These have certainly been times of upheaval. Students were told to finish the year at home. Parents scrambled to help their teens adjust. Graduations were cancelled and even college plans are uncertain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for the day when they will leave for college.
It seems like only yesterday you are dropping your child off at their first class, and they are upset about leaving you. But now your child has decided to go off to college and will be leaving you without so much as a wave before long. But this is a wonderful testament to the job you have done as a parent up to now, and it’s hard to forget just how much you have done for them, and How they are so successful already from your support and their hard work. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you have prepared yourself for the big day, and that you don’t end up too upset when it happens. Our children taking the plunge and becoming independent is something special, and something to be proud of. So what can you do to prepare yourself for this transition?
Be proud
Be proud of your child’s achievements. Sharing this with the world and your family and friends is important, and showing your child that you are proud of them will do great things for their confidence. It isn’t always about academic achievements of course, but it does show a certain level of resilience and confidence, as well as a hard-working nature to gain a place in a college. Making sure that you don’t forget the role you have played in getting into this point, and congratulating yourself for the great support you have given your child along the way, is important. So never feel as though you are going too far by showing your pride in your children.
Prepare practicalities
Making sure that all of the practicalities such as student accommodation and the small details are covered when it comes to preparing your child for college, will give you a sense of confidence that everything is taken care of. You can, of course, continue to support your child once they have left for college, and many people do send care packages on a regular basis. But making sure that your child knows where they are going, what they are doing, and they have the support there if they need it, will help you relax and feel much better about the whole situation.
Be there
Being there when your child needs you, or even when they don’t, is all we can do. Sometimes they will act as though they don’t need any support whatsoever, and this may be true for many grown-up children spreading their wings, and if we have done our jobs correctly then they really should be quite independent anyway, but just being ready to take a call, or be there when they need you, it’s going to be the most important job you can do when your child is going off to college. Being there is our number one role once all the basics of parenting are done, we teach them everything we can to a certain age, And then must take a step back to just support when needed. You will find that even the most independent college children will feel as though they have got everything under control, but we can always be there ready to catch them if they fall.
If you have a student in college and you are hoping for them to do as well as possible, there are things that you might be able to do to help them along. While you should mostly let them do it on their own, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be encouraging them or offering them just the right amount of help – so long as you don’t get overly involved, that is, and you still let them achieve it by themselves. If you want to help your children pass their college exams, there are a number of things you can do to ensure that they are much more likely to, so let’s look at what those might be.
Stress Busting
One of the main things you can do for them is to show them how to deal with the exam stress. All children get stressed when it comes to exam time, and it is a natural part of the process that they are going to have to find a way to deal with. A little stress is not even too much of a bad thing; it shows how important the situation is, and it has been known to help people work to their fullest degree where necessary. But too much stress is definitely a problem, and you can help them by showing them how to keep stress at bay. Keeping calm, breathing deeply, and getting plenty of sleep are all good ways of doing this.
Getting Help
If you feel that your child really needs it, you might also want to think about getting them some extra education which they can make use of. If your child is falling back in English, for instance, then hiring a private English tutor could be all you need to do to make sure that they are going to get back on track, or even get ahead of their peers. However, it’s not a competition, and the main thing is that you should be trying to help them get to a point where they are confident they will pass their exams. If you can do that, you will find that they will have a much higher chance of success.
Study Skills
When it comes to the actual preparation for the exams, you can help them there too, even if they are living on campus and you are not seeing them in person. If they can learn from you how to properly prepare for exams, then that is going to do them very well, and you will find that they are going to have a much better time of it in general. That is absolutely something that you are going to want to think about if you are particularly keen for them to achieve great things. Good exam preparation is something that can be learned, so make sure that you are helping them wherever necessary in learning it before they have their exams.
With all the talk of helicopter parenting, over parenting, snowplow
parenting and parents refusing to allow their students become independent
adults, it’s important to understand how to coach your teenager without crossing
the line.
A recent article in Business
Insider 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…
What is a parent’s role during the college prep
process?
I will give you 10 coaching steps to take for a positive college prep experience.
Step 1-Offer guidance and advice.
Parents are primarily coaches—coaching and directing their teenager during high school so that they will be prepared to apply to and eventually attend college. It’s natural to take this role in parenting and it works well in the area of college prep.
Your teenager may not always
ask, but they will need advice during this stressful time. Listen to their
concerns and offer guidance and advice. Listening is the key because teenagers
don’t always communicate what they are feeling and don’t always ask for help.
The next thing parents need to
do is…
Step 2-Establish
boundaries.
Early during the college prep process, have a serious
conversation with your student.
Because of the insurmountable number of tasks involved with
college prep, your student will need your help. The key word here is, “help”.
One admissions officer told me, “Let your student drive the car”. It won’t be
easy to let your student take control of the process, but this is part of the
training they will need to be successful in college.
Next, we will discuss exactly how you can help.
Step 3-Be
an encourager and a helper.
Be an encourager by reminding your student of deadlines,
from test registration to FAFSA and application submission. Encourage them to stay
on top of every task and suggest creating a timeline for each task.
Parents can participate in just about every activity during
college prep.
You can help with organization by establishing a college
landing zone. A place where you and your student can keep track of all
college-related information.
You can help with test prep—practicing vocabulary words,
administering practice tests, and hiring a tutor if necessary. You can also
help them create a study schedule to prepare for the tests.
You can help your student create a college list. What is at
the top of their list? What are they interested in studying? What career
interests them? What college activities outside of academics are important?
Does location or size matter? Use these questions to begin crafting the list.
You can participate in college visits by planning the
visits, traveling with them, and discussing the visits afterwards, Under no
circumstances should you take control during any aspect of the campus visit,
from the tour to the interviews.
Scholarship searching can be a daunting task for any busy
student. Parents can help by searching for the scholarships, making sure all
the components of the scholarship application are completed, proofreading any
essays, and making sure they are submitted correctly and on time.
Once the applications have been submitted you can participate in the final decision. Weigh all the financial aid offers against one another and help your student choose the college that is the best fit: academically, socially and financially. This is an important part of coaching.
Step
4-Teach life skills.
Teenagers need time and priority management skills,
conflict management skills, and effective communication skills. They need to
know when and how to ask for help, they need to effectively maneuver the
college bureaucracy, and they need to operate on a budget and manage their
money. They need to self-advocate and have the self-discipline to stay safe.
Step
5-Teach Academic skills.
Students should start college with strong study skills.
They need to be able to write a well-researched and documented, accurate,
organized, and well-written paper. They need to start college prepared to
attend all their classes, read the assigned materials, and know how to take
notes. They need to be prepared to pursue study groups, additional review
periods, or other options such as seeking out their teachers when they have
questions and need help.
Step
6-Model behavior
Parents should be involved in their teenager’s school by
participating in parent-teacher meetings and similar events, judging their
student’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and pushing them to get help when
they need it. Parents should make expectations and rules clear for both
academics and behavior, and follow through on reasonable consequences. Parents
should give their teenagers graduated responsibilities, teach them to budget,
and make them responsible when they make mistakes.
Step 7-Educate yourself about everything to do with college prep
In order to be the “wise
sage”, you need to educate yourself about all aspects of college prep. And in
today’s age of technology and social media, you have all the tools available to
do this. Take advantage of all the college prep advice on social media
(Twitter, Facebook, and even Pinterest) have all sorts of tips for parents to
help with college prep. Subscribe to blogs that provide parents with advice and
connect with other parents on Facebook who are going through the same process.
On my blog, I offer numerous
lists of experts to follow on social media, along with advice from college
counselors, test prep tutors, essay experts and admissions officers. These tips
help parents stay on top of all the college prep tasks and stay educated about
any changes in standardized tests, admissions or financial aid.
Step
8-Have the money talk
Parents
should have a serious conversation with their student about money before even
applying to colleges. Approach it as a collaborative discussion and use
this as a start to helping your teen understand the importance of budgeting and
“needs vs wants”.
Start
off by making sure your teen knows what a “need” is and what a “want”
is in relation to college costs. For some teens, all wants are needs. This
is the time to nail the definition down and clarify it in their minds.
Decide
just who will be paying for each college expense. Every family is
different but it’s important to make this clear from the very beginning so that
there won’t be any surprises.
Use a budget worksheet and understand ALL college expenses. Don’t just assume
that tuition, room and board will cover it. There will be additional costs as
well like travel, entertainment, dorm furnishings, student fees and others. Be
sure to budget for these additional expenses.
When
your teens contribute to the costs of their education, they will be more
invested in their success. They will also learn valuable budgeting lessons that
will stick with them past college and into adulthood. You’re doing your teen a
disservice if you don’t involve them in the college financial discussions. They
need to be active participants in the decisions and also play an active part in
paying for that high-cost college education.
Step
9-Make financial aid a priority.
Even if you can afford to pay for college, why would you
use the money if your student can get some of the free money from scholarships
and grants? It makes sense to apply for scholarships. Scholarships are
available for all ages and students should start applying early, even before
senior year. There are scholarships for students with average grades, and
scholarships that don’t require a GPA or even an essay. Sign up for scholarship
search engines to find scholarship matches. Leave no stone unturned: search
locally, ask friends, talk to your student’s school counselor and listen to the
media. Scholarships are literally everywhere, and many local ones go unclaimed
every year.
When your student is a senior, complete the FAFSA. The
FAFSA is the key to getting not only federal aid, but aid from the colleges
themselves. Much of the college aid is merit based but your student won’t
receive it if they don’t submit the FAFSA.
Next…
Step
10-Participate in the final decision.
Once your student is accepted to colleges, due your due diligence
and compare all the financial aid awards. If one award is higher than another
and your student wants to attend that college, appeal the lower award using the
higher award as leverage. Find the college that is the best fit: academically,
socially and financially. Don’t allow your student to take on high amounts of
debt just because it’s the college he or she wants to attend. Be the voice of
reason and explain the consequences of graduating with too much student loan
debt…
Now, some final words of advice…
Nag
less and listen more
You will be tempted to nag: write this, apply to this, study
for this, and search for this. Nagging will only cause strife and stress for
you and your student. Instead, listen to his concerns, his visions, and his dreams.
Listen carefully to ascertain whether or not college is the best choice. Listen
to him talk about how he feels about the entire college prep process. And once
you’ve listened, guide him — don’t nag.
Do
less and encourage more
Avoid the temptation to take over the process. As one
admissions officer told me, “Let your student drive the car.” You can be a
coach, an advisor, a mentor and an attentive listener. You can also help with
data gathering, scholarship searching, and deadline reminders. But under no
circumstances should this process be yours. Let your student own his own
future.
Compare
less and research more
Don’t listen to other parents who want you to compare your
student to theirs. This is you and your student’s journey. Do your research.
Ask the experts. Don’t rely on hearsay to make your decisions. Your student is unique,
and his journey will be unique. Arm yourself with all the information and tools
to help with the process. Then pass it along to your student.
Panic
less and plan more
If there’s one piece of advice I give parents, it’s this:
stay organized and don’t miss any deadlines. Make a plan throughout high school
and follow the plan. Once your student enters senior year, you should be
organized and ready to begin the application process.
You may have seen them; memes about plagiarism checkers pop up here and there. They either scoff at the tools’ malfunction or the distrust they provoke. What triggers such a reaction?
Plagiarism checking has become an integral part of the evaluation of papers, and now students’ perception of academic dishonesty has changed. More of them know how to cite, whether it’s appropriate, and how to avoid accidental plagiarism. The problem, however, is that a great many peers look for ways to beat the tools or still believe that plagiarism isn’t a big deal when it occurs only occasionally.
There must be something that forces them to think along these lines. As it turns out, it’s the pressure to succeed and the stress it causes. One study, “The Effect of Anti-plagiarism Software on Students’ Plagiarizing Behaviour” reveals that 59% of the surveyed students feel pressure when being checked, and 41% either think that plagiarism tools aren’t a necessity, or they feel neutral about them.
These attitudes toward plagiarism checkers are quite understandable. Just imagine yourself taking a lie detector test—would you feel anxious? More than likely.
But these attitudes may prevent your children from improving their writing skills. After all, checkers shouldn’t be making students obey, like a sort of policing agency. Instead, they should educate and point them in the right direction. So, let’s treat checkers as helpers rather than accusers.
What follows are some arguments that can help relieve the stress that college students face and let them see the value in using a plagiarism prevention tool.
Stop stressing about being checked for plagiarism
Stress is the response to a challenge—the challenge of getting good grades, maintaining a scholarship, or meeting their parents’ expectations.
The stress of being checked is a response to uncertainty or lack of understanding of what constitutes plagiarism, how to conduct research, what sources to use, how many of them should be enough, etc. If the knowledge gap grows, students experience more stress at college. So, one of the most effective stress management techniques is to learn to write without the threat plagiarism, accidental or otherwise.
This video by The Texas A&M University Writing Center sheds some light on writing with integrity and provides comprehensive advice on how to do it right:
If anxiety is still difficult to overcome, parents need to act proactively and explain why there’s no need to stress out.
So, why is being checked a normal thing?
Equal opportunities. Educational institutions lay special emphasis on academic integrity. This is a kind of ethical code that ensures everyone behaves responsibly. No cheating, no unauthorized collaboration, no plagiarism. By checking for originality, a college or university creates equal conditions for all. If a student makes every effort to write originally, others should also attempt to be honest.
Learning moments. Advanced plagiarism prevention solutions provide reports that contain all sorts of information about the scanned paper: a score for text matches, a list of sources used, quotes made, etc. Some of these reports also highlight references and citations, which makes it simple to see what citations are incorrect, if any sources need attribution, and more. Students can quickly get a handle on what’s right and what’s wrong to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
Developing student voice. When students write originally, they begin to develop their own voice. Students can’t simply stuff essays or theses with quotes or research data provided by outside sources without providing their original thoughts. Plagiarism checking pushes students to not rely heavily on the opinions of others, and that’s a good point.
How can plagiarism checkers encourage fair assessment?
Plagiarism checkers alone can’t motivate students to write with integrity, but they can create favorable conditions for fair assessment.
If everyone knows that they won’t receive good grades for plagiarized works, they’re more likely to take the effort to write originally.
To fully assess work, teachers need to involve students in the process. Plagiarism prevention tools make this simple. Students can check the work of their peers, exchange reports, give advice on how to cite properly, and add more original insights. By doing so, students grow their confidence in writing and, therefore, become less inclined to cheat.
Fair assessment with plagiarism prevention software helps students take control of their learning success and boosts their responsibility.
What makes originality detectors irreplaceable assistants?
Apart from being great motivators, originality detectors can help students to avoid accidental plagiarism and the recycling of their own writings.
Essays, research, reviews, or any other type of written assignment requires a high level of concentration. If students are too pressed for time, they may forget to include sources in the reference list or fail to put someone’s words into quotation marks.
This oversight leads to a lot of stress and anxiety. Here’s when a plagiarism checker likeUnicheck can be of great help to students. Advanced tools usually deliver search results in the blink of an eye and provide hyperlinks to matching sources. As a rule, navigating such reports is quite straightforward, and you can always use the tools to educate your child and show your support that way.
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Note: I was provided access to the Unicheck software to test it myself. I found it helpful in determining whether content was original. It provides you with the exact text that is similar, along with checking any citations and/or references in the article. In my opinion, this software would be a beneficial tool for your college student.
You’ve done all the prep work, you have checked out all the colleges of interest for your teenager, made the applications and now after all the hard work is over, they have accepted a space at the college of their choice. You could be mistaken for thinking that all your hard work is over and you can relax safe in the knowledge you helped your offspring navigate the next part of the education journey.
We all know there is nothing that equals the experience your child will have at college. It is where thy will learn to fend for themselves and learn skills to carry with them for the rest of their lives. But honestly, before they leave there are some important life skills you can teach them so they can make the most of their time at college equipped with the knowledge they need for encountering new and different situations and the skills to help them become self-sufficient before they need to be. They may not take it all on board, or put their new-found skills into practice regularly, but you rest easy in the knowledge that you have helped them as much as you can before they spread their wings.
So what are the best life skills you can teach your child before they leave for university? How do you train your teenager to “adult”?
Money Matters.
Some people are just naturally good when it comes to managing their finances, others need a little bit of help. For a lot of kids, this will be the first time in their lives that they are solely responsible for money and making sure they spend it wisely.
Teaching them how to budget and make their money last is an essential life skill for everyone these days. From having enough money for food to last them from one term to the next, or paycheck to paycheck if they are employed, is something they can take with them through their college years and beyond. Instilling the necessity of paying bills on time and making sure they can afford any lines of credit they open.
Hand in hand with managing money comes dealing with debt and financial worries. With the average American currently, $38,000 in debt, knowing how to get out of debt and what to do is just as important as money management skills. Knowing who to contact with regards to debt advice and solutions such as consulting professionals in debt management like McCarthy Law PLC is handy information as is making sure they know how to be financially responsible.
Chores.
As hard as it can be to get kids to do their chores, there are some practical things they need to know to help them on their way to being self-sufficient. Being able to keep their dorm room tidy and other areas they need to use. Teach them life skills by getting them to help you out so they know what they are doing when they need to do it themselves.
Keep in mind these tips on what to teach your teen before they leave for college.
Laundry including what detergents and softeners they need too.
Ironing and using an iron safely.
Vacuuming
Washing dishes.
Mopping floors
Grocery Shopping
If your child hasn’t pitched in with the grocery shop before, this is a great time to teach them the best ways to get more for their money. Giving them advice on what prices they can expect to pay, how to store different food types and the benefits of preparing food from scratch if they can is highly beneficial.
Show them how to make a list and what cupboard essentials they need to have in at all times. Sure, they may go on to live on a diet of junk food alone, but they will know how to shop well and efficiently for what they buy.
Cooking.
Whilst it is true that most students have a ramen heavy diet, that isn’t true for everyone. Teaching them how to prepare some simple basic meals can ensure they know how to eat properly and nutritiously during their time away from home. Simple pasta meals such as spaghetti Bolognese or your family favourites can really help out. It will also give you peace of mind that they are able to prepare healthy homemade meals as they would eat at home.
Once they have mastered the basics, they can then build on this over the years.
Time Management Skills
College days will be full and busy. Add a part-time job, extracurricular activities and social lives and suddenly those long days leave little time for studying or much else really. Time management is a life skill that they will need to learn when they are employed so why not teach them this early before they have to figure it out when it’s too late.
Run through a schedule with them and make realistic plans that include moving from place to place, and how long they have to spend on certain tasks. This will help them break their day down into easier more manageable chunks meaning they can help themselves not only reduce stress but increase efficiency too.
Words of Wisdom.
As an adult and parent, you have had many different life experiences. Maybe you have some words of wisdom from your college days or you can share some other life tips you have picked up. Show your child how to apply for a job and how to interview well to give them the best shot at gaining employment now and in the future too.
Teach them how to pay bills and stay on top of this. Skills such as minor car repairs eg changing a tyre, small DIY tasks – putting up a shelf, changing light bulbs, fixing broken items around the house or even upcycling old and worn items can all come in handy. Think of what you were taught at that age, or do you wish you had known and spend the time sharing this with your college-age child.
Elation! That is the normal parental reaction when your child first received their acceptance email for college. Although, even while they are running around the house cheering, a parent’s thoughts can turn to worry. Of course, it is a parent’s lot to protect their child, and that does mean some worry along the way. However, being stressed before they have even left is only going to make it harder on everybody involved, including your kid. Luckily, there are some strategies you can use to keep parental stress to a minimum when your kids go off to college. Something that can ensure the whole process is easier on you as well as your child. Read on to find out what they are.
Be sure to shop around for student loans.
Money is often a prime concern when it’s time to send your child off to study for a degree. It fact, it can be difficult for all parties involved if families cannot provide tuition and living costs needed. Of course, with many colleges charging anything up to $30,000 for a single year, few families have enough to cover the entire cost of their child’s education.
There are a few ways to combat this, though. One, in particular, is shopping around for the best rate on student loans. In fact, it is entirely possible to use multiple loan providers for smaller amounts that total the sum needed. A strategy that can help to make a substantial saving overall. Something that, in turn, can relieve some of the stress on parents to provide all of the funding for their child’s higher education.
Get them the safest accommodation.
Next, you can really help to minimize any stress for yourself as a parent by making your child has the safest accommodation possible. After all, it is well known there is a culture of both theft and assault in such institutions. One that you will want to do your best to protect them from.
Of course, when they have to share a room on campus, protecting them can be difficult. Although, finding your child a space to live like this student accommodation studio can help to solve this puzzle. The reason being that they can happily, and affordable live alone and have the security of CCTV and security lockable rooms as well. Something that will not only make them feel safer when they are home alone but can seriously reduce any worry for parents as well.
Teach them to budget beforehand.
Of course, sourcing the money they need for college is only one half of the coin. In fact, if you want to reduce your stress as a parent in this situation, you must teach your child how to budget as well.
After all, if they can manage their own finances at college competently, the likelihood of you being asking to bail them out economically becomes a lot less. Something that can significantly reduce the amount of worry and stress you experience while they are away studying for their degree.
The late teenage and young adult years have one thing in common, likely one thing we, you and many more have experienced. That’s insecurity. It’s not easy to consider where your place in the world should be, particularly as you also have to have your direction somewhat considered before you even put a step out into the world. This is where self-limiting beliefs can come from and hinder your teen from pursuing their dreams.
But unfortunately, a lack of wanting to try or a fear of going for our dreams can leave us feeling extremely regretful, even by the age of 30. While you cannot force your child down a certain path, nor should you, you can certainly help them alleviate some of the symptoms of this insecurity, even if you can’t completely stop them from feeling that way at all.
It takes a little care, compassion, and empathy. If you can understand that, then you never know just how they could bloom, or how your bond could grow.
Can & Cannot
It takes a little care, compassion, and empathy. If you can understand that, then you never know just how they could bloom, or how your bond could grow.
When you say you can or cannot do something, you’re usually right both times. It’s important to never dismiss something just because it seems hard, or because someone else might have done it better, or simply because you have a disadvantage. There are people who are born into terrible circumstances who still manage to pull their lives together and graduate from high school, or get into a school of their choosing. It’s important for you to allow your child to know this, and to talk them through it. What are their dreams? How do they regard their ability? Do they know what they’ll need to do to get there? On top of that, where are their ‘can’ and ‘cannots’ coming into play? How might you persuade or dissuade them from that advantage point? A little encouragement can be very worthwhile here.
Inspiration
A little inspiration can be a true help in giving a young adult the tools to see where possibility lies. For example, they might be very interested in attending a certain musical college. However, they might feel insecure about pursuing this. Only when having that experience personified through someone profoundly inspiring, such as learning the Bishop Briggs story, does it click into place. This will help a young person see themselves achieving something similar. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Trying Again
It’s not failing that produces failure. It’s giving up and accepting the failing as an end consequence. If you can help your child learn this kind of tenacity, through sports, through cleaning the house, through any other activity, chore or job they might be involved with – you can help them see that even if things go wrong, they can always try again, and will be better off for the effort. Often, removing self-limiting beliefs is best helped when teaching our children that a mistake is no great terrible event – it can be learned from and moved past.
With this advice, we hope you’re able to provide a sense of security and encouragement to your child as they decide their next steps into the world of adulthood.
The summer is half over, but if you’re lucky, you can steal some reading time. With a teenager in the house and college (or something else) on the horizon, a prepared parent is a less stressful parent. When school starts, you want every tool in your arsenal and these summer reading suggestions can help arm you for the task ahead.
Nancy takes the
everyday aspects of the college admissions process and puts them into terms
that parents can easily understand and relate to by using humor. And if that’s
not enough, she sprinkles some of the best college admissions advice along the
way by tapping into her own personal experiences and her network of college
experts that she utilizes throughout the book.
When Zac Bissonnette
headed off to college, he had the funds to cover the tab. Bissonnette has seen
the currently flawed system first hand. He’s a contrarian, and his book is
packed with studies and statistics to back up his analysis. It’s a magical
combination that college-bound students and their parents should read, even if
there’s plenty of money set aside to pay the tuition tab. There’s no harm in
learning ways to get the biggest bang for your buck and the best education
available at the same time.
The best part about
Monica’s e-book is that it’s simple and easy to understand. If you follow her
easy 10 step program, the scholarship process becomes doable for any parent and
their student. You can sit back and hope that your student does all the work,
or you can offer help and support by grabbing a copy of Monica’s book,
reading it, and rolling up your sleeves.
This is a book to help
parents of middle and high school students. This book prods parents to ask if
their teenager will be ready, willing, and able to handle self-management,
personal safety, roommate conflicts, personal finances, interactions with
teachers, academic responsibility, and much more. Included in this book are
numerous interviews with parents, college students, school counselors and
advisors, law enforcement per- sonnel, teachers, medical personnel, and school
administrators. At the end of each chapter are examples of how parents can
prepare their teenagers for a successful college experience and turn their
students into confident, reponsible young adults.
For college admissions help, give your child that “unfair” advantage in applying to college, without cheating, offering bribes, using legacy, or giving donations. Here’s the kind of insider information that’s made the author’s own clients refer him to their friends for the past 17 years. It’s a free, fast and entertaining read that’s designed for the hard-bitten realist who takes nothing at face value, especially in light of the college admissions scandal of 2019. This ebook comes with an option to take advantage of the author’s free videos that are designed to expand and update the book’s content when necessary.
The second edition of
The College Solution, which contains approximately 90% new material, is aimed
at helping parents and teenagers become empowered consumers as they navigate
through the college process. Billions of dollars are available to pay for
college, but not everybody gets their share. It’s not always the families with
the brightest students or the parents who are struggling financially who
receive the most money. The College Solution shares the secrets of how you can
capture some of this money for your own family. The book provides advice on
such topics as financial aid, merit scholarships, athletic scholarships,
admission hooks, the important differences between colleges and universities,
college rankings, the best student loans and the latest online tools to
evaluate the generosity of schools. O’Shaughnessy presents an easy-to-use,
proven road map for getting past the ratings, and finding the right schools at
the right price.
I’ve read plenty of
books on college admissions. Some are so scholarly heavy that you need a degree
to figure them out. Others are so shallow you can find most of the material in
your teen’s high school handouts. Zinch’s book is neither of the above. It’s
geared toward the student, but is also extremely valuable from a parent’s
perspective. Zinch reminds the student that while the college process
often involves the entire family, the final choice must be their own. I
agree with this whole heartedly. Every parent should grasp this truth.
The authors observe how conventional universities are coming
to resemble for-profit diploma mills through inexpensive, Orwellian-titled
“distance learning.” At Florida Gulf Coast University on the outskirts of Fort
Myers, students in Humanities 2510 sit in dormitories or at home studying
painting, sculpture, and architecture via online lectures. Adjunct professors
with modest credentials answer questions by e-mail; telephone calls are not
allowed. Multiple-choice tests emphasize dry facts and figures. Short papers
are required, but students don’t have to attend performances or see art in
person. In lieu of customized grading, instructors draw on “sample stock
comments” they slap on student papers. “Humanities 2510 seems close to cramming
for a quiz show,” the authors write. To readers, it might just seem like a rip-off.
Jodi Okun’s book launched today and the presales put it on the
Amazon #1 Best Seller list. This book is more than help for financial aid
questions. In it you can find out how to give your student the financial skills
they’ll need for life, with talking points and scripts to help you with
important conversations you need to have before college. Jodi provides parents
with expert advice and in this book shares her experiences of helping parents
pay for college.
In this
book, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research, on conversations with admissions
officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as
a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children,
their stressed-out parents, and society at large. While empathizing with the
parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to overhelping, Lythcott-Haims
offers practical alternative strategies that underline the importance of
allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience,
resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success.
College is the biggest expense for many families, larger even than the cost of the family home, and one that can bankrupt students and their parents if it works out poorly. Peter Cappelli offers vital insight for parents and students to make decisions that both make sense financially and provide the foundation that will help students make their way in the world. Adding to the confusion, the same degree can cost dramatically different amounts for different people. A barrage of advertising offers new degrees designed to lead to specific jobs, but we see no information on whether graduates ever get those jobs. Mix in a frenzied applications process, and pressure from politicians for “relevant” programs, and there is an urgent need to separate myth from reality.
Using the
world-renowned Meyers-Briggs personality testing system, the author leads the
reader through a self-assessment to uncover their specific personality type. The
results of this personality assessment suggest appropriate careers that are
most suitable for the unique characteristics of each of the 16 personality
types. By better understanding your strengths, you can be more open-minded and
self-empowered in determining the focus of your career and your own needs when
it comes to feeling satisfied.
If you have a high school student, especially one who is
focused on the goal of attending college, your summers aren’t just vacations.
Gone are the days when you took the kids to the pool, the library and the park.
Gone are the days when your time was consumed with planning the summer family
vacation and creating a chore chart for the kids to complete chores before play
time.
You (and your teen) have other goals in mind. You’re thinking about using the summer to take care of some college prep tasks to get ahead of the game. Searching for scholarships, doing some test prep, visiting colleges, and having some serious talks about money will consume your summer days. How do you survive?
Share the tasks
It’s unthinkable in this competitive college market to
expect a young teen to handle it on their own. Times have changed since we
applied to college and there is much more to do than simply apply. You can help
them make decisions, help with scheduling, even do some detective work
searching for scholarships they are eligible for. This will ease the burden on
them and alleviate the overwhelming stress that most teens feel about college.
Schedule and plan
We all know that we don’t ever have the time for a task if
we don’t make the time and schedule it. Use any planning tool that works best
for your family: an online calendar, an app for your smartphones, a huge wall
calendar or a Google doc. Everyone knows—without a plan, you plan to fail!
Stay organized
I’m a huge fan of a college landing zone—everything in one
place. Colleges still send information through the mail, registration forms and
receipts need to be printed and saved, and flyers about scholarships need to be
catalogued and filed. With everything in one place, it’s easy to find anything
related to your student’s college preparation.
Make time to talk…and listen
Conversations are crucial to staying on the same page with
your teenager. Make the time to talk, even if it’s driving to sports practice
or shopping together at the mall. These small conversations are key moments for
you to gauge their temperature and share some encouragement. If stress is
present, you can help relieve it. If they feel overwhelmed and need help, you’re
there for them. Talking about their future and truly listening prepares you
both for senior year when things will proceed at the speed of light.
Of course, you want to have fun this summer; but a little work and some focused preparation will make the next school year seem doable. Use the summer time wisely.
Not every student is excited about going to college. Is your teen unsure about college?
Sometimes they need a little push; and sometimes college just isn’t in their headlights. The simple truth is: The four-year college plan isn’t for everyone. For some young adults, the thought of college terrifies them. If they have struggled in school, they know college is going to be more academically challenging. Other students are simply burned out and need a break. But, with all the talk about college during high school, other options are rarely discussed.
What if your student simply won’t consider college?
My son never saw himself in college. He was an average student but from the time he entered high school, he had military aspirations. He joined the Naval Junior ROTC program and as a senior, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. It was a good decision for him at the time, even though I protested strongly because I wanted him to go to college.
If your student seems disinterested in college, there are other options to consider. For example, a gap year might be in order. During a gap year or semester, students can work at an internship, learn a trade, or find a volunteer opportunity, at home or abroad. Another bold initiative would be to become an entrepreneur – start a business or invent a product to sell.
Your student might opt to work at a full-time job while researching career opportunities. There’s no better way to spark interest in a career path than to work in it for a bit. A career interest could spur them to research training opportunities or even consider college later down the road.
