Category Archives: College Guidance

Although my passion lies with teen self-esteem development, I did work in higher education for 17 years . Therefore, I figured I ‘d share a few words of wisdom with those of you looking at colleges. This process can be very challenging for first time parents, first generation college students and those without any specific guidance. I’ll post a variety of topics for you to look through. If you have any specific questions, just let me know.

What Every Parent Needs to Know About the College Process

Posted in Articles for Parents, College Guidance by

Choosing a college can be the first real big decisions you and your child make together.  Managing expectations, finding the right schools and honing in on the proper academic program are no easy tasks—especially when you’re negotiating the deal with an eighteen year old child. Please keep in mind that you and your child are allies in the search and not on competing teams. Work together, find out what they are looking for in a college and share with them what is important to you during their college experience. There can be a healthy balance for all involved. I would encourage the college dialog to at least begin after your child’s sophomore year.  This way they will grow accustomed to hearing the word “college” and believe it or not this will cause them to start thinking about it as well.  Set a time-line for your family.  Remember that college applications are mostly due by April of their senior year (the prior December if you are interested in early decision.)  So, work backwards from this timeline and you’ll be able to keep everyone on track.

Some issues to think about during the process: When should your child approach their guidance counselor for some preliminary information about colleges?  Who will research other schools not mentioned by the HS counselor?  When will you set aside time to sit down together and discuss the college options. In addition, applications need to be ordered, which takes time and college visits need to be organized.  Please remember that writing well-developed essays takes time; generally more time than students typically a lot for. This is where the bulk on the application time will be spent.  Not all colleges ask the same essay questions, so the earlier you receive those applications the better. One suggestion that I have is after you have chosen your top 3 schools, go ahead and request their application from the previous year. This way you will have a feel for what their essay questions generally look like and you can get a jump-start on the process before their new application comes available. You never know – they may just use the same questions.  Lastly, recommenders need to be approached. Trust me, no one likes being approached in the 11th hour and asked to write a recommendation.  If you want a well thought out and thoughtful letter or recommendation, talk to your recommenders early in the process. They will appreciate your respect for their time.

Setting up a structured time-line for you and your child will help everyone involved understand the process more thoroughly as well as reduce burnout.  Your child needs to manage their time and energy to have well-developed and competitive applications completed by deadline. Most importantly, listen to your child and their wants when it comes to choosing a college. Remember, it is going to be the next four years of “their” life.  This may be one of those times when the old at edge “mother knows best” may not apply.  Work with your child, this can be a great experience for both of you.

Helping Your Teen Choose the Right College

Posted in Articles for Parents, College Guidance, Tip of the Week by

Having worked in higher education for 17 years, people are always asking me: “What do you consider to be the most important factor for students to consider when making their final college choice?”  I don’t think I can ultimately narrow that decision down to one factor, but I can narrow it down to the top 2 most important factors. I call these factors fit and finances.

When I say fit, I’m referring to the school matching your initial criteria that was important to you at the beginning of your search. Some of these factors may have been proximity to home, size of campus, your major as well as campus facilities. Fit also includes those unknown factors that you only discovered once you’re able to see the college campuses, talk to the students as well as the staff.  Sometimes, when we walk on a campus there are these unknown factors that end up being just as important. Such as, how helpful or accommodating are the administrative offices such as financial aid and the registrar. Or, how approachable are the faculty in your major and do they have flexible office hours. Lastly, there are also those intangibles such as the “feel” of the campus. (i.e. How happy are the students and are they fully engaged with the campus?) The  “feel” of the campus can come from your gut and sometimes it can’t be explained, but college campus either gives you a good feeling, no feeling, or a bad feelings. Always listen to what your gut is telling you when making that final decision along with the other criteria mentioned above.

The 2nd factor I refer to is finances. There’s nothing worse than a student attending the college of his/her dreams only to find out during their sophomore or junior year that the school is too expensive for them and/or their parents to afford so they need to transfer elsewhere. Be well aware prior to accepting your number #1 college choice, of all the costs associated with attending that institution. If financial aid, grants and loans still don’t put a dent in the tuition, meal plan and housing costs then the school is just too expensive for you to afford. This is where parental guidance can be critical because  as an 18 or 19-year-old wanting to go off to college sometimes their heart can overrule their head. Parents need to help ground their children and help them understanding the costs associated with higher education. Also, parents and students need to remember that sometimes grants and scholarships guaranteed during freshman year may or may not be guaranteed for the remaining 3 years. I recommend using a spreadsheet or a wipe board for plotting out the pros and cons of your top choices. Again, always keeping in mind fit as well as finances.