If you’re a parent of a college-bound teen, you know the stress this adds to your family. If you are like most parents, the money you saved for college has not kept up with the increase in tuition. If your son or daughter isn’t one of the ones who snag a full ride, you are going to be looking for ways to cut those college costs.
Here are just a few tips that might help you pay less for college:
Continue reading How to Pay Less for College
The days and weeks before your child heads off to college can be manic. You have so many things to arrange to ensure that they are prepared for flying the nest and starting classes that you rarely get a moment to sit down and think.
However, there are a few things you should absolutely make time for before they head off to college and out of your home, including the following:
Continue reading 5 Things to Make Time for Before College in the Fall
The teenage years are all about the battles. The nature of the relationship between teens and their parents lends itself to conflict. The wise parent uses these conflicts as teaching lessons. The wiser parent learns when to recognize their teen’s desire for independence and let go and when to stand firm.
The college process often brings conflict between parent and student college choices. The following is a list of do’s and don’ts for parents when the conflict arises:
Continue reading When Parent and Student College Choices Differ
Every parent wants their child to build strong relationships and friendships that have a positive impact on their health and well-being. It’s not always easy to make friends, and this can be a source of worry and anxiety for parents as their kids prepare to start high school or college. In this guide, we’ll outline some top tips to help teens forge positive relationships.
Continue reading Helping Teens Build Positive Relationships
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.
Continue reading Creating a Career Plan
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:
Continue reading Does Your College Student Need to Declare a Major When They Start College?
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.
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.
Continue reading How to Find the Best College Bargains
I spend a good deal of time talking about preparing your student for college and offering good college advice. But believe it or not, that’s not my total focus. My focus is helping parents help their child find the best path after high school graduation.
It’s because of this focus, I was happy to read a post on Grown and Flown today called: Dear Friends and Family, Please Keep Your Snarky Opinions About My Teen’s College Choice to Yourself.
If you’re on Facebook (where most of us moms hang out) you’ve probably come across posts from proud parents announcing their high school senior’s college plans. Hiding in the shadows (and they shouldn’t be) are those parents whose senior chose to take a different path after graduation.
Continue reading No Thank You: Keep Your Unsolicited Advice to Yourself
When parents and students enter the college-bound process, issues arise. It’s the inevitable clash of what parents think is best for their kids, and what the kids want. Over the past 18 years the clashes have been over such things as food, friends and entertainment choices. As college approaches, the parent-student conflict intensifies.
Following are five areas that typically cause parent – student conflict along with some advice on how to handle it and work toward a compromise.
Continue reading Resolving Parent – Student Conflict During the College Process
Your college student is a unique creature. They are at once old enough to be considered adults but still young and inexperienced enough to make some pretty big mistakes. They are also incredibly idealistic, which can lead to them making even more mistakes as they try to pursue their dreams.
For all of these reasons, it is important for the people in their lives to offer them support. Here are six ways you can support your college student:
Continue reading 6 Ways to Support Your College Student