if it's something like, you know, a POTS a student who has, like POTS or something where they have flare ups, lupus, things like that so they can continue to stay engaged and be able to get to class and or have accommodations with their professors. On the other side was learning differences. So I mentioned every school has a center of disabilities but they have a student support center and I don't know that a lot of parents know that that is offered on college campuses where they have tutoring, free tutoring for students. They offer they help to devise an accommodation plan. They may allow a student to go do testing in a testing center that is quiet and away from other students. They have different technologies for students that have dyslexia or dyscalculia or dysgraphia, and so it's again going early, going to visit campuses asking those questions.

Shaquita 46:37

If your student has an IEP, you want to keep it and document it, especially right now with different states and they all have different rules and interpretations of students' IEPs and the potential for the dismantle of the Department of Ed. You absolutely want to document. You know your IEPs that you've had in the past. Where has the accommodation been supportive? How has it helped? When the accommodation wasn't in place, what was happening with your student? What were they experiencing? Any official diagnoses, things like that? A lot of people they shy away from having an official diagnosis. Having an official diagnosis is like it's clutch for when that child is getting ready to A do testing because you can get accommodations for the SAT ACT as well. I'm not sure if everybody like people know if your child has a testing accommodation for an IEP, you can get testing accommodations for SAT ACT. You have to start that process about a year early. But colleges Is it?

Delina 47:40

is it just time, like extra time, or what? What kind of accommodation?

Shaquita 47:44

You can get extra time, you can get moved to a different space, so like, so that you're not you know, not distracted by other students in the room. Um, sat is fully digital now, but if you have a student who does, who needs to be um pen and paper, that they can do that Um and for um. Well, now the SAT is completely calculator. At one point there were sections where you couldn't use a calculator, but if a student had an accommodation for a calculator, they would still be able to use a calculator. Um, and then like things like large print for students who need that, braille, things like that, they can do those types of accommodations as well.

Shaquita 48:23

Yeah, um, and then the schools can do it as the same right, but they need that diagnosis and the information, this this also comes back to FERPA. Your child has to initiate any accommodation requests and so helping them learn to advocate for themselves, go back to the role we have to play that they have to advocate for themselves, not just in requesting those accommodations, but ensuring that those accommodations are met throughout their time in school, because some professors are like, whatever, you're here in school, yada, yada, no, I have an accommodation and I need to take this test in a quiet space that they need to know how to do that, absolutely.

How Parents Can Stay Informed

Delina 49:09

How do you homeschool yourself? How do you stay up on all of this for college, because it seems like every year, something else you know needs to be learned, and what do you recommend for parents to homeschool themselves in the college admissions?

Announcer 49:27

Yeah.

Delina 49:27

So, first.

Shaquita 49:30

I go back to starting early, but also not starting necessarily with the intention of application. So what I mean by that is saying you have a child who's eighth grade, seventh grade, ninth grade, visit campuses. Don't wait, you know, and you don't have to visit campuses and go to the admissions office and set up an interview. Some of it is just going to campus. Just go get some merch. Walk around the bookstore. You'd be surprised what you learn from just the bookstore. Is it inclusive? I was shocked. I went to one bookstore and they had hair scarves and do rags and I was like listen, this is a sign that you recognize you have students of color who have needs, who can't get off campus, things like that. Um. So visit the campus. Talk to a student who's walking by. You know what class are you taking, where are you headed? Like all these, you know what's it like being here. Visit campus, um, visit campuses when you're on vacation. It does not need to be an additional expense. Just stop and talk.

Shaquita 50:35

College fairs so churches and communities offer college fairs. Schools put on college fairs. Don't wait, go visit. You can talk to an admission counselor there. What's different? What challenges are you all facing this year? What are the students like? How have they changed over the last couple of years? Just ask. Just ask, they'll talk to you. Get a car, keep in touch, you know, and follow up and have that contact.

Shaquita 51:04

There. There are, I mentioned there's parent groups on Facebook. You don't need to be a senior right now that you can join HBCU parent scholarship community common black college application group. Jump in and just see what's happening. Sometimes I mean there are college representatives that I don't need right now, but I know their names. I know they give out scholarships. I know they give out scholarships to students at the last minute who are looking for a place to go, and so I don't need to wait to my daughter's senior year to figure that out. I know who they are now and I'm following them. One of them just moved to another school and, like I know, he gives money and he finds a way for students and so get locked in there.

Shaquita 51:45

There are books. There is a great book, the Black Family's Guide to Admissions. It's by a couple of men from Morehouse who wrote that with a specific focus on Black and Brown families. So that's another great way that we just continue to learn. And then social media, for all the bad things and bad raps that it gets, for all the bad things and bad raps that it gets.

Shaquita 52:19

There are people I follow on Instagram. There's a woman I think what is it? Debt-free tea? Every morning she just posts from her car with her cup of coffee or tea and she's just talking about scholarships. So that kind of keeps me looped in on what's coming out, what the timing looks like for these scholarships. So that kind of keeps me looped in on what's coming out, what the timing looks like for these scholarships. What are the things that my daughter's going to need in order to put together a great scholarship package? And the other thing I would say is you know, you do your own reading, you do your own research, get connected to parents. This is not so much for a learning, but because it's important. Go meet your student's counselor freshman year.

Shaquita 53:00

Set up a meeting One. That way they'll know that your child is college bound and they know to get you information and can send it to you so that you are hearing what's going on. They can put you on their newsletter, things like that, because they don't just do it automatically, they don't just send it to everybody, and that way you can stay up to date on any updates that they get, any scholarship lists that they have that might be specific to the school. But the other thing is I mentioned like so they know your child is college bound. When students get to high school, there's tracks. Not every student is on a college bound track. That's not the expectation anymore. I'm not sure if it ever was. It wasn't my high school, I'm not sure if that was the case where everybody goes. But there are tracks. So your, your counselor, needs to know so that they can advise your child to be on a college bound track. Where that would deviate is things like four years of math, two years of the same foreign language, things like that. And so they need to know so that they make sure that your student meets the requirements. But also they need to know so that they can say when they are choosing students for college fairs, because that's what it is. When they're choosing students to go to college fairs, when they're choosing students to be in front of admissions people who are visiting. They know your child wants to attend college and that keeps that information flow open.

Shaquita 54:28

The other thing is subscribe to all the things like FAFSA. The other thing is subscribe to all the things like FAFSA. For the FAFSA application, go ahead and sign up for their webpage, for their Facebook page, so that you get the updates on what's happening, so that you know when the dates are changing to be able to submit applications. Most states have a college foundation. Subscribe to it, go on. They have a Facebook page or they have a website. Go sign up for their newsletter. Continue to get that information fed into your inbox so that you're always in the loop about what's happening. And then the last thing is some of the official research places. So and this is a fortunate, a blessing that came out of the pandemic, if you're going to say it like that there are always virtual events that colleges are hosting so you can go online and sign up for virtual admissions, and it doesn't have to be a school you're thinking about. Just go, listen, you know, and they will give you information about what's happening.

Shaquita 55:28

And then the last thing is the common data set, and I do go out and look at those from time to time for different schools. Every school has a common data set. It's like their raw data of what's the GPA for a student to be our average GPA, what our diversity numbers look like, what our graduation rate is, what our retention rate is, number of students who needed academic support. It's a huge thing and they're required by law to file it every year. So if you want to go find it, like for Georgia Tech, for example, you go search Georgia Tech Common Data Set, you'll get it. It's a, it's a big PDF. Just go out and read the ones for your state, even any schools that you're looking at, and they'll just give you some information and insight into what the schools are looking like yep, I love that.

Delina 56:22

I heard you speak once and you said to become BFFs with your, your high school counselor, because, yes, they need, you need to. They have a lot of people to serve. And your child needs to be in that mix.

Shaquita 56:40

In the mix and not forgotten.

Delina 56:41

No.

Shaquita 56:42

People don't realize when they do. When you fill out the Common App for College, the person who does your child's recommendation is the counselor Most students have never, even if they haven't gotten in trouble for something, they don't know their counselor. When have they ever met with them? And so how does that counselor fill out a positive recommendation for your child and not know you or not know them Right, or know them? Yep, absolutely. Yeah, get to know them, yeah.

Delina 57:15

Right, or know them? Yep, absolutely, yeah, get to know them, yeah, so tell me some of the things that you offer for parents that are um you know in this process with their teens and how can people get in touch with you?

Shaquita 57:26

Absolutely so. My company, beacon Education Group, we, um, we do a couple of things. Every year. We host a free parent webinar in August before families are headed back to school, and it is open for all grades so that, in truthfully, I would prefer to see 9th, 10th and 11th graders than seniors, because, as I mentioned, august is almost too late, right, and it is free. We advertise it on our Facebook page. So if you go to Facebook Beacon Education Group, it's there.

Shaquita 58:00

You can also find out information about it on our website, which is wwwbeaconeducationgroupcom. So that is a great way for families to get just get information, and we share everything from admissions process to financial aid tips to scholarship information. You can also sign up for my mailing list on my website. And then also I do a college navigator program my website and then also I do a college navigator program. Now I, uh, right now I'm in the mix with finishing up the seniors Um, they have gotten their college applications in, yay, oh, it was a pull. It was a pull, um, cause they're all so busy and things like that, but we're right now we're drafting scholarship essays. Um, because scholarship season is is coming up and essays need to be at the ready. So that's what we're doing right now so you can also learn about that on Beacon Education Group to sign up for that, and we do that for 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders.

Delina 59:07

Thank you so much, you're welcome.

Final Thoughts and Resources

Shaquita 59:08

You are welcome. This was a joy.

Delina 59:12

Yes, it was great. It was great. I tried not to stress. I'm just going to take deep breaths and do one thing at a time and see how that works it will, it will, it will be fine.

Shaquita 59:23

I think we'll get through it. You know it's different. Just like anything else, it's a learning process and you know there's just there's so many opportunities for our students. Sometimes that in itself can just feel overwhelming, but we've got this. It's like everything else.

Delina 59:41

I'm so thankful for Shakita's knowledge and wisdom in this area. There's definitely a lot to learn as we prepare our kids for next steps. What did you learn from this episode? I would love to know. Email me at podcast at welcomehomeschoolingcom. Until next time, I learned something today.

Announcer 1:00:08

Homeschool Yourself is a production of Woke Homeschooling Inc. For show notes and links to things mentioned in the episode, visit wokehomeschoolingcom slash podcast. Woke Homeschooling empowers parents to teach their kids an inclusive, truthful history. We invite you to visit our website and download a sample of the history curriculum we offer for kids. Visit us at wokehomeschoolingcom.