There’s a theory among teens, and many parents, when applying to college: “The more colleges you apply to, the better your chances.” In theory, it makes sense, but there are other things to consider besides hedging your bets with numbers.
Continue reading Less is More When Applying to College
Getting a head start on college prep can make the fall and spring less stressful for parents and students. Seniors will need to be prepared for the overwhelming amount of college admissions activities once school begins. Tackling (or preparing) for those college related tasks now can help ease some of the pressure in the fall. Get ahead of the game and prepare in advance; be ready for your student’s senior year to begin with this college prep checklist.
Continue reading Back to School: College Prep Checklist for Seniors
We all want to stay organized. We spend hours watching “how to” videos on organization tips from our closets, to our kitchens, to our drawers and more.
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 the lack of organization cost you and your student. Make organization a priority.
Continue reading Back to School: College Prep Organization TipsIt’s that time of year again and your college-bound teen is headed back to school. Every year presents opportunities to get a leg up on the college process. If you and your teen plan strategically before school starts, you’ll have some goals and be able to hit the ground running.
Here is a quick list of back to school tips, broken down by each grade level. The activities are to be done just as soon as your teen gets back to school:
Continue reading Back to School Tips for High School Parents
If you have a college-bound student, how do you help them will college prep while letting them own the process? What is the parent’s role?
With all the talk of helicopter parenting, over parenting, and parents refusing to allow their students to become independent adults, it’s important to understand how to coach your teenager without crossing the line.
An article in Forbes magazine quoted a study conducted by Florida State University focusing on some of the issues with today’s parenting:
Helicopter parents are “overly involved, protective parents who provide substantial support (e.g., financial, emotional, physical health advice) to their emerging adult children, often intervening in their affairs and making decisions for them.
Individuals with parents who engage in highly controlling, overprotective behaviors have been characterized as being overly needy in terms of seeking attention, approval and direction from others,” the authors wrote in summarizing past research. “In addition, they have been found to utilize more ineffective coping skills, express higher levels of narcissism and demonstrate lower self-efficacy.
In contrast…
“Developmentally appropriate parenting can promote healthy decision-making and a child’s development of autonomy, increasing the likelihood that their children will become independent, well-adjusted, problem-solving adults. They tend to cope better with stress, have more self-esteem and experience less depression.”
Knowing this…
May Decision Day has come and gone. Students have made those final decisions and committed to college in the fall. After all the stress of senior year and some of the conflict that arose within families, you can rest easy the hard work is done and it’s smooth sailing ahead.
But is it? Your student and you have worked hard for this day and you should certainly enjoy the accomplishment. Your student did the work and was accepted to college. You did the work and prepared your student for that next phase in their life: adulthood. You have been planning for this day ever since they entered high school. You looked forward to the day when they would finally leave your nest and go out on their own. But you probably weren’t expecting so many mixed feelings.
Continue reading The Joy and Angst of Decision Day
As a parent, you most certainly think about your child’s future and so often college prep is a part of that future. You may see them as an engineer, a teacher, or a doctor. You may picture them at your alma mater, or being the first in your family to attend college. Maybe you just hope they find a passion and pursue it. Whatever you hope, you want what is best for your child and to support them in achieving their goals.
College prep is a team effort. While the student leads the team and is ultimately the one who makes the final decision, parents can participate. This is an overwhelming process to handle alone and parents can ease some of the tremendous stress and burden.
Continue reading 10 Ways Parents Can Help With College Prep
As any parent will tell you, stress, teens and college prep go hand in hand. Add that to anxiousness, frustration and over-commitment and you have a recipe for disaster at home. Tempers rise and everyone’s emotions are volatile. If you’ve learned anything over the course of their childhood, it’s how to pick your battles—letting the unimportant matters slide to focus on the more important ones. During college prep, especially, the battle lines may be drawn.
Continue reading Battle Lines During College Prep
College preparation does NOT begin during your student’s senior year. It starts in middle school with a discussion about college and decisions related to high school course selection and gets off to a running start their first day of high school. While you might be astonished and astounded by this statement, the truth is if you take it to heart, your student will enter senior year prepared and at the top of the college applicant pool.
Following are five steps to take once your student enters high school to prepare for their senior year and the college admissions process. These steps will help you and your student have less stress and be less likely to panic due to lack of preparation when that all-important college application time comes along.
Continue reading 5 Steps to Prepare for the College Admissions Process
It’s exhausting searching and scouring the internet for the right information when it comes to helping your student prepare for college. But what if you could use ONLY ONE RESOURCE and find everything you ever wanted to know about college prep? Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Here it is. I’ve done the research, examined the links and their resources, and compiled a list of 100+ college prep resources for you. (If you know of others, please leave them in the comments and I will add them to the list!)
Continue reading 100+ College Prep Resources