Does your student want to avoid taking a standardized test? Do they bomb them every time they take them? Are you hesitant to pay for a test prep tutor? Good news. There are hundreds of schools, large and small, who will use the SAT or ACT for placement only or other minimal requirements.
Due to the 2020 pandemic, most colleges became test-optional because students were unable to take standardized tests. Rumors abound that this will have a future impact on the value colleges place on standardized tests or eliminating the test requirement altogether.
The teenage years are a challenge for parents, and many find it hard to prepare for their kids going to college. In this guide, we’ll discuss some steps you can take to practice supportive parenting as your children get ready for their next adventure.
Learning and tuition
The years that lead up to college are among the most intensive and stressful for children and their parents. The workload can get heavy, and many teens feel under pressure to perform. With exams and entry tests looming and a steady stream of assignments to complete, it’s hugely beneficial for parents to play a supportive role in learning and tuition. Some parents may want to take an active role at this point, while others may feel more comfortable letting their children study with friends, teachers and tutors.
For many parents, online learning is a blessing as it gives their teens a chance to keep their academic work on track when stuck at home. However, experts also agree that online learning can impact a teen’s mental health by increasing stress and heightened anxiety about keeping up to date with school work. So, is your teen resorting to online studies? Encourage them to adopt the following self-care habits to keep them healthy mentally and physically.
This may seem like an odd topic to introduce on a parenting for college blog. But it must be said. Sometimes college just won’t do. If you are one of those parents whose child isn’t thrilled with the prospect of college, I’m here for you. Not every child should go to college—there, I said it.
No college doesn’t necessarily mean your child is stuck in a low-paying job for the rest of their life. They have options. These options can provide your child with a bright future and many who pursue these paths often outpace those who went to college.
Believe it or not, research reveals that Americans spend an average total of 2.5 days a year looking for misplaced stuff. That’s nearly half a workweek we lose just searching for things. But time lost isn’t the only costly consequence of being forgetful. The study also shows that 60% of people have either been late to work or school because of lost items, followed by 49% who have missed appointments or meetings, and even 22% who’ve missed flights, trains, or bus rides. Turns out misplacing things can be more than just expensive; it’s a major time drain too. Don’t let disorganization cost you and your student. Make organization a priority.
Organization is half the battle when it comes to helping your teen prepare for college. If you stay organized, you won’t be fumbling around senior year in a panic. And as with any organizational system, it’s important to have the right tools. These tools will make the organization simple because you will have a place for everything, and everything should stay in its place. You’ll not only save time, but you won’t miss deadlines and be stressing to find that all-important application information.
Take the following steps to help you and your teen stay organized during the college prep process:
If you have a junior in high school, you are starting to think about which colleges might make their top 10 list and the best place to start collecting information is online through college search sites. College search sites match colleges to your teen’s interests and abilities. Encourage your teen to spend some time on each of the sites changing preferences a bit. They might wind up with an entirely different list of colleges that might introduce them to unique possibilities.
When my daughter was searching for college possibilities, she knew about Boston University but had no knowledge of a much smaller college in the same area: Bentley College. The search process using college search sites unearthed this gem and it turned out to be her final college choice. If she did not spend time searching for colleges in the Boston area, she would never have found the school she now calls her alma mater.
If you’re putting together your college list, check out these online search engines:
After my daughter applied to colleges, we waited with anticipation to receive those offers of admission. But just as important, was the financial aid award letter. That letter could mean the difference between attending a college, deciding to incur debt, or attending a less expensive college.
When the letter finally began to trickle in, I realized that choosing the colleges to apply to was only the beginning of some very tough decisions. We learned some lessons along the way.
Moving into the digital age, the College Board has made the move to provide students with a new digital SAT and PSAT.
The College Board is trying to retool the exam that has stressed out millions of students in the face of questions about whether college admissions tests are fair, or even necessary.
A growing number of colleges have eliminated the requirement that applicants submit scores from the SAT or the competing ACT, and the trend of “test-optional” admissions accelerated greatly during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1,800 schools did not require standardized test scores for 2022 admissions, according to the nonprofit organization FairTest.The number of SAT test takers declined from 2.2 million high schoolers who graduated in 2020 to 1.5 million in the class of 2021, according to the College Board. About 1.7 million students in the class of 2022 have taken the test to date.
Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of college readiness assessments for the College Board, said the changes would make the test more relevant.
“In a largely test-optional world, the SAT is a lower-stakes test in college admissions,” Ms. Rodriguez said in a statement. “Submitting a score is optional for every type of college, and we want the SAT to be the best possible option for students.”
Just like any other large consumer purchase, college tuition prices are negotiable. The sticker price you see is very rarely the price you pay. Data collected by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) revealed that colleges discounted tuition for the 2018–19 school year by over 50 percent.This year, because of the pandemic, you can anticipate that many (but not all) colleges will be even more flexible in order to lure students due to low application numbers based on the fact that families are struggling financially.
When you appeal your financial aid award, you are simply asking for more money. Don’t be afraid to do this; the college will not be offended or react by rescinding their offer of admission. They may say no, but it does not hurt to ask. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by appealing your award.
Believe it or not, colleges want to know you are interested in attending and many students simply stop with the college visit. This interest will influence their offers of admission. If they give you a coveted “accepted” slot, it only makes sense that those slots will go to the students who demonstrate interest. They are selling a service and they want interested customers, not casual shoppers. You can find out how much weight a college puts on “demonstrated interest” by researching the college’s statistics on College Navigator.
The college visit is a great place to start: taking the student-led tour and connecting with other students on campus. But if the college truly interests you, you should take that college visit a step further by considering these additional campus experiences.
