Heading off to college is one of the most important times in a young adult’s life—and as your teen starts to prepare for applying to schools, they’ll need your love and support. Here are some of the best ways to help them throughout the college application process.
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Take The Time To Tour The Campuses They’re Most Interested In
If your teen has a few top choices they are planning to apply to, or if they’ve already been accepted to a batch of schools, visiting the campus can make it easier to decide where they want to end up. Every university is different, and while one student might thrive at a bustling university, spread across a major capital city, some might do better at a very small college with only a few hundred students in their major.
Don’t Expect Them To Have All The Answers Right Away
Do you remember what you were like when you headed off to college for the first time? Most college students don’t have a great grasp on the things they are most interested in until they’ve had more time to explore the options available. And it’s incredibly common for undergraduates to change their majors within the first few years of school.
Most schools allow students to enter universities as undeclared, so if your teen is struggling to define their area of interest, this might be a great option.
Talk About Money Early
College is a major expense, and more individuals than ever are taking on student debt or struggling to pay off the loans they already have. Have a frank discussion with your teen about what money, if any, you’ve saved to help pay for college and what they will be responsible for moving forward. While you never want to discourage your child from their dream, having an adult conversation about what their financial responsibility will be in the future will help them understand the financial implications of their decision.
Encourage Them To Get Out of Their Comfort Zone
College is obviously a great time in a young adult’s life academically, but it’s also a huge opportunity to grow as a person. Encourage your teen to step out of their comfort zone and not be afraid to try new experiences. Whether that means considering schools out of state or exploring majors they haven’t thought about before, it’s a good time show your child that there is a wide world out there, full of possibilities.
Prepare For Rejection
Of course you never want to believe that your teen won’t succeed in what they set out to do, but unfortunately, college rejections are a normal part of the process. For Ivy League schools especially, as many as 95% of applicants are rejected. If your child is planning to apply to a very prestigious university, encourage them to open up their options with alternative choices. Even if they get into their dream school—which hopefully they will!—it’s always good to have a backup option available. And if your child is rejected from a school, let them know that they shouldn’t feel ashamed or like a failure.
Your teen might not have the answers about what they want to do and where they want to go right away—and that’s alright. As a parent, it’s your job to offer them love, support, and guidance as they prepare for a new leg of their life.
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Very good to know these things thanks
That is great that the teens can read encouragement and maybe have a small look or idea what life has to offer.It’s tough for some grownups!Talk and talk some more they don’t always hear you the first time.
This was a good article to read for myself and my teen. Thank you..
I love this
I fully understand how it feels when you get discouraged from your dreams. It was devastating as a child and teen.
Very good read
very good
This is Good
Thanke for the info, good read.
Thx for the info I will share this to my daughter who’s son is getting to college by the next enrollment.
Thank you for your information . These young people have to have all of the love and support we parents can get them they are getting ready for life and all of its challenges good and bad . But we live and learn from our choices. And it good to know we have love and support from your parents when theses life changes happen. There’s nothing better than a mother’s love
Awesome 👍
Support of our kids is very important, this is great!
College can be a time to find out more about yourself. We has parents should support our children to decide the dorm and classes they chose to take. They have many decisions to make after high school. The rush to pick a Major should not be one of the choices. Influences come from other friends and family members on which major to pick. I changed mine after the first year to preschool teaching because a friend talked me into it. I still had the interest in the other major I chose years later and pursued a degree in it . We need to listen to our children and the choices they make. I did not have that support from parents. I supported my only child after we toured the campus of the college he picked. He chose to not go to a college away from home. A community college was his chose.
I always love to see high school students go straight into college; because if they take a break they will never go
Good ideas
I agree with this article, it’s important to visit campuses of colleges your teen is interested in. Helping them feel like their choices are important is one of the greatest things you can do as a parent. It makes all the other important things in life such as talking about money etc go smoother when you make your teen feel like their choices and opinions matter.
This Article has a lot of information that so many teenagers and parents truly need to know when graduating from high school. I believe more College awareness, college opportunities that have affordable payment plans should be giving ahead of time To prepare our next generation.
When my daughter gets old enough for school I’m gonna have her read this that way she has and understanding for after highschool I wish I would have read this while I was still in highschool.
Of course the young kids need our love and support to make it through this trying time for going to college and be coming on on their own away from home.
Thank you for the information, it was very helpful in preparing my child’s future.
Great article.
Very informative, I’m trying to start saving for my three grandkids, thank you.
Thanks for the tidbits of information
Good advice!
This is awesome and both educational and informative thanks for the info