Ep 32: College Planning with Mira Simon

We’re back with another episode of the YesCollege podcast! This week, we shifted our focus to a very important topic… college planning. Scott was joined by Mira Simon who runs a coaching service called Coach Mira – Pathway to College. Mira had so much wisdom to share from her time helping many students of all different backgrounds reach their goals for navigating the college selection, application, and enrollment process.

Mira Simon is a professionally trained coach from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), and specializes in helping guide students who are feeling frustrated or overwhelmed with all that goes into finding a college and truly beginning the higher education path. Whether you’re a student, a parent, or just interested in higher education… Listen in to get the inside scoop on how to have success with college planning.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What college planning is all about.
• Which activities high school students will find the most hopeful to their college applications.
• Mira’s thoughts on which standardized tests students should consider taking (ACT vs SAT).
• What the biggest mistake students and their families make when it comes to college planning is (and how to avoid it).
• And more!

Featured on the Show:

• Connect with Coach Mira: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
• Connect with the Show: Facebook | Twitter

Coach Mira Pathway to College at a Glance



Planning for the future isn’t easy, and many students feel overwhelmed by all of the decisions that need to be made. That’s why Mira Simon, aka Coach Mira, focuses on alleviating students’ anxiety by letting them know that what they’re feeling is 100% normal, and that there’s no “perfect” college, “right” major, or “one size fits all” approach to the college pathway. As a trained coach from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), Mira specializes in helping high school students discover their path, find a college that will help them achieve their goals, and provide opportunities for their future.

• Coaching Pathways: Foundational Pathway for Freshmen/Sophomores | Directional Pathway for Juniors | Complete Pathway for Juniors/Seniors
• Like on Facebook: Coach Mira – Pathway to College
• Follow on Twitter: @CoachMiraSimon
• Connect with on LinkedIn: Mira Simon at Coach Mira Pathway to College
• Bonus Features: The Top 10 Essential Websites to Begin Planning for College

A high school freshman won’t be on the same part of their path as a senior, which is why Coach Mira provides different levels of services for students at different stages in their academic journeys. Every student meets with her one-on-one and can contact her as much as is needed. By junior year, students can meet with Mira more frequently for a 10-month plan where they can develop their personal platform, outline college criteria, create their extra-curricular resume, and more. Coach Mira also maintains a blog filled with college planning and admissions advice.

Student Organization of the Week: buildOn at the University of Delaware

Higher education is nothing without students, so we want to recognize students doing great work building community and engaging their peers. To that end, each and every week we select a student organization to recognize from nominations we receive from our listeners. As a reminder, if you have any student organizations you think we should feature, don’t hesitate to let us know!

This week, we’re so pleased to award buildOn at the University of Delaware as our Student Organization of the Week.

BuildOn is a group that is dedicated to their mission of breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations. In fulfilling this mission, they work to improve the lives of America’s youth while building schools in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The University of Delaware chapter of buildOn focuses their work largely in the Northern Delaware and Philadelphia region. Throughout the year they participate in a wide variety of service events in this area.

BuildOn does so much great work helping in communities not just locally, but around the world. In fact, each year the University of Delaware chapter, along with many others, take on the challenge of raising money to fund a school in a developing country. Their chapter is currently funding a second school in Burkina Faso. This will be the third school their chapter has funded since its start at the University of Delaware.

Bringing students together to help with a worthy cause is so important, and that’s why buildOn at the University of Delaware is our community organization of the week.

• Click here to connect with buildOn at UD on Facebook

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