{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Empowered Money Girl","title":"E01EP55 - Navigating College Admissions, Merit Aid, and Fit Without Breaking the Bank | Margaret","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2175,"description":"This conversation breaks down how families can approach college planning with more clarity, less panic, and a sharper eye on fit and affordability. Josette Mandela talks with Margaret Baudinet, owner and CEO of College Solutions and a national scholarship specialist, about early college exploration, merit scholarships, and how to avoid costly decisions driven by prestige alone.\nIn this episode, Margaret shares practical guidance for families with students from middle school through senior year, especially around scholarships, admissions strategy, and financial aid. The discussion is especially useful for parents trying to balance dreams, debt, and long-term family financial well-being.\nKey topics\nMargaret shares her path from growing up in the Deep South to studying at the University of Virginia, doing postgrad work at Oxford, and building a career in higher education.\nShe explains how she fell into admissions work after originally imagining a career as a political speechwriter, and why helping students has kept her in the field since 2009.\nIn this episode, she emphasizes that college planning should begin with fit, not just prestige, because the wrong school can cost more in transfers, major changes, and stress.\nShe outlines how merit scholarships work and defines them simply as free money for academic, artistic, service, or athletic strengths.\nMargaret describes how College Solutions uses a scholarship database tailored to variables like ancestry, geography, and intended major to find awards that are actually winnable.\nShe explains why eighth and ninth grade is less about choosing a college and more about building curiosity, study skills, and executive functioning habits.\nMargaret discusses how many colleges now expect students to know their intended major earlier in the process, which is a major shift from how admissions used to work.\nShe talks about how family involvement has changed over time, with more fathers taking active interest in the research and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/y4dfrZ1b49DBW4VeqLGW_z-FYgwFb0gF4_Rg8J7nrLE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kM2Ji/NGNjMDE0NzNjNTkx/YTM3MGYyNDhlODE4/NDk1Zi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}