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Education Encompassed Podcast

The Standard in Career Planning

The strategic podcast for families who want a real plan before making the most expensive decision of their lives — before applications, not after.

Dr. Zachariah Seiden (Dr. Zed) Licensed Engineer Harvard Alumnus Doctor of Higher Education
2Episodes
$450KAvg. mistake prevented
15K+Schools analyzed
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Why This Podcast

Strategy, Not Motivation

Everything most families skip before writing the first tuition check.

Career-First Framework

Start with a destination career, build backward to the right major, then choose the college — not the other way around.

Financial Clarity

FAFSA decoded, aid appeals explained, and billions in unclaimed scholarships made findable — real money strategy.

No Fluff

Built from a conversation with engineers who'd choose differently. Every episode is a framework, not a pep talk.

For Families Together

Parents and students get the same vocabulary. One plan, one direction — no conflicting guidance mid-process.

15,000 Schools Mapped

Most families evaluate fewer than 10. Dr. Zed opens the full landscape and shows you how to navigate it.

Built on Real Experience

Dr. Zed is a Harvard-trained engineer turned education doctor. This isn't theory — it's lived intelligence.

Latest Episode

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Episode 2 — Career First, College Second
★ Episode 2 — Latest

Career First, College Second: The Framework That Changes Everything

Most families pick a college before they have a plan — and that single misstep drives years of wasted tuition, unnecessary debt, and careers that don't fit. Dr. Zed walks through the three-part framework that fixes it.

In this episode
The career-to-major-to-college sequence that eliminates wasted semesters
What FAFSA actually is — and why it's a negotiation, not paperwork
How to appeal a financial aid offer (the first number is rarely the final one)
How one business major landed a $20,000 environmental scholarship strategically
Play Episode 2

College is a capital investment. The plan comes before the campus visit, not after.

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2 episodes
Episode 2 thumbnail EP 02
Episode 22025

Career First, College Second: The Framework That Changes Everything

Dr. Zed walks through the sequence every student and parent needs before setting foot on a campus: career → major → college. Skipping this order doesn't just cost time — it costs semesters.

Why choosing a college by name or ranking is an emotional decision with a financial consequence
What FAFSA actually is and how to use it as a negotiation opener
Why billions in scholarship dollars go unclaimed every year
How one business major landed a $20,000 environmental scholarship

College is a capital investment. The plan comes before the campus visit, not after.

Episode 1 thumbnail EP 01 · Pilot
Episode 1 · Pilot2025

The $450,000 Mistake: And the Plan That Prevents It

Most families treat college like a brand name purchase. Dr. Zed breaks down why that instinct costs families $450,000 — and what a real education plan actually looks like.

Why a four-year degree can silently become a six-year, $600,000 liability
The fatal flaw in choosing schools by ranking, reputation, or campus aesthetics
Why career alignment must come before college selection
The 15,000-school landscape most families never explore

This is not motivational content. This is the strategic framework families need before they make the most expensive decision of their lives.