How to Help Your Child Prepare for College

There is no easy or sure-fire way to make sure your child is fully prepared for college after finishing high school. Don’t worry; nobody ever is. Don’t fret if you feel like you’re not doing enough to launch your son or daughter into college life. There are things they’ll have to learn on their own, but we can make sure that we’ve done our best to ease the transition somewhat.

Here are a few tips to consider as your child nears this momentous point of their lives:

1. Ease up on pressuring a major. Your child is going to have so much going on that pigeon-holing them into selecting a major before classes even begin can be too much for them to bear. Let your child gravitate toward a major after a year or even two of taking core curriculum classes. College is a time for students to figure out where they belong, so don’t pressure them to get locked into a major right away.

2. Keep the GPA talk to a minimum. The adjustment from high school to college is so difficult that demanding that if you demand a certain GPA in the first year you’re going to set up your child for failure. They may need a semester to find their groove and if their grades aren’t up to snuff at first, let them find their way.

3. Encourage community service. Many schools look at more than just grades and sports that your children played in high school. Community service is a huge factor that admissions officers consider when analyzing applicants. Your children may shy away from this at first, but once they get involved they’ll find it fulfilling and keep it a part of their lives forever.

4. Encourage utilization of college’s services. Tuition costs are astronomical and are only rising so it’s imperative your children use all the services available to them to help them excel in their studies. Take a tour of the campus and discover what’s available.

5. Start looking for internships right away. Most colleges will allow students to do an internship for credit. These opportunities need to be grasped. Encourage your child to look for internships during their freshman year for down the road. Even if the university doesn’t grant credits for the internship, it is an opportunity to develop a network that can only be beneficial after graduation and is a great way for your child to figure out what career path they want to embark upon.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who is an industry critic on the subject of grants for grad school. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.