If you want to help your college-bound child learn how to study effectively as possible so they can reach their full potential now, and later when they head off to college, one of the best things you can do is help them to learn how they can deal with the various distractions that could make studying difficult.
With that in mind, here are some of the most common study distractions and what you can do about them:
Continue reading 5 Common Study Distractions (and how to help)
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.
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.
Continue reading Supportive Parenting During College Prep
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:
Continue reading Organization During College Prep
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:
Continue reading 10 College Search SitesToday’s guest post is from Elliot Felix, author of “How to Get the Most Out of College”.
College can really feel like a maze. It’s complicated, expensive, and the future is at stake. It’s also a different maze than what we went through a generation ago, and so are today’s students. They are more diverse in terms of age, race, income, and experience. More transfer between colleges. More work during college, live off campus, and study part-time. Even before the pandemic, about one in six studied fully-online and about one in three took at least one online class. Compared to 30 years ago and adjusted for inflation, private colleges are twice as expensive and public colleges are three times as expensive. Students today have only a 50% chance of making a better living than their parents compared to an 80% chance 30 years ago. Is it any wonder why today’s students and families are more career-focused, more value-conscious, and need more support?
Continue reading How to Get the Most Out of College
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.
Continue reading Moving Beyond the College Visit
Data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling show there is a powerful tool students can use to improve their admission chances: demonstrated interest. How can social media play a part?
Social media makes it easier than ever to connect with colleges and their representatives. You can follow them on Twitter, friend them on Facebook, connect with them on LinkedIn, and follow their Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Demonstrate genuine interest and contribute to the conversations; but don’t flood their accounts with replies and questions. In this case, less is more.
When application decision time rolls around you should have established yourself as an interested candidate. College admissions officers should be able to look at their records and see that you demonstrated interest. Some will remember your face, look back on your interview and be able to recall any conversations they had with you during the admissions process. You will trump anyone who hasn’t expressed interest and was simply a casual shopper.
Here’s how you can leverage specific social media accounts and use them to communicate with colleges:
Continue reading Connecting With Colleges on Social Media
It’s that time of year. Students who applied ED and EA have already heard from the colleges regarding their admission decisions. Students who are applying regular decision will be sending off those applications this month and hearing early in the spring. What happens next?
Colleges will provide your student with one of four responses: offered admission, wait-listed, deferred, or not offered admission. Today, students hear as the notices are posted online. The days of waiting for the letter are over. We live in an instant gratification world. You can expect, however, for your student to be hitting that computer refresh button on the day notices are posted!
Continue reading Evaluating Admission Decisions
There is one thing you can be sure of in life: college tuition will rise every year. Prices rise and fall all around us, but tuition never seems to go down.
College tuition prices are a lot higher today compared with two decades ago. For instance, the average cost for tuition and fees among ranked public and private National Universities – schools that are often research-oriented and offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees – has risen significantly since 2001, according to U.S. News data.
From the 2008 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings to the current 2022 edition, in-state tuition prices among public National Universities grew by almost 79%. Experts say state schools have typically had more room to increase tuition levels compared with their private counterparts, and finding a bargain price at the state level is becoming harder.
The economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic may also affect tuition costs in the years to come.
In just comparing the 2020-2021 school year to the current 2021-2022 academic year, tuition rates at both private and public National Universities have increased by at least 2%, according to U.S. News data.
Continue reading 5 Reasons why College Costs So Much
From Ivy League admissions expert Dr. Aviva Legatt comes an insider’s college admissions guide that teaches students to identify and harness their authentic passions, stand out from the crowd, and achieve their dreams in college and beyond, “Get Real and Get In”
“Get Real and Get In” teaches readers to think outside of the box and focus on what admissions officers are really looking for—young people who dare to be their most authentic selves. Through engaging, accessible, and empathetic prose, this book forms an inspirational roadmap for readers to uncover their true passions and leverage them to create applications that truly stand out from the crowd. Aviva encourages students to look beyond just getting into a “good” college and focus more actively on identifying and attaining their long-term goals.
Continue reading Admissions Expert Sheds Light on What it Takes to Get Into College