You’ve visited campuses, read every admissions packet, compared financial aid letters, and heard your teen’s pros and cons a dozen times.
But the decision deadline is looming… and they’re still unsure about which college to attend. Now what?

May 1st is just a few days away and your teen still hasn’t made their final decision. How can you help?

First, take a deep breath. It’s completely normal for students to feel overwhelmed or hesitant before committing. The final college decision is a major milestone — and a meaningful opportunity for growth.

As a parent, your role isn’t to make the choice for them, but to guide and support them toward confidence.
Here’s a step-by-step way to help your teen move from feeling stuck to feeling ready.

Step 1: Help Them Revisit Their Priorities

Encourage your teen to reflect again on what matters most to them:

• What do they want out of their college experience?
• What goals or dreams do they have for life after college?

Remind them: It’s okay if their priorities have shifted since applications were submitted.

Tip for Parents: Listen more than you advise. Reflect back what you hear without judgment.

Step 2: Create a Simple Comparison Chart Together

If they’re torn between two or three schools, suggest making a side-by-side chart.
Compare colleges based on:

• Academic offerings
• Financial fit
• Campus environment
• Location
• Internship and job opportunities
• Student support services

Seeing things clearly laid out often eases the emotional pressure and invites more rational thinking.

Step 3: Encourage Long-Term Thinking

It’s easy for teens to fixate on surface-level factors — the dorms, the meal plans, the football games.

Help them think beyond the first year:

• Which college better supports their career aspirations?
• Where do they envision themselves growing over four years?
• Which environment feels more sustainable and empowering long-term?

Step 4: Be a Trusted Sounding Board (But Resist Taking Over)

Teens often want to feel heard — not steered.
Offer your input when asked, but remind them: This is their decision.

Ask open-ended questions like:

• “What excites you most about College A?”
• “What worries you most about College B?”

Let them do most of the talking.

Step 5: Try the “24-Hour Decision Test”

Here’s a strategy you can gently suggest:

• Tell your teen to “pretend” they’ve chosen one college for a full day.
• Spend 24 hours acting as if that decision is final — researching housing, registering for admitted student events.
• Notice how they feel: excited? Relieved? Hesitant?

Then swap and try it with the other option.
Often, their emotional response will tell them what logic can’t.

Step 6: Remind Them: There Is No Perfect Choice

Help normalize the reality: No college is perfect.
Every school will have strengths, weaknesses, unexpected challenges, and incredible opportunities.

The magic isn’t in the name of the college — it’s in what your teen chooses to make of it.

Final Thought: Trust the Process (and Trust Your Teen)

Making this decision is a rite of passage.
Even if they’re nervous, even if they wobble a little — they are building decision-making muscles they’ll need for the rest of their lives.

Your faith in them — your willingness to support without pushing — might just be the final ingredient they need to move forward with confidence.

Need one last reminder yourself?
No matter which college they choose, with your love and encouragement, they will find their way.