You can spend a fortune on college and still miss the point if you treat it like something to “get through.” In this episode, Vicki and Lynn sit down with political scientist and longtime professor Dr Michael Pomante, author of the book “What Professors Wish Students Knew: Things Parents and Students Should Know Before Attending College” to talk about the mindset shifts he wishes every student and parent understood before day one on campus. We discuss the decisions that shape the whole admission and college experience: how to know whether a college degree is truly the right path, what students actually learn outside the classroom, and why curiosity is more than a personality trait in higher education. Michael also breaks down an often overlooked detail for college planning: professors’ jobs look very different at community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and large research universities, and that difference changes what kind of support and access students can expect. We also talk about balancing academics with a part-time job, how many work hours tend to be sustainable, and why determination often matters more than raw intelligence when things get hard.

Thank you for listening!

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