Tag Archives: college preparation

college guidance, college planning

Preparing your teen for college: It’s all about guiding, not doing

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parent and studentDo you know a parent who attended an Ivy league school and obsessed about their child attending the same school? Have you heard of parents who attended Texas A&M and insisted that their children attend as well?

Being a parent is about guiding, not doing. The old adage that implies “teaching is more profitable than doing” holds true with your teenagers as well. It’s important to impress upon your children the importance of an education. It’s not beneficial to ram a specific college down their throats and tell them if they want to attend college it will be your choice. That’s not parenting, that’s dictating. And while parenthood requires a certain amount of rules, it does not benefit your child to force them into a decision that does not match up with their passion.

If you take the time to teach your child how to apply for scholarships, how to apply for financial aid, and how to fill out a college application, you are teaching them to become independent. You are providing them with skills that will carry over into the job market and into their lives when they begin their own family. If you do it for them, they won’t learn anything and will continue to be dependent on you for other tasks as well.

But, how can you teach them if you don’t have the right tools? How can you help them to prepare for their college years if you didn’t go yourself and have no idea where to begin? That’s why I’m here! To help you find the right tools to help your teen succeed. If you have the tools and know how to use them, you can guide your future college student confidently and be assured that his college experience is personally and academically beneficial.

It’s all about the right tools for the job. I’m here to help. If you have a question about college preparation, please post it here and I’ll be happy to help. I’ve been there myself and I know how overwhelming it can be. I also know how important it is to be prepared.

What is your most pressing college question?

college planning

Experience from the College Trenches

 

sat stressParents always ask me, “How did you do it? How did you survive all the pre-college preparation and the barrage of forms and application deadlines?” Honestly, if you were to have asked me while I was navigating that maze I would have said I was drowning. Like most parents, those years came quickly and I thought I had all the time in the world. Not so. I think we successfully survived because we had a plan. We started early and we kept accurate records. And, we did tons and tons of research and asked a multitude of questions.

The best advice I can give a parent who has a teen thinking about attending college: START EARLY. Don’t wait until senior year. Don’t even wait until junior year. Start freshman year to get your boat headed in the college direction. It’s not easy but when those college acceptance letters come rolling in it will all be worth it.

Here’s a few simple things you can encourage your teen to do during his/her freshman year of high school:

  • Make a list of goals (academic and personal)
  • Meet with the counselor to go over the 4 year course schedule
  • Visit some of the websites of your dream colleges
  • Start your scholarship search (no, it’s not too early)
  • Find some fun volunteer activities to do during the summer and think about starting a business that might look good on a college application (starting a neighborhood newspaper or a lawn mowing business)
  • Keep a journal of your interests and jobs to guide you to the major you might be interested in at college
  • Register on some college websites (collegeboard.com has a My Organizer tool for students that helps you stay on track)

Starting early will alleviate the “panic syndrome” that so often occurs during senior year, which tends to hit right about the time “senioritis” sets in.

If you have any questions or would like some additional tips, please leave me a message here and I’d be happy to help…since I’ve already climbed out of the trenches!