Choosing a college is a significant decision that can shape your student’s future, so it’s crucial to approach it with careful consideration. Here are some key factors to keep in mind when making this important choice:
1. Financial Considerations
This is #1 because it comes before your student even starts their college list. It’s essential to have a clear understanding of your budget and how to manage your finances during college. Evaluate the cost of attending each college, including tuition, fees, and living expenses. Research scholarship opportunities, financial aid options, and work-study programs.
Inflation, rising gas prices, and higher property taxes are placing burdens on American families. Those of you who are looking at an upcoming college bill are concerned about how to get the most for your money with the best return on your investment and the best earning potential.
The college education is a major purchase for families and as tuition rises, more and more students are vying for financial aid. It stands to reason that parents want to make sure their student is getting a degree in a field that will support them after graduation.
Payscale’s College Salary Report can help you and your student when you are researching colleges. The report is based on a comprehensive database. In 2022, their rankings come from the alumni salary data of 3.5 million respondents, representing more than 4,000 colleges and universities across the U.S.
When you are trying to get your child into college, getting a place seems like the be-all and end-all. However, the bigger picture is that college, while a formative time in a young person’s life, is a stepping stone to securing a role in their desired career field. Indeed, your child will still need support with this as they navigate their way through college. Read on to find out how you can help.
It’s seems unreasonable for us to think that our college-bound teens should know what they want to study in college. They haven’t had many career-related experiences other than part-time jobs while in high school or during summers and breaks. Knowing this, should we assume that our college-bound teens should be able to choose a major when they enter college?
Let’s consider some key points about college majors:
In today’s world, we are all looking for bargains. How much can I save on this purchase? Is there a coupon for that item? The college decision process should be no different. You never want to pay full sticker price on a car, and you shouldn’t pay full sticker price for the college education. Here are just a few money saving tips on how to find the best college bargains.
Use online information to find the most generous colleges.
You can start your search by looking at the colleges who are generous with their financial aid by meeting the highest percentage of financial need. How do you find those colleges? It’s simpler than you might think. You can research them at the College Board’s site: Big Future. You need to follow the box at the bottom of the page that says “Find Colleges” and click the search button.
For a step-by-step guide, you can read The College Solutions Blog with photos of each step and how to use the tool.
Some students find that choosing a career can be a complicated process. If your student is about to graduate from high school and heading off to college, they should be armed with the best college courses to take to prepare for a future career. Let’s take a look at some of the options:
1. Biology
Biology degree programs expose students to the plants, animals, people, and thus the ecosystems in which they thrive. For anyone with a general interest in science, a biology program offers many opportunities. This will help you get into more specific areas of study that you might not have considered before. Biology classes also tend to be very hands-on and attract people with natural problem-solving skills.
It’s something that we hear so much, that we need to “follow our dreams.” But as parents, we may have fought hard for our children to get scholarships and have started on their college journey, but if they have turned to a different path, this could be a big shock to us. If they choose to change their major it could shock you.
But this may warrant a more important discussion. Do we encourage our children to follow their passions when they’ve worked so hard towards one path in college and suddenly changes paths?
Education is obviously one of the most useful things you can have on your side if you want to pursue a career you will love. But if you are in the position of knowing you want a degree, but not quite knowing which specific degree, that can be a tough place to find yourself in. If you are keen to try and find the best degree for you, there are a few things you should bear in mind. In this post, we are going to take a look at these, and discover exactly how you can choose the right degree for yourself.
Following What You Enjoy
One of the most important things is that you are doing something because you actively, genuinely enjoy it. If you don’t really enjoy it, then what’s the point of doing it? Those who pursue a degree just because they believe it will earn them more money in the long run, and not because they want to do it, often end up regretting that decision. Instead, make sure that you are following your heart, as cliche as that may sound. You will be better off on the whole, and much more likely to find something that is perfect for you.
Guiding your child to succeed in all areas of life is every parent’s wish. This guidance process is even more critical when your teen gains college admission and has to choose a college major. Did you know 50-80% of students in America change college majors at least once in their four-year study? For several parents, this process will be the first time teenagers make a life-altering decision. Therefore, offering direction should be a deliberate process.
If your student is in the stages of deciding which degree to take at college, you’ll likely know that this can be a testing time. Some teens seem to know exactly what kind of career that they want even at this age, others are still unsure- and that’s okay too. This is a big decision that will affect your child’s future enormously, so if they are questioning their choices or feeling unsure, then this is just a completely healthy part of the process.
You’ll naturally be looking to support and help them as much as you can and so being clued up on some excellent degree options will help you to provide better advice.
For instance, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a degree level program which requires four years of study. The main curriculum on these programs includes the study of all aspects of nursing practice and theory; from adult and maternal to newborn and pediatric. At some colleges, areas such as community, gerontological or psychiatric health will also be covered in the curriculum. As well as nursing practice and theory, courses will also include studying leadership and professional practice.
Benefits of study
While some other routes into nursing take less time to study, the BSN degree is a longer and more detailed course that is considered advantageous for a number of reasons. Firstly, taking a BSN means more options to progress further career-wise in the nursing world, and thus the salaries as one moves forward will reflect this. Holding a BSN will grant entry into masters courses or set the student up to progress by taking a Doctor of Nursing program. Some DNP programs are available to study online; for instance, Bradley University offers such opportunities. As well as this, graduates of these courses will enjoy the chance to take on specialized nursing based jobs that exist outside the traditional role. Students could end up specializing in something that they are really passionate about, for instance, a psychiatric nurse, nurse anesthetist, or neonatal intensive care nurse. In addition to this, leadership roles are on the cards if these are what candidates aspire to.
Job satisfaction
Nursing is the ultimate altruistic professional that helps others and gives back. A number of essays and studies have linked being an altruistic person to being a happier person, so nursing candidates could find a career whereby they experience real joy, even though the work can be challenging. Finding something that you love to do is great for the mind and body both, yet sometimes it can be difficult finding out just what that thing is! If your kid is keen to discover if the nursing world is for them, why not suggest that they spent a little time volunteering in supporting role and see if this helps them reach a decision? Spending enough time researching and discovering as much about a potential degree program as you can will aid in making a properly informed choice.
