The most important thing you need to know about preparing your student for college is that you need to be involved. There is no hands-off parenting in this process. Your student will be more successful on the quest for college if you are an active part of the process.
Not all teenagers want their parents involved though, so it’s important to set a precedent early on for your involvement. Although there are a multitude of steps you can take to become involved in the college prep process, we recommend starting with these three essentials.
3 Easy Steps To Prepare Your Student For College
1.) Help with homework
- Encourage your student to come to you for help if they are stuck on their homework.
- Check in with your student while they are doing their homework to see how it is going. Sometimes, like all of us, students may not know how to ask for help.
- Have your student use a homework planner to keep track of assignments and due dates.
- It will also be helpful to check their planner periodically to make sure they are staying on task. This will also help them know they are accountable for their work, not only to their teachers, but to you as well.
- Have your student keep you up to date on their grades. Stay on top of report cards, tests, homework assignments, projects, etc.
- Know what classes are important for your student to take throughout their high school career.
- Understand the different types of colleges available for your student.
- Inform yourself of the resources your students high school offers in terms of preparing
- 3.) Help your student explore career options
- Let your student know what it is you enjoy/dislike about your career. This will help to give them a foundation for understanding career happiness.
- Encourage your student to ask others the same question
- Make discussing their future fun!
- Ask them what they like, what their dreams are, what they are good at, etc. Then have them brainstorm about careers they could pursue with those options. You might try doing the same on your own (for them).
These are just a few simple steps you can take to understand how to prepare your student for college. Don’t just stop with these steps. Delve further into this topic with this helpful resource guide : A Parents Guide to Preparing Your Student for College.
2.) Be informed about the college process