In this YouTube interview, host Carrie Anderson welcomes Shellee Howard, CEO and founder of College Ready, to celebrate the release of Howard’s second bestseller, College Admission Simplified (styled as P‑L‑A‑N). Howard announces the book’s immediate bestseller status and explains why a new guide was needed: the college admissions landscape has shifted dramatically over the past seven years due to COVID‑19, the rise of test‑optional policies, and soaring tuition and debt levels. She shares personal insights discovered while researching, including how costs have risen and how families can pursue top‑tier schools without incurring debt. Howard discusses the unexpected difficulty of writing the book while serving as CEO of a growing consulting firm, and she reflects on the emotional impact of early 5‑star reviews. When asked about future projects, she mentions a focus on speaking engagements and one‑to‑one family work, leaving a third book as a possibility. The interview closes with Howard offering a limited‑time 99‑cent price for the ebook and directing viewers to free resources on collegereadyplan.com.
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Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Carrie Anderson, and I am so happy to be here today. I have Shellee Howard here, the CEO and founder of College Ready, and today we are celebrating the launch of her second book. Shellee, welcome.
So excited to be here. Thank you so much, Carrie.
Tell us, um, what happened today.
Well, I have such big exciting news today.
Within—
oh my gosh, just a few hours after the release of my second book, I found out that I have my second bestseller. The new book is called College Admission Simplified, and I am so humbled and excited.
I am so excited for you. Um, that almost brings me to tears, and I have chills for you. So congratulations. Like you mentioned, this is your second bestselling book. Can you tell us what inspired you to write your second book?
Well, it's been a long time coming. My first book was released 7 years ago, and so much has changed, right? COVID was definitely in the middle of it, but there was— test optional was in the middle of it. College increased in expense significantly. So I really thought it was time to help my readers and the people who follow me as their trusted advisor have the most up-to-date information, because it is possible to get into the top-tier colleges. It's impossible— it is possible to get into any college with the right plan, and that is why the book is called P-L-A-N, College Admission Simplified.
Love it. I love— I absolutely love the title. Now, what did you learn when writing this book? You want anything like stand out to you especially?
Sure. What I learned is how— well, first, how much things have changed since I went to college. It was, it was very eye-opening. But even how much has changed since my firstborn. You know, this all started when my firstborn came home from 8th grade and he said, Mom, I want to be a brain surgeon. That was back in 2008, and now he is an orthopedic surgeon. So why I— as I think back to all the things that have changed, it used to be you had a great GPA and a test score and you were in. It, you know, you didn't really have to have a lot more, but now it's so much more at risk, like the cost of college, the opportunities to get in, to get accepted. So what was the reality is when I started to do my new and updated research, how much the cost of college has risen and how much debt people are in and they don't need to be. So I was on a mission. I really focused on how can I help people to get in and get out without debt.
Got it. And then what surprised you the most when writing the book?
I think how difficult it was for me to do it while running a business. When I did it 7 years ago, my business was much smaller, and I was the only consultant. Now our team is amazing, but I also wear the hat of CEO. So balancing and trying to get the book done was the surprising thing to me. It just didn't happen as quick as I had hoped.
Got it. Now, do you think you are inspired to write a third book, or are you going to just sit tight for a while?
Yeah, I, I really, I didn't think I'd write a second book, so I have to be careful. I, I don't see that at this time. I, I really love to work one-to-one with families, but I can help so many more people with a book. So speaking engagements are, you know, speaking to large audiences is probably my next endeavor, but I, you can never say never. So for now, I'll say Maybe.
Okay, have you looked at any of the reviews thus far?
I am— a couple of them brought me to tears, I'm not going to lie. I am so fortunate that I've had families that I've started with their young or their oldest, and I now, after generations, I'm even doing grandchildren. So some of the reviews have been very I mean, all 5 stars. So number 1, that's just super, you know, super exciting for me. But more importantly, the genuine— what people wrote just really made me feel good because being an author, you're very vulnerable. You're putting your information out there for the world to judge. So I am grateful that my world has judged me in a way that I am confident and feel good about what I've done.
Got it. Well, I had a chance to read the book, and again, I've read them both, and I was just so inspired. And you just— your information is just so helpful. There's a lot of information, but it's just direct, and it's really simple and easy to understand. So I just thank you for doing what you do and inspiring families and sharing, because it just— it's It's so helpful. So is there anything else that you'd like to share with your audience, um, with families while I have you on here?
Well, I'd like to offer free resources. The first one is I'm going to post a link so you can get a copy of my book, now my bestseller, um, for 99 cents for the next 24 hours. So that's one gift. And then inside the book There is, I think, over 20 different free resources. So just know I'm here to serve you, and if you need more information, go to www.collegereadyplan.com. Thank you so much.
