Gap Year, SAT tests, and the Journey to College {Episode 47 with my son, Jonah}

Hey Friends!  Today my 18 year-old son, Jonah is with me to talk about his journey through the college preparation, application, and acceptance process.  Many people have asked for updates on Jonah’s process and especially have questions about the scholarship contest we traveled to California for back in February.  I’m so excited to share this conversation between Jonah and I.  

Note:  While I considered dedicating an episode to the topic of the Coronavirus, I am hoping that it might be nice to get our minds off of it for a few minutes. However, please let me know if you’d like me to do a future episode on anything related to Covid19 — If you would like some encouragement on time at home with kids, homeschooling, or perhaps one with my husband related to medical stuff.  (comment or message me!)

I actually hope some of you can gather with your kids to listen to today’s episode.  Perhaps this topic will inspire a few of your kids to get excited about their own future college education.  Whatever age your kids, it’s never too soon to start dreaming and preparing! 

I think you and your kids will appreciate some of the general wisdom Jonah shares in this episode.  He talks about what he thinks is the most important part of a high school career (I promise I did not tell him what to say!) as well as the ways he intentionally worked towards his college acceptance, AND scholarship.  Jonah shares the nitty gritty of his experience taking SAT tests (four times) and a few lessons he learned along the way.  There’s a lot in here — and lots of links in the show notes below.  🙂  I hope you enjoy!

SHOW NOTES:

Past Episodes with Jonah:

Episode 15:  Boys and Perseverance. 

Episode 5:  Raising a Son Who Loves God. 

Jonah’s internship:  Working with Dr. Shormann of DIVE (homeschool) curriculum. 
as an intern for the Surf Engineering Association. 

SAT STUDY:  
College Board (*This is free.  It is the main place both of my boys studied for the SAT.)
Khan Academy (*also free, and great tools for SAT study.)
1600.io (<—– Jonah highly recommends that one!)  

Colleges that have Honor’s Scholarship Programs:
Westmont (Augustinian Scholars Program.)
George Fox University. (William Penn Honors Program)
Whitworth University (Honor’s Scholarships Program.)
Pepperdine University. (Regents’ Scholar Program)
(I will try to add links to others if I find them.  Please comment at the bottom if you know of others!)

Book:**  Hack the SAT: Strategies and Sneaky Shortcuts That Can Raise Your Score Hundreds of Points

You can find the Boy Mom Podcast on all of the podcast platforms…here are just a few of them:

Spotify

Or you can listen right here! 🙂

Monica’s Recommended reading for Moms right now:**

 Made to Move Mountains: How God Uses Our Dreams and Disasters to Accomplish the Impossible.  This is SO GOOD.  It is written by Kristen Welch, the author of “Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World” which you know I’m a huge fan of!  (she’s written other books too, that just a personal favorite. :)) 

 Stay: Discovering Grace, Freedom, and Wholeness Where You Never Imagined Looking I had Anjuli on the podcast last week, and this book is sure to draw you in, warm your heart, and help you see STAYING in a whole new light.  (home timely, right?)  Book comes out on March 31st, but preorders open now! 🙂 

Foundations: 12 Biblical Truths to Shape a Family
We all know and love Ruth Chou Simons for her gorgeous artwork, inspiring instagram feed, and best-selling books like Gracelaced and Beholding and Becoming.  Foundations is a book she wrote WITH HER HUSBAND and shares insights into their incredible family (hello, they’re raising SIX boys!) in a devotional style book.  My family plans to go through this together after Easter!! 🙂  

 Marriage Triggers: Exchanging Spouses’ Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses

If you’re a mom, hopefully you’ve already read Triggers for parenting. (the incredible book by Wendy Speake and Amber Lia about anger in parenting.)  Now Amber and her husband guy explore the triggers we all know (and don’t love) in a book just for marriages!  I need to get these guys on the podcast because they are a four-boy family, striving to honor God in all ways.  I love the format of this book and every marriage could use this resource!

Thanks for being on the show, Jonah!  
By the way, you (or your kids) can follow Jonah on Instagram HERE.

Thanks for reading these show notes!  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please share it using social media links below! 

I’m grateful for my listeners and readers, and would love to connect. You can subscribe to my blog  for a weekly update on anything new I’ve published, say hi on Facebook , or find me on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest. 

My book, BOY MOM, was released in August of 2019 (Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers) and is full of practical advice and helpful resources for raising boys.  It’s a great study for small groups!

    Order it here:   Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You

**I am an Amazon Affiliate and some of the products I share will benefit me if you click through and purchase.  Thank you so much!!