Ep.11 – Noelle Essig – Helping Students & Families Through the College & Career Planning Process

Podcast

Dec 17

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Are you concerned about college and career planning for your children? Did you know that there are likely resources within your school district that could help plan for your kids' future?

This week I speak with Noelle Essig, College & Career Counselor in the West Bloomfield School district located in Metro Detroit. Noelle brings decades of experience working with students and families to help navigate them through the career and college planning processes.

Noelle walks us through the process she uses to help guide students through the overwhelming process of career and college options. A process that involves assisting students in realizing what they do not want as a career can have a far more significant impact.

We also focus on the pros and cons of students starting at a community college, which can often save students and families thousands of dollars, especially during the age of COVID, where many schools have gone to remote learning. Noelle recommends utilizing the Michigan Transfer Agreement to help ensure credits transfer as you intend them to.

Noelle hits home on a critical point in college planning - parents need to have honest conversations with their kids about college's affordability. There is nothing worse than having a child get into a school only to find out that there is no feasible way to pay for it. We owe it to our kids to have these conversations early, even before high school.

Many families get caught up in the idea of sending their kids to their dream school. We discuss how dangerous this can be for both students and parents, which Noelle underscores with families about having a financially safe school. A school that both the student and parents can afford.

Noelle is the proud mom of four boys, including a set of twins who are high school seniors ready to transition into college life in 2021. Noelle shares her experience as a mom going through the college planning process that she has helped counsel so many families through with her own twin boys.

Be sure to follow Noelle on Twitter @NoelleEssig and for additional resources below that she provides for free!

Please enjoy my conversation with Noelle Essig