The NEED Podcast

Own Your Path To College Success: Advice From Dr. Marcia Sturdivant

• Dr. Marcia Sturdivant • Episode 8

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What Advice Do You Give College-bound Students Navigating Barriers And Uncertainty?

Your college journey shouldn’t be decided by glossy brochures or a noisy feed. We break down how to make confident choices with first-hand campus visits, real conversations, and a plan that fits your life. Dr. Marcia Sturdivant shares practical ways to highlight your strengths in applications, write essays that actually say something, and build a schedule that supports energy, work, and family commitments.

We dig into the limits of social media when evaluating schools and offer a smarter research stack: student newspapers, course catalogs, alumni from different eras, current students, and staff who know the day-to-day. You’ll hear why colleges value well-rounded applicants, how to present uneven transcripts with clarity, and what it looks like to turn doubt into action. From choosing professors to timing your course load, we focus on the small decisions that compound into big wins.

Life outside campus doesn’t pause, so we talk openly about balancing home stress with academic goals. Learn how to tap campus resources many students overlook: counseling and behavioral health services, student success centers, food and clothing banks, and crisis support. We close with a reminder that admissions is a network of doors—if one closes, others open—and that momentum comes from honest self-assessment, mentorship, and steady follow-through.

If this conversation helps you or someone you know, share it with a future first-year, subscribe for more mentoring and scholarship guidance, and leave a review with the biggest question you want us to tackle next.

To learn more about NEED visit:
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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Need Podcast, highlighting students, partners, and advocates. Presented by me and hosted by Dr. Marcia Sturdivent, President and CEO, this series highlights the impact of mentoring, philanthropy, and collaborative partnerships that empower students' triumphant entry into and progression through higher education. Whether you're applying for scholarships or supporting the mission, you'll find insights that inform, inspire, and empower.

SPEAKER_01:

From financial stress to self-doubt, this episode explores how students can overcome obstacles and stay focused on their college goals. Welcome everyone. I'm co-host and producer Julie Schwenzer in the studio with Need President and CEO, Dr. Marcia Sturdimant. It's great to be back with you, Doctor. Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01:

So we know this is close to your heart. What advice do you give college-bound students navigating barriers and uncertainty when they're looking to take those steps ahead?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Well, very simple. You can do it. It's not what it may appear, you know, either from things that you hear from your friends, although it's important to get uh other students' impressions, or what you read, uh, or what you may see on TV. You really have to do this discovery by yourself. Uh it's the one most important one of the most important decisions you'll make whether or not you go to college, and you want to be well informed and not informed from uh things or people that may not have your best interest or just may have a different perspective than you. I would think that every student, although there it may not be possible, uh, would have the opportunity to visit a college or university that you're interested in because uh you get to see firsthand what it's really like. Fancy brochures or social media or things on the internet, you know, it's those are marketing tools, and sometimes they don't always reflect what's uh what's true or accurate or what you're really interested in. And if you can, just visit some of the colleges that uh you would be interested in. Leap in, don't take a fear, don't take that fear that oh, I'm not capable, or they don't want uh me, they don't want this kind of student. Colleges and universities are looking for uh students with varied backgrounds and they want well-rounded students. So say, you know, you might be a little weak in one area, but stronger in another. And that's what many colleges are looking at. They want to be able to build on the strengths of students. So don't be modest, you know, whatever you're good at, make sure that's in your application materials. Highlight that and say your college essay, and that's another thing. You're gonna have to do a college essay. So if you haven't applied yet, uh start working on a college essay. And in fact, think about a couple of different college essays so that you can be prepared whenever you're applying to specific schools because all of them have you know their ideas about uh what they want to hear from students. But the whole thing is just have some confidence. You know, there are many, many colleges and universities across the country. If you don't get in one, you'll get in another. So don't give it too much um angst about it. Don't don't be worried, don't be afraid. You're already there because you have it in your mind that you want to go. So just go ahead and do it.

SPEAKER_01:

And Dr. Sturdevant, if we could go back to perspectives, and you mentioned this too in a preliminary interview that we had. You talked about how social media really can impact a student's decision-making confidence as well as what their vision is of what school could be like. Could you expand on that?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, social media is great, but it also can be very, very detrimental or negative. That you have to think that people who are responding by social media have a motivation. So, what is that motivation? Is that to air some of their grievances or is it to promote something? And sometimes we have to look at that with a grain of salt. You know, you take in the information, but you always want to check things out for yourself. And um a lot of social media, unfortunately, uh, doesn't necessarily give you the best picture or it might give you an incorrect picture. You know, if you're just looking at social media or people from a particular school and their social media, they might stress the party life, okay? And that's great, you know. Okay, there's a party life, but what else is there? You want to see a balance. So just be careful, don't take everything as it's presented because everything isn't always what it may appear to be. Use your own judgment and also your confidence and and your own uh insight. You know, if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. You you know, use your intuition about that, but just don't go to one source of information like social media. Um, you know, you use several different types of information to make your decision.

SPEAKER_01:

And what about to help them make that decision? Mentorship and peer support. How does that help in just building a foundation for them?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's always good to run things by someone who had uh maybe had graduated from that university or college. And I would recommend getting people from different time periods because what was um true at certain colleges, say 10 years ago, might not be true today, and get different perspectives, you know, younger people, older people, people who had uh maybe are still working there, current students, previous students, uh, and look through some of the news accounts or social, not social media as much, but news accounts about what was going on at the time. Because say a college from a college experience from 1970 is going to be entirely different than the college experience uh from today. But you always want to get some direct experience or information from people who have walked the same course that you're getting ready to tread on. Alumni are very, very important in helping you make those decisions as well as mentoring you that college, you can't do it alone. That's one thing that you have to understand that you'll need mentorships, and mentorship doesn't necessarily mean uh someone that is um not of your same age. Okay, uh, it can be someone right there in the school that can show you the way and can give you advice on what professors are you know uh more in line with what you want. Your scheduling. Um, like I always advise people if you're not an early morning person, don't take an eight o'clock class. Okay, things like that. Uh, and if you don't like to, if you like to have your evenings, then schedule early so that you don't have to do those things. But uh we try to connect students with mentors because uh because it's not so much about the academics, it's navigating through all that social stuff that um can be very challenging for students, and we advise that if you don't have a mentor, seek someone out who's already been through the college experience.

SPEAKER_01:

And Dr. Surtavant, a last question for you. How do you advise students that may have some challenges at home to balance their academics with you know things that are going on that may be negative in their lives and it's something that they cannot avoid because they live with it?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that's so um important, and it's it's amazing to me how some of our students are going through some really difficult challenges at home and in a community. And you know, I wish we had a magic wand to say, poof, that's all gone. But you know, the reality is that you have to be able to balance both your college life and your personal life. Uh we like to have our students understand that we also understand the challenges personally, but you can't let that stop you. As a strong person, once you walk in those doors and you know you're on your college campus, stay focused on why you're there. If you bring all that baggage with you, then nothing's going to work. Everything's gonna be a downfall, but that doesn't mean that you know you're doomed from the start. Focus, know that you're not the only one with problems, but a strong individual is gonna be able to navigate through both. And there's always help. Many colleges have, well, most colleges have um centers that can help you with some things that you may think uh that they don't have any interest or knowledge about. But there are uh student centers, you know, for say people who might be suffering some from some behavior health or mental health conditions or practical things. Colleges now have um food banks, clothing banks, you know, you might be going through things like that, crisis intervention, you're going through stuff. Go talk to someone if it's really affecting uh your academic life. But again, when you walk into that school, you try as much as you can because you're only going to be there a few hours a day in classroom. Just stay focused, stay strong, and seek help when you need it.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's great advice, Dr. Surtavant. And I also like that you reminded us that in college it's fun because if you sign up early enough, you can get classes at a time you would like, not a full day of you know, obligation. So that's a great point, too. But Dr. Surtavant, thank you so much for sharing these very thoughtful and empowering words of advice. We always appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Need Podcast. To apply for scholarships, access support, or learn how you or your organization can get involved, visit www.needld.org. Email needpgh at gmail.com or call 412 566 2760. Need. Unlocking the power of education for students, families, and the future of our region.