I’ll admit (willingly) that I like to offer my unsolicited advice to my children. Even though they are grown, I feel the need to continue to parent. As they did when they were younger, they smile, listen, and then do things their own way. It’s a type of dance parents and kids do with one another.
The hardest part of parenting during college prep is finding a balance in your parenting. You want to encourage them, guide them and help them make the right choices. But when you push too hard, nag and set guidelines that interfere with their independence and individual choices you create a stressful and frustrating college preparation experience. This is a monumental step in your child’s life and you don’t want to taint it with fighting, frustration and family discourse.
Common sense isn’t a flower that grows in everyone’s garden.
Following are 5 tips for parents of college-bound teens (based around good old southern truisms) to keep peace in the home and reduce the stress related to the college admissions process:
This article was originally written for University Parent as a part of their parent program.
Everyone likes a good bargain.
We rush out on Black Friday to get the best deals for Christmas — we stand in line in the freezing cold to save money! But do parents put as much effort and attention into finding a college bargain? Student debt statistics would say they don’t. Would you want your student graduating from college saddled with that debt? I imagine not!
College bargains do exist and if you have a student who intends to start college in the fall, it’s your job as a parent to point him in their direction. College is a huge consumer purchase which you can and should approach much as you would the purchase of a home or car. Do your research, compare the prices, and help your student choose a school that gives you the best bang for your buck.
One of my favorite movies is Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. In it, Mr. Blandings tells his lawyer that “some purchases you make with your heart and not your head.” As I said, I love the movie, but this is bad advice. When it comes to your college “purchase,” use your head first and then listen to your heart.
I understand that it can be challenging to get students to look at the college choice from this point of view. When my daughter was applying, all her choices were east coast private schools with huge price tags. As a parent, I wanted her to have her dream but, also as her parent, I wanted her to graduate without being burdened with debt. Her heart told her to go to the college that offered the least amount of merit aid. Her head, after a long “money talk” and re-evaluation of her second choice, led her to a school that allowed her to graduate with a small amount of student loan debt. She’s grateful every day that I guided her in that direction.
Most parents these days would expect their child to go to school, college, and possibly study at a university as well. In most cases, college or even high school is enough to go out, get a job, and find something that they really want to do. After all, they have plenty of time to go to college or university afterwards if they really wanted to.
But as parents, we tend to focus a lot on planning for the future. We like to think about what our children might want from life and we try to make arrangements so that they have all the support and assistance that they’d need. But even then, things might not go as planned. Unexpected circumstances might occur, and there are some unfortunate situations that might strike before your child can even finish high school.
So in this, we’re going to talk about planning for the unexpected. Plans that last for several months or even years can go terribly wrong, which is why it’s important to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances.
Education is obviously one of the most useful things you can have on your side if you want to pursue a career you will love. But if you are in the position of knowing you want a degree, but not quite knowing which specific degree, that can be a tough place to find yourself in. If you are keen to try and find the best degree for you, there are a few things you should bear in mind. In this post, we are going to take a look at these, and discover exactly how you can choose the right degree for yourself.
Following What You Enjoy
One of the most important things is that you are doing something because you actively, genuinely enjoy it. If you don’t really enjoy it, then what’s the point of doing it? Those who pursue a degree just because they believe it will earn them more money in the long run, and not because they want to do it, often end up regretting that decision. Instead, make sure that you are following your heart, as cliche as that may sound. You will be better off on the whole, and much more likely to find something that is perfect for you.
We can forget how much of an impact we have on our children. When it comes to getting ready for college, we may think that our job is very simple: to ensure that our children study. But if we provide the wrong environment or we don’t enforce it the right way, this will have a more devastating impact on their academics than we realized. To make sure our children are studying effectively, we’ve got to make sure the environment is effective so their frame of mind is ready for study. How can you make the environment and the mindset work together?
Minimizing External Stresses
We all have an inherent need to procrastinate on occasion. If you have spent a long time trying to get your children to study and were met with resistance every step of the way, it’s hardly a surprise that when they need to knuckle down and study, they will look for any reason to avoid it. Even something that is not their responsibility can be the perfect excuse. It’s about making sure that they have a conducive study area, but this means that you need to realize the impact of a perfect study area.
By creating an environment that is not too hot, not too cold, not too bright, and not too noisy is crucial. This means making sure everything is working as it should. For example, something as noisy as the air conditioning can be a distraction and if it’s not working properly, the environment will be completely uncomfortable, and there are plenty of 24 hour AC service providers that can help people. It’s about getting all those little things correct.
Statistics show there is a significant amount of students who enter college and do not attain a degree. The overall college dropout rate in the U.S. is 40% for undergraduates. Of those who drop out, 28% of them drop out before they become sophomores.
Your college-bound student should prepare for obstacles and you can help. Share this article with them and encourage them to take it to heart.
What can be done to assure that you don’t become one of those dropout statistics?
1. Research colleges and majors before applying.
It’s just plain smart to do the research and know why and where you want to go to college. Refine your list of choices to include the colleges that offer the academic program that suits your interests and the college setting and faculty that you feel most comfortable with and could see yourself flourishing in that environment.
As student debt numbers continue to soar and the job market becomes increasingly competitive, prospective college students care now more than ever about being able to support themselves after graduation – and their parents want to help them avoid drowning in the $1.6 trillion national student loan debt.
GradReports, recently released new proprietary Salary Scores in an effort to empower students with the data necessary to compare schools and equip themselves for a successful future. GradReports compared the salaries of over 4.6 million college graduates to determine Salary Scores for 2,200+ colleges and 334 majors.
Guiding your child to succeed in all areas of life is every parent’s wish. This guidance process is even more critical when your teen gains college admission and has to choose a college major. Did you know 50-80% of students in America change college majors at least once in their four-year study? For several parents, this process will be the first time teenagers make a life-altering decision. Therefore, offering direction should be a deliberate process.
There are hundreds of colleges who are open to late applicants. There are also colleges who have a rolling admissions policy—apply anytime for admission.
In addition, The National Association for College Admission Counseling publishes their College Openings Update list in May after the decision deadline. Using the list, you can search for member colleges and universities- both public and private- that are still accepting applications.
What is rolling admissions?
Rolling admission is an application option that allows you to apply within a window of time. This window usually opens up in the fall, commonly September 1, and lasts through the spring, or until all spots in the upcoming class have been filled.
About 1/3 of National Universities – schools that offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and that typically produce influential academic research – offer rolling admissions.
A potential point of confusion for students is the priority application date set by most colleges that offer rolling admissions. While many undergraduate institutions recommend that prospective students submit their materials by the priority date to have the best chance of admission, unlike with a fixed deadline, applications will still be accepted after this time.
Apply Today & Don’t Delay
Because housing and financial aid are in limited quantities, it’s important for students to move fast. Once the college’s aid is dispersed, there is no money available. Once student housing is filled, colleges will only be accepting local applicants who can commute.
Even though space is available now, when it’s filled, it’s filled. Even those colleges with “rolling” admissions eventually fill their seats.
Check With Individual Colleges
After reviewing the list of openings, check online with each individual school to see if they are still accepting applications. If necessary, speak with an admissions officer and discuss what options are still available. Once you speak with admissions, talk to financial aid about any type of merit aid that could still be available.
Other Ways to Check Available Openings
Here are a few ways you can also check for available openings:
You can look on the Common Application website, click on the Member Colleges tab at the top, search for colleges, and input the data regarding the deadlines. Choose Spring 2021 and Other 2021 and it will provide you with a list of colleges still accepting applications.
You can also search on the Universal College Application site by clicking on the Fall 2020 link to find a list of colleges that are accepting late applications or have rolling admission policies.
The College Board’s Big Future site allows you to do the same type of search but requires additional input to narrow down your search. Once your search is narrowed, you can click on the Application Deadline and see an extensive list of colleges with their deadlines posted. They are listed by date and start with January, so you will have to go to the end pages to find the schools with late deadlines and no deadlines.
The majority of students submit their college application for Regular Decision. Students can apply to as many colleges as they choose for Regular Decision, keeping in mind that each application adds to the overall workload and application fees to multiple colleges can be costly. Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity in the application process.
Every school you apply to will have Regular Decision as an option. Students applying RD will generally turn in their applications between mid-December through mid-January and hear back regarding their admissions status by March or April. Although the majority of schools set January 1st as their RD deadline, many other schools will have you turn in your application on January 15th, February 1st, or even at an earlier date, such as December 1. Because of the varying deadlines, it’s important to keep track of each college’s deadline.
One of the greatest detriments to applying Regular Decision is waiting to hear back from the college until March or April. Your friends may have applied ED or EA and you will still be unsure of where you are going to college. Waiting is hard, but if you were undecided when you he , you have had that extra time to make up your mind. This will help since the May 1 decision deadline will be close to the time you hear back from the colleges.
Another downside would be that your student will be part of a large applicant pool and standing out is critical. Be sure he or she is at the top of the applicant pool (you can check applicant stats on College Navigator or College Data) so they will rise to the top.
Why should your student apply Regular Decision?
There are several reasons why a student may opt to apply Regular Decision. Here are just a few:
If your student’s grades need improvement
Grades are a crucial part of your student’s application. A strong GPA junior year will ensure your student is competitive with other applicants. If he struggled during junior year, applying RD gives him the opportunity to show an upward trend in his grades during the fall semester which will bode favorably with admissions. Those extra few months could push him over the top in the applicant pool.
If your student hasn’t had time (or the opportunity) to visit
Applying to a college without visiting could be a waste of time. Although many campuses have squelched actual visits, students should make an effort to at least set foot on campus. If the college is open for visits, it’s a good way to demonstrate interest. In-person visits are a good way to get a “feel” for the campus and students. Many colleges have been crossed off the list simply because they just didn’t “feel” right.
If your student hasn’t started on their application
The college application requires time and effort. Waiting until the week before the ED or EA deadline is a bad idea. Rather than rushing to get the application in, it’s better to wait and dedicate the time to submitting a stellar application that will stand out among applicants.
If your student isn’t 100% sure of their top-choice
Applying RD gives your student time to consider all aspects of each college is they aren’t completely sure of where they want to attend. ED and EA applications are usually reserved for the student who has already made their college choice and wants to get into their top choice school.
If your student needs financial aid
Applying EA and RD allows your student to compare financial aid offers. As the offers of admission come in, so will the financial aid package. You and your student can take the time to evaluate the offers and choose the college that is the best financial fit. Applying ED locks you into a decision and if the financial aid is insufficient, your decision is binding. It may force you into taking on more debt than you are comfortable with.
