Must Listen College Preparation Podcasts

by | Feb 4, 2026 | Parenting, Career and College Preparation

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Must Listen College Preparation Podcasts

College Preparation Podcasts are an easy way to learn about the college preparation and application process. There are a number of College Preparation Podcasts for you to choose from. The podcasts I recommend have a large number of episodes and are still producing. I have also listed some episodes that address specific topics or are interviews Mel and I have done.

These college preparation podcasts and episodes cater to either the parent or the student or both. They are all worth checking out. I have linked to their websites if possible, or Spotify, but you can search for them on other platforms.

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College Preparation Podcasts

College Preparation Podcasts: College Essay Guy

The College Essay Guy podcast has produced more than 100 episodes on every aspect of college preparation process. His website contains a list of the episodes for you to peruse to find topics that interest you. I have selected episode 207 to highlight below.

17 Things to Do Before Going to College with Harlan Cohen

Harlan Cohen is the author of The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College, a book I first heard about during my oldest son’s college orientation. I have continued to recommend it on my graduation gift lists and other college preparation lists. I was so excited to find this episode. Harlan is funny and relatable. He gives extremely practical tips about roommate relationships, communicating with parents, safety, and even whether or not to break up with your high school sweetheart.

This episode is mostly for students, but parents can benefit from listening to learn more about the things your student will experience socially and mentally in school.

College Preparation Podcasts: The College Preparation Podcast

Gretchen Wegner and Megan Dorsey host The College Prep Podcast. They began the podcast in 2014 and have 100s of episodes to choose from. They are sorted by the month they were published on their homepage. You can use their search bar to look for what you would like to listen to. I found episodes on travel for college visits, greek life, and parenting during college prep. They cover more than just the SATs and essays and the like.

I loved this episode about avoiding college preparation scams.

Scams (and Shams) that Target High School Students and Their Families

In this episode Gretchen and Megan talk about the scams that are out there waiting to take your money and deliverer little to no results. One example is paying a company to find financial aid and they come back with loans. (Student loans are considered “financial aid.”) Similar scams or barely ethical pitches are everywhere in college preparation. They include scholarships, test prep “guarantees,” and honor organizations.

Megan breaks it down in this episode – what to avoid and how to read the fine print in the “guarantees.”

College Preparation Podcasts: High School Hamster Wheel

The High school Hamster Wheel Podcast with Betsy Jewell does not produce super consistently, but they have a catalog of over 145 episodes to binge. It is a college preparation podcast for parents of teens and young adults exploring paths through and beyond high school.

My favorite episode features Next Phase Parenting’s Melanie and her son Sam

Communicating with Your Teens About Their Future with Melanie Studer and Sam Studer

Talking to your teens about what they want and your teens learning your expectations is crucial in college preparation. Listen to Mel and her son Sam talk about their conversations and the tremendous impact it had on both of them. Through the experience Melanie wrote  College Bound: The Ultimate List of Conversations to Help Your Teen Through High School.

College Preparation Podcasts: Your College Bound Kid

Your College Bound Kid is a podcast for parents of college bound students. Looking through the episodes many are for students as well. I am particularly drawn to her 2 episodes on parent Facebook groups.

I experienced both help and toxicity in college parent Facebook groups – one was helpful and the other was over-the-top toxic. The helpful one was heavily moderated which kept the junk out. The other was completely parent led and yikes! When parents are allowed to just gripe and vent about everything from the dorms to specific classes and teachers, it is cray-cray.

Are College Parent Facebook Groups Helpful or Toxic Part 1

Are College Parent Facebook Groups Helpful or Toxic Part 2

College Preparation Podcasts: One More Thing Episode #4

The One More Thing podcast is produced in Tulsa by Fox23 News. It is also available on YouTube. One More Thing with Nathan Thompson is a relatively new podcast and offers mostly information interesting to Oklahomans. My husband and I were interviewed for Episode #4: College Kids and Healthcare: What Parents Should Know. We discussed sending our children to college and helping them navigate the healthcare system as adults. My husband spoke on the topic not only as a parent, but also a physician.

Scare stories circulate on social media about HIPAA and a parent’s access to their child in an emergency. We discuss ways to prepare for your child being a legal adult in the healthcare system. Hint: It is not as scary as it sounds if you are prepared.

I hope these College Preparation Podcasts and podcast episodes will help you on your college preparation journey.

Related posts for College Preparation Podcasts:

Check out all of our College Preparation Posts HERE.

The College Preparation Planner

FREE College Preparation Checklists

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