10 Ways to Help Your Teen with the College Decision
Choosing a college is a tough decision to make for high school seniors. Not only a major has to be outlined, but a particular education institution has to be chosen before the college decision day. Other remarkable factors, such as sports, extracurricular activities, financial aid, student life quality, campus culture, and studying abroad options, play a huge role. If you’re a parent of a child who’s about to choose an alma mater for years to come, the following ways will help you!
Stop Pressuring
One of the most significant recommendations is to stop enforcing pressure on your youngster. The entire decision process is solely your kid’s choice, which you can only motivate or discourage lightly. Listen closely to your teen’s preferences if you’re really up for helping your kid. Since the college choice is stressful, do your best not to add even more stress by promoting a particular school. After all, you have to be a helping hand, not a force that has to make the final choice.
Comparing is Evil
If you have always been an active parent at school, you must have dozens of parent committees’ acquaintances. It is common to talk about college plans and discuss the decisions of children. You should remember that your kid is a unique personality with a differentiated background. If your child has a sincere interest in studying fine arts in the college of your town, support this choice! One of the evilest decisions you can think of is to start comparing your teenager’s choice to one of your friends’ kids. Stop doing that!
Attend College on Your Own
Stop listening to other parents’ recommendations who discourage visiting an educational institution where a youngster is interested in pursuing education. By paying a visit to that school, you can meet instructors, have a chat with the administration, and learn all the educational nuances.
Parents often miss this chance, eventually having no clear picture of how to choose one school or another. That’s why it is highly recommended to pay a visit to a few colleges and encourage your kid to do so. Only by attending these venues personally, you’d get a clearer picture of further educational opportunities.
Take a Look at Financial Assistance Programs
If your household is struggling to afford a full-scale education for the entire span of the study program, financial assistance will be handy. Even if your family is up for taking a student loan, parents should consider all scholarship opportunities. Since dozens of initiatives and projects take place all across the United States, taking a look at available offers is a great idea. Sometimes, youngsters cannot dive deep into all the financial nuances. In that case, be sure to be that helping hand that would assist in clearing all features of scholarships and grants.
Talk about Career Outcomes
In case your kid is uncertain regarding the major, consider talking about it in detail. All parents can engage in their own research to investigate the available career possibilities and perspectives on each specific educational path. In case your teenager is more or less concerned with a particular career road, discuss the potentials of that academic route. Some colleges in the United States tend to share information regarding the employment rate of their grads. Consider researching that, alongside discussing the prospective career roads with your youngster.
Speak Out about Affordability
Like it or not, but college admissions should be discussed in your family. Students should be transparent regarding the educational path and costs that accompany that selection. If your family cannot handle the costs associated with a particular college or a program, discuss the potential alternatives or solutions. At this specific stage, all individuals should be transparent regarding the loans, scholarships, or even finding less costly programs.
Location is Important!
It is only for your kid to decide whether to fill in a college application to the close or far institution from your home. Regardless of what your personal attitude to this question is, consider talking about the location. If you can offer your youngster sufficient transportation means or other suitable features, it might be better to send an application to the institution near your town or city. Even though your youngster’s final college choice is solely its responsibility, consider talking about the location seriously.
Communicate All the Time!
When it comes to one of the best recommendations, communicating all the time is a must. Even though the procedure of picking an educational institution is stressful both for students and parents, going through it is obligatory. Students who hesitate where to apply deserve having an informal chat to stabilize their well-being. Be sure not to lose the connection with your kid, even when choosing a school is extremely volatile.
Study Abroad?
A bit of great college advice to make as a parent is to think closely about the available options of getting an education abroad. Studying abroad might be more convenient in pricing, but it can also be a great idea to get plenty of experience. Studying in an international environment is a great opportunity if your youngster is up for accepting such an offer.
Take it Easy
Believe it or not, but taking the situation of choosing an educational institution easy might be the most productive. If your kid has already decided on a particular academic route and you’re supporting it, it’s an idyll! Try to stop stressing so much! Instead, try thinking seriously about further education as a whole. For that sole reason, you will undoubtedly make just the right decision by helping your child to make just the right choice!
Final Remarks
When it comes to an educational institution’s choice, the entire process is stressful for any student and parent. If you sincerely want to help your kid, consider implementing the mentioned above approaches to choose an appropriate school constructively. After all, regardless of the final choice, your kid will still pursue an education of its choice. Once you start acting seriously and constructively, you can significantly simplify that process. Good luck with helping your kid to make just the right choice regarding education!
Biography
This article was written by Scott Bender, a professional academic tutor at Edusson. Before becoming a full-time academic tutor, Bender has been working in academia for almost a decade. Mostly, Mr. Scott was engaged in promoting accessible education for US applicants. Right now, he has fully dedicated himself to delivering top-notch academic tutorship at Edusson.