In my radio show this week, College Bound & Determined, I do a quick recap of where you need to be in your college search process->if you want to have the time and energy to enjoy (!) the process. Take a good look at this mindmap, figure out where you are… and your next steps.
If you want support in the process, shoot me an email or, even better, sign up for a complimentary strategy session, jill {at} majorinyou,com
A year in the life… of a high school junior/senior
As promised, on my radio show, College Bound & Determined, here are the highlights of that last crucial year in the the journey to find the colleges that are the best matches.
Every week on my show, I create the space to step back and think about the college search and selection process. Check out my savvy guests, thoughtful questions, and fresh ideas. Parents learn ways to help their teens move away from the frenzy and teens can hear new techniques for making the shift from feeling anxious, confused, and overwhelmed to confident, organized, and successful in finding the colleges that are the right fit! Listen in, here.
Let’s dig deeper into the question of who will work on which tasks over the next year so that the journey to find the colleges that are the best fit becomes and remains an exciting adventure.
When you assess at all steps of the process…
What might you do together?
Brainstorm about areas of interest, strengths, essay topics
Imagine life at college-where, how large, what type of setting
Talk about finances
Visit colleges
Create a timeline and milestones
Practice interviews
Talk through final choices
What will you do alone?
Financial aid forms
What will your teen do independently?
Test prep and testing
Complete applications
Write essays
Do interviews
Secure letters of recommendation
Yikes! I have just listed over a dozen areas that require planning, preparation, completion… and those are just the highlights!
Perhaps the first question is… Where do you, as a family, begin? I think it’s by taking stock of
- what you know
- what you need to know/learn
- what questions and concerns you have
- your planning and completion skills
I hope that focusing on the first steps of the journey for the next year provides the foundation for starting the conversation with your teen.
* If you love to see things…Here’s a mindmap with ideas of “What to do When.” It’s a draft (no need to tell you that!), I’ll post a clean copy in a few days… check back!
It’s the winter of your teen’s junior year, and families who want to enjoy the college search and selection process-as opposed to experiencing it as an affliction-need to start now!
In less than 12 months your teen will have completed the college application process – hard to believe yet true! It can be done faster, but that’s often under pressure-and you and I know that’s not the best way to make decisions.
So where do you, as a family, begin this process?
As a parent you have a good deal of thinking to do about your role in this process…
How do you see your role?
How do you see your teen’s role?
√ What are you teen’s capabilities-currently?
- Is she self reflective and aware of what she wants in a college?
- Is he great at planning?
- Is she good at research and then organizing info?
- Is he dedicated to meeting deadlines?
√ What will s/he grow into in this process which includes self awareness, preparation, planning, research, writing, interviewing, testing, making choices?
These are important questions… and it may take some time to look differently at your teen-to think through what your teen can already manage and also what needs to be learned.
We’ll talk about all this and more in the next post… If you want some ideas before I post, listen into my radio show, College Bound & Determined on www.webtalkradio.net
No time like the present for teens and their parents to be thinking about financing college!
Parents of seniors are completing the FAFSA and CSS/Profile… and maybe doing some last minute searching for scholarships…
Juniors and their parents need to be having those first conversations about college costs… Because how do you start looking for college without having a sense of finances? Remember though, there is a lot of scholarship money available, but the time to start looking is now!
Here are some online resources to check out:
www.finaid.org
www.fafsa4caster.gov
www.ed.gov/index.jsp
www.fastweb.com
www.supercollege.com
www.collegeboard.com
www.xap.com
www.collegepossible.org
www.petersons.com
www.collegeview.com
www.collegeanswer.com
www.studentedge.com
www.collegegold.com
Whew! That’s a good start!
And, there’s a list of books in my previous blog post, here
It’s the beginning of November so let’s review who needs to be doing what right now!
Seniors
√ Check in with/Create (!) your calendar -> test dates, fees, deadlines for various pieces of college applications
√ Take second round of SATs and subject tests, and take the ACT
√ Work on college applications – check list of schools that accept common application
√ Write supplemental essays for colleges requiring them
√ Complete financial aid applications/meet the deadlines
√ Complete search for scholarships and add deadlines to your calendar
√ Visit colleges: Visit classes, stay overnight, do interviews
YIKES! That’s a lot to handle!!! To add one last thought to that lengthy list…It’s my hope that you are completing packets for your guidance counselor – your resume, transcript info, recommendation forms for teachers… all those niggling details…
I’ll talk more about how you can work effectively with the guidance counselor/college adviser next week…
Juniors
√ You have taken the PSAT… how did it go? What are you plans for scoring higher on the SAT? Study on your own, taking a class, or getting tutoring? Make a plan
√ Start your self discovery process – What are your strengths, needs, wants, challenges?
√ Think through preferences for areas of study and/or careers of interest, and generate a list
√ Talk with guidance counselor/college adviser. Begin the process of helping them know you better so they can be even more helpful.
√ Talk with your parents about college costs, the range of costs – yet don’t eliminate any types of schools yet!
Seniors you’re nearing the homestretch of your search and selection process… while juniors, it’s time for you to fully engage… the sooner you start the easier it will be for you to enjoy this adventure!
Remember to create a plan and commit it to your calendar!
And if you’re looking for support with your search, join my fr*ee Preview Call, click here How to Jumpstart Your College Search! on November 10th at 8 pm (ET)
How does your teen envision her future? What are his hopes and dreams? How will your teen become an independent, responsible adult?
What do you think about your teen and college, do they seem like a natural match? From your perspective, is it a foregone conclusion that he will go, are there some questions to be considered, or is the topic barely on your family’s radar screen? What is your teen’s thinking on the topic, what does she feel about the subject? Have you had that conversation in depth and over time? It’s never to late (or too early) to have those exploratory conversations.
What the purpose of going to college? Is a college degree necessary? Desireable? Those questions seems almost forgotten in our fast-paced lives… though it’s critically important for you and your teen to talk through and answer.
I believe that the continuing education and environment that college can provide enables teens to transition into becoming young adults even more capable of taking advantage of all life has to offer. College poses opportunities to become even more responsible for all the aspects of their lives: to make decisions about who they want to be, to solve problems of both an academic and interpersonal/social/emotional nature, and to learn to engage with others on a variety of levels-to cooperate, negotiate and resolve conflict, in ways that will serve them for the remainder of their lives.
Can teens develop the same knowledge, skills and attitudes outside of a college setting? Absolutely! Though perhaps college, or a technical school or an apprenticeship provides a more supportive, structured approach to their development. Certainly, there are entry level positions that offer opportunities for mentorship and growth.
These are the questions that lead to the conversations we need to have with teens early in their high school years. By helping our teens explore the possibilities, learn what school systems and the world outside school have to offer (art classes, sports, study abroad, internships, apprenticeships and more) we encourage them to make informed decisions about their futures… whether that includes college in the US, looking for universities or academic programs abroad, making time to enter the world of work before going to college, working and attending college, going to a technical school or beginning an apprenticeship, there are so many choices…
I believe that as parents we owe it to our teens to show the breadth of possibilities so that they can take the reins of the decision-making process and step into adulthood. What do you think? What questions do you have about the transition your teen, you and your family are experiencing? Feel free to contact me.
So really! What do you think?
What does going to college really mean to you?
What is the thinking about college life in your family?
How does society view going to college?
As a junior, you’re probably hearing a lot of talk about college, because now is the time to start making the major decisions about your future after high school… How “big” are your conversations with your family members, guidance counselors, and friends? Do they start with questions about the future and the variety of options available to you? Or, do the people talking around you, and with you, begin with the assumption that college is right for everyone, or at least everyone in the conversation?
Before heading too far down the path on assumptions about college life and what it does and doesn’t have to offer… Have you tried your best to answer these questions:
- What types of work do you envision in your future? What are you passionate about, what interests you?
- Does that field/Do those areas require a college degree? Are there vocational/technical/career training schools that would prepare you for those fields?
- Is an apprenticeship available that might provide exactly the hands-on experience required for such work?
- Have you considered studying abroad for college/university?
- What do you believe a college experience (education and environment) will do for you?
- What expectations do you have of college?
- Do you and your parents have the same hopes and dreams about your future? Have you had long and deep conversations that address your vision of your future?
Make the time now to think through, discuss and think through (again!) the conversations and answers to these questions, and more questions that are important to you… It’s the only place to begin! I can help if you like… Contact me if you want to start a conversation to get clear about what college means to you and your future.
Last Saturday was a COLD end-of-March day. I had been hoping for warmer weather… but I have to say it really didn’t matter because it was so fantastic to be on campus and meeting prospective students and their parents. I love the feel of Clark-though that’s really not what I want to talk with you about… I want to ask seniors* who are about to make decisions about where they want to spend the next four years…
- How will you decide?
- What’s important to you?
- What are you looking and listening for on campuses as you visit-whether it’s for the first time or the last time-before you make your decision? (Or, what are you looking for on the colleges’ websites and in conversations with current students and alumni?)
You have some time to make a decision. I’d like to suggest that you choose with your head and your heart. Reflect on who you are: what you need and want in an environment so that you are both comfortable and challenged to do your best work and have a great time! Good luck!
* These are great questions for juniors too, as you begin visiting campuses.
It’s that time of year! The teens I’m coaching are visiting the colleges and universities that top their lists, in some cases for the second time… and they are stirred up! It’s so much fun to listen to their excitement, what they loved/liked/were less than enthused about – they talk about the…
- campus
- classes
- students
- tour guide
- residence halls
- sports teams/events
- extracurriculars
So, here’s my thinking->Express Advice (getting to the heart of the matter FAST):
- Get a notebook/Create a file
- Choose the key elements to explore and write about for each campus-so you are comparing apples to apples
- Write down your thoughts about every school you visit-within hours of visiting, so your notes are fresh and full of detail
- Notes need to be general (what was the feel of the campus, would you be comfortable/can you see yourself there, what’s the weather like through the year, etc.)
- Notes need to be specific (what are the reputations of the departments that interest you, what did you learn about the professors/classes/students, are there enough/several great choices of majors/minors/study abroad, if you change your path?)
- What remaining questions do you have? Who can you contact with your questions, the admission office personnel, a professor, coach, student, alumni rep?
- Identify some “sounding boards,” people who will actively listen to your thinking about each of the schools, and offer their opinion only when asked. This is (in large part) your decision… no doubt your parents will weigh in with their thoughts, and that’s an opportunity to think and talk further… Remember, you are the one going to college, you need to feel the decisions are the right ones.
I won’t kid you -> Choosing where to apply to colleges is a big decision! If you’re applying Early Decision, no doubt you have a clear sense of what you want and are ready to pursue it (if not, don’t do ED). If you are choosing Early Action or regular decision… think with your head, feel with your heart, and choose the schools (likelies, possibles and reaches) that are a match for the who you are and who you want to become.
