Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

What happens if your student doesn’t get in to the school that they want?

This is why it is a good idea to apply to a "safety school" to have a college to fall back on.  Community colleges also offer excellent educational opportunities.   

Again, your student doesn't have to give up on his dream of his "ideal school" just because he didn't get in as a freshman.  A lot students go to another school, and then re-apply after they have a year or two of college under their belt. Once they have demonstrated that they can perform well in college, a lot of colleges are easier to get into as transfer students.  In the end, your student may  still get the degree from the school of their choice.  

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera

The Parent Success Coach

www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get My Free Report At:

www.SolutionsForParenting.com

Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

Many of our teens are academically prepared for college, but are they prepared for daily living?

I want to talk about is all of that daily living stuff that you’ve been handling for probably decades now so you take it for granted and don’t  think about it.   

While they are in high school make sure that they know how to do their own laundry, basic cooking and food preparation, washing dishes, and cleaning up after themselves.  No one picks up after them in a college dorm.

They should get a bank account, and know how to use the ATM machine and stuff like that.  Have them do these things while they are still at home. It might sound silly, but the truth is there’s lots of things that they really don’t know how to handle until they have to handle it themselves.  Getting comfortable with some of those things when they are at home eases the transition when they live on their own for the first time.

   

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera
The Parent Success Coach,
www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get My Free Report At:
www.solutionsforparenting.com

Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

Some people make high school all about building the college resume – everything that they do is for the purpose of “looking good to a college”. I want to talk with parents about encouraging a  balance between building the college resume and encouraging students to engage in activities  they really enjoy.

Part of the college application is the college essay.  When they are just building a resume to impress, they lose the opportunity to really enjoy what they love, and colleges can see through it because they read so many applications.  Rather than being in a lot of different clubs or activities, colleges are more interested in seeing that students got involved at a deeper level, staying with one project or club for an extended period of time, perhaps taking a leadership role.  This can be sports, the arts, whatever interests your teen.  If they are passionate and really engaged in their activities, this richness will be reflected in their application.

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera

The Parent Success Coach

www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get My Free Report At:

www.SolutionsForParenting.com

Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

The SAT  or ACT is a standardized test that students must take as part of their college application. Don’t let anyone fool you, that number is really important. 

It can be a royal pain in the neck, especially if you hate standardized testing, but it’s a big part of the college game, so if you plan on going, you need to take it seriously.  There are SAT review books and courses, and the College Board puts out an SAT question of the day, so kids can practice.  

Students can take the SAT or ACT exams several times.  The recommendation now is that they don't take it until January of the Junior year, so that they have been exposed to more of the test matter in their normal school work.  If they score really well, they might only take it once, but most students take re-take it up to about three times to try to improve their grade.  Students can re-take the exam in their senior year, even after they have applied for college.  Most colleges will hold the application open pending the exam result.

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera

The Parent Success Coach.

www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get Your Free Report At:

www.SolutionsForParenting.com

Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

From our teens perspective, preparing for college is something you want them to start doing from the beginning of high school, literally  from the beginning of  9^th grade. If you get to senior year and say now I am going to try to figure out college, you will be very  late for the party.

Colleges are going to look at a combination of things:  A students grades, what classes they took and how much they challenged themselves academically, the SAT or ACT score – which is are standardized tests, and extracurricular activities. This can include sports, clubs, jobs, community service and things of that nature.

Understand that the high school transcript will be sent to colleges, so your grades count from 9^th grade forward.  And the grades that go are the student’s averages for the whole year.  So if they do poorly one quarter, all is not lost, they can still bring up their average for the year. 

It has gotten quite competitive to get into college simply because more students than ever are applying.  It is important for students to understand this and it is best if they can start their high school experience with this focus in mind.

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera

The Parent Success Coach

www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get My Free Report At

www.SolutionsForParenting.com

Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

When your teen starts the college search process, they will start to identify what is most important to them.  Do they prefer a large or small school environment, do they prefer a campus style setting, an urban setting?  

Do the want a school spirit experience (football games and the like), Greek life, or are they looking for an experience that will provide internships, and get them out into the working world sooner.  

With so many options, visits to potential schools are really one of the best ways for students to understand their options and define their preferences.  Once they've honed in on some of their preferences, it's advised that they start to identify 3 types of options: Ideal school, stretch school & safety school.  The ideal school is one or two that they would really love to go to.  A stretch school is a good school that they would like to go to, but it would be a stretch for them to get into.  And the safety school is a school that based on their grades, SAT scores, and so forth, they feel comfortable that they could get into if the other options are not available.  It is recommended that they apply to several schools to give themselves options.

Generally students should start identifying potential schools over the summer before the Junior Year. This gives them enough time to start honing in on their options, and preferences to decide where they will apply.

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera

The Parent Success Coach

www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get My Free Report At

www.SolutionsForParenting.com

Is College in your teen's future?

Dear Parents,

My daughter is in her first semester of college.  Having just gone through the whole process, I wanted to offer a few words of advice.   I want to start with the issue oft paying for college. 

Let’s say your student wants to get into some great school, and you are saying to yourself " I can’t afford it."  I want you to stop and take a deep breath.  Don’t kill off your students dream just yet.  The price that colleges put out is called the sticker price.  It is intended to freak you out, but don’t freak out just yet. 

 

Typically, college funding comes from about 5 different sources.  Parents contribution is only part of the puzzle.  Other funding typically comes from School awards, (funded by endowments)  federal and state grants, scholarships, and student contribution, and student loans. 

 

I would encourage you to encourage your student to pursue it, and see what they get offered. 

In the meantime, get yourself educated.  There are resources available to help you understand all of this.  If you look up the Greenes, they have some good video programs that will help you to make sense of it all.

To Your Family,

Jane Cabrera

The Parent Success Coach

www.TheParentSuccessCoach.com

Get My Free Report At:

www.SolutionsForParenting.com