It’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
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
Positive parenting is about guiding, not doing. The old adage that implies “teaching is more profitable than doing” holds true with your teenagers as well. It’s important to impress upon your children the importance of an education.
It’s not beneficial to ram a specific college down their throats and tell them if they want to attend college it will be your choice. That’s not parenting, that’s dictating. And while parenting requires a certain amount of rules, it does not benefit your child to force them into a decision that does not match up with their passion.
Continue reading Positive Parenting During College Prep
While you may be happy that your child has chosen to attend college, you might also be having a lot of mixed feelings about them moving out and away. You must be prepared for their departure the best you can so that it is a smooth transition for you and them.
The good news is that once you know they’ve been accepted into a college and will be attending a particular school, you’ll have some time together before they head out. Below are some things you should do before your child leaves for college that will help you two grow a stronger bond before this major life change takes place.
Continue reading Pre-College Bucket List for Families
I’ll admit (willingly) that I like to offer my unsolicited advice to my children, often in the form of southern truisms (I grew up in the south and was raised by a family of southerners). 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 the college admissions process for a parent 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.
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:
Continue reading Southern Truisms for the College Admissions Process
Picking a new school or college can be a long and arduous experience. Not only does it seem like there are so many schools to choose from, but it can also be tricky to determine what’s best for your child. Although many schools offer something unique, it can be hard to find one that ticks all the boxes. So, how can you know if a school is right for your child no matter how old they are? Here are four vital factors to consider.
Continue reading Choosing the Right School
Going to college is about much more than just learning an academic subject. In today’s society, it’s just about the closest thing we have to a rite of passage. Young people attend universities to become adults and survive in the real world. It’s a sort of half-way house between school and the world of work.
As such, college isn’t just for learning. And while remote courses might be convenient, they’re not as fulfilling. Students need a university experience to set them on the right track in life and get them to where they want to be.
Studying hard for college courses during the week is okay. But students should really focus on dedicating time to other things on campus. It can’t all just be about work.
Continue reading Making the Most of Your College Experience
You probably don’t need a survey to tell you what you already know: parents are more involved in the college process than ever before. They want to participate in the decision and communicate with the colleges. They want to help and guide their students in the decision-making process.
Here’s what the survey found:
Parents want to be more involved. Parents are increasingly anxious and hands-on. Parents want communication from the college and want to participate in the college decision. They want to be involved at the same time as their students in the college search.
Continue reading New Survey Shows Parents Want to Be Involved in the College Process