Are you dealing with teenage drama about college? If you were expecting an easy ride you’ve probably realized that you were delusional. Even the best of daughters has her moments; and even the model son makes you want to pull your hair out. A friend of mine once told me (when I was potty training my daughter and was totally frustrated), “Honey, potty training ain’t nothing compared to raising teenagers.” She was right!
Navigating college roadblocks, based on my experience and the experiences of other parents, can be difficult and frustrating. There are three tactics parents can use when dealing with these unexpected twists and turns along the road to college.
School’s out for the summer and it won’t be long before you hear those dreaded words, “I’m bored.” My grandsons have already uttered them!
Personally, I never liked those words. I don’t use them myself and I taught my kids not to use them. They knew if they used them, I would find them something to occupy their time and they wouldn’t like it.
While you can’t jam college prep down your teen’s throat this summer, you can prepare for those “I’m bored” moments and take advantage of the opportunity to help them find something to occupy their time.
Here are some suggestions to crush the summer boredom:
Online and distance learning have long been popular ways to improve your education. People across the world are relying on these methods to enable themselves to better their qualifications, offering ways to learn and build a career that doesn’t involve going to school. While popular, though, options like this can also come with some challenges. You need to think about yourself and your goals before you embark on something like this, and it will make sense to explore whether or not online learning is right for you before you get started.
Independent Learning
Going to university or college means that you have to be a good independent learner, as you won’t have teachers pushing you to do your work all the time. Of course, though, this will be even more important if you decide to study online. With very few deadlines to meet, it can be all too easy to allow your online education to drag on for a very long time. You have to make sure that you will be able to push yourself to work and learn, especially if you have a lot of other things in life to think about.
What is your student’s college deal-breaker? My daughter’s college deal-breaker had nothing to do with academics or college rankings. From the time she was small, she wanted to go to college in Boston. Coming from Texas, that was a bit of a surprise–especially since she had never visited Boston.
But when college decision time came around, Bentley College beat out SMU because of location. My son’s college deal-breaker came when a buddy of his in the Marine Corps told him a college in Texas had “hot chicks” and a party school reputation. Perhaps neither was the best criteria to base this decision, but they demonstrate this fact: emotion plays a factor in choosing a college.
Before you think I’m advocating “heads to the grindstone” this summer, rest assured these activities will not consume your or your student’s summer months. What this summer college prep will do is prepare your student for the upcoming school year and help him enter the next phase of his education thinking and planning for college.
The summer before middle school
Entering middle school is a huge transition for students. They go from one classroom to multiple classrooms, lockers, multiple teachers, and more homework. The summer before your student begins middle school is the perfect time to begin preparation for the future. Although it might seem premature to start thinking about college, it’s never too early. Your child needs a strong middle school foundation in order to take the high school courses that colleges expect of a college-bound student.
For a list of 10 tips for soon-to-be middle school parents, click here.
Not all colleges are created equal. But are you looking for the college bargains?
Community college. State University. Private liberal arts college. Trade or technical college. Top-tiered business college. Ivy League college. Not all colleges are created equal.
If that’s the case, what makes a good college? Some might think it’s a #1 rated NCAA football team, or a college with an Ivy League designation, or even a school that is highly selective. A good college (as in good fit) meets the following three criteria: academic, social, and financial. The college that meets or excels in all three should be the college your student chooses. Even the best college (based on reputation) isn’t a good college if the student neglects the opportunities he is given while attending.
In terms of financial fit, does the college fit into your family’s college budget?
College is expensive. However, college students tend to take a casual attitude toward spending; hence they waste money in college. After tuition, room and board, students often find themselves tapped out and living on ramen noodles. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Students can save money by making wise choices and being cognizant of their spending.
Following are 10 ways to save money in college:
1. Create a budget
Any smart spender creates a monthly budget, especially college students who have limited discretionary funds. Even if you’re being subsidized by your parents and have a work-study job for expenses, it’s smart to watch your spending. Pizza and fast food delivery can add up.
2. Take on a job
If you qualify for financial aid, most colleges will offer work study. This allows you to work on campus during school and use that money for college expenses. Even if you don’t qualify, get a job while you’re in college. Not only will it subsidize your spending but studies show students who work in college get better grades.
It’s college decision time and disappointed teens are receiving news they have been placed on the college wait list. A wait list decision does not reject an applicant outright, but it also offers an uncomfortable level of ambiguity about whether an applicant will receive an acceptance to the college later. So how likely are teens to be taken off the wait list, and is there anything they can do to increase their chances?
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.
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.
