College! You’re here, after all these years – and now your teenager is no longer a little one and is now a big one and is making big decisions. Preparing for college is a big thing for a teenager to do. They’ve just spent years asking the basics of permission to even use a bathroom in school and now they’re being asked to make life-affirming decisions about their future.
As a parent, you’ll want to support your teenager every step of the way, from finding the best college math test prep courses to helping them to fill out a mountain of paperwork. Ensuring your teen is well-prepared both academically and emotionally is so important, so here’s how you can help your teenager to get their college applications out there.
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- Encourage early test prep. The earlier they start to prepare for standardized testing, the better. Good college math test prep courses can help your teenager to build foundational skills and improve their problem solving abilities. It’ll also be a huge confidence booster to know that they are walking into a test situation well-prepared.
- Keep them organized. You can’t be there every step of the way, but help your teenager to come up with an application timetable. Managing deadlines and forms is not easy but you can be there with them to keep them calm. Let them take the lead with the timetabling – you want to give them a chance to manage things themselves before taking over. You won’t be able to do it all for your teenager when they head off to college!
- Support the essay writing process. You need to be supportive and not critical as your teen writes their college entrance essays. In addition to test scores, colleges often require personal essays, and they may want to write a few drafts. Offer to proofread and help them to shape their ideas. Remember, you cannot write it for them and it has to come from them for it to be authentic.
- Visit colleges and attend college fairs. Make time to visit as many colleges as your teenager would like to attend. This helps them to get a feel for which colleges they want to apply to, and it gives you a talking point over the dinner table. Carve out time as they’ll want you with them, answering questions and supporting them in their choices.
- Provide as much emotional support as possible. The college application process is very stressful and your teenager may experience outbursts and anxiety. You need to offer as much emotional support as you can and help your teen to manage a healthy study and life balance. They will be stretched enough, but remind them that you’re there, that you have every faith in their abilities and keep that positive attitude going.
There is so much more to college applications than you think, but as a parent you’re going to be needed more than ever. Balancing giving your teenager space and time with support and emotional wellbeing is crucial, but all you need to do is love them.
