Time 2 Focus on College Applications

If you are going through the process of filling out the applications for college presently, do you feel like a broken record?

Lets think back to last year: WARNING Junior year students and parents receive a multitude of information from colleges, your high school, organizers, SAT/ACT tutors, and private college counselors.

Prior to this, you are cognizant that once you enter high school there is pressure to prepare your child and yourselves for the road ahead. Of course, you may have given some thought to the college apps prior to high school.

The show begins and the curtain rises. Your child is the star of the play and it is a monologue, a soliloquy and all eyes and ears are on your child. Now what? Are they (you) prepared for this journey? A multitude of emotions are entering all your minds and it is key to complete everything in a timely manner. And then it is “somewhat out of your hands.” Oy!

You hear conversations such as: My child has it all together and completing the forms, totally independent, my child hasn’t done enough and I am tired of telling them and repeating “Please get the applications completed, please!”

Certainly, there is a plethora of scenarios that you hear amongst college-age applicants and their families.

Regardless where you are in the college process the bottom line: the deadline is certain and completion is imperative.

How do you get from point A to point B will depend on you and your child. Initiating organization skills prior to the senior year will promote an independent and organized student.

What can you do to prepare them so they are independent when the time comes?

• FOLDERS, labels, and other materials that will help support organization. Yes, clearly common sense, yet?
• Open discussions and note taking in 1 notebook so you can keep all info organized.
• Expose your child to organizational skills, and communicate those skills. Children are “copycats”, they will internalize these skills and hopefully copy them and incorporate those strategies to build independence.

This is a perfect time to change the phrase, “do as I say and do what I do.”

As you go through the college applications parents realize how the application process has changed. The pressures seem greater, the computerized generated app has certainly some benefits, and competition has definitely been taken to a higher level.

Competition is quite evident in our area. Students are prepared across the country as they are administered standardized testing. Competition is introduced at an early age -- scores, some say “teaching to the test,” specialized programs, and possibly, charter schools. We are aware that scores should not define our children but, it appears difficult to imagine how it won’t.

POSITIVE reinforcement, an advocate for your child, and strategies that will assist them to be the best that they can be, is a great foundation on the road toward their future.
It’s never too late to learn and benefit from this thought process.

Where are you the process of apps?

Broken record or creating organization, either way, it’s a lon …………… g journey!