Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay

Episode 44 — College Should Be a Safe Place to Fail —with Dr. Jeff Ederer

January 12, 2021 Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC Season 1 Episode 44
Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay
Episode 44 — College Should Be a Safe Place to Fail —with Dr. Jeff Ederer
Show Notes

A young adult barely knows what to do on a Friday night so how do we expect them to know what to do with the rest of their life by the time they set foot on a college campus? College should be a safe place to learn from experience, good and bad, but that’s not the message that students are getting. 

Jeff Ederer, co-founder of College Route Map, started his journey in higher education by being the first generation college student in his family. At first Jeff didn’t feel cut out for college but once he ended up staying for 41 years, working at public and private institutions. In Jeff’s time in higher education, both personally and professionally, he saw a huge need for college planning assistance and decided to create College Route Map, an educational consulting firm that provides services to clients and families. 

On this episode of Success is Subjective, Jeff joins Joanna to share his journey going from not interested in college, to working in the industry for 41 years. Jeff’s mission is to help families  and students find a great college fit for their ongoing success. Listen in for insight on Jeff’s perspective on college and how it has tremendously helped his clients in their journey.

What You Will Learn

  • Growing up with the idea of college not being the norm
  • When Jeff decided to give college a chance
  • He went to college and liked it so much he stayed there for 41 years! 
  • How applying to colleges in the 21st century has tremendous pressure 
  • College should be a safe place to fail
  • Jeff’s work experience in 
  • The approach that Jeff learned to take in life while in college
  • What I personally appreciate about Dr. Ederer is that he’s a candid realist when working with families when discussing college timeline, expectations, and graduation statistics. 
  • How, when checking in with your college student, that parents need to ask more than just “How are you doing?” 
  • Sometimes your expectations for your child might be setting them up for failure

Connect with Jeff Ederer

Connect with Joanna Lilley