Parents 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!