Parents! Don’t Make The Mistake Of Having Your Child Face The College Admission Process Alone.

Good advice is worth repeating, great advice worth writing about. One of the recent topics of discussion in the MyCollegeCalendar message board has been about parent involvement and support with the college admission and financial aid processes. This blog posting is written to highlight and “drive home” the importance of parental support and encouragement to the success of virtually all college-bound students.

The bottom line in this discussion is the clear majority of students have too many responsibilities to effectively and efficiently complete the college admission and application processes by themselves. Parents need to help.

Examples of typical student responsibilities include:

- High school (preparing for exams, writing term papers, working on group term projects, homework, participating in leadership and other school activities, working on their senior year/graduation project, etc.).

- Commitment to extracurricular activities (continuing with community service and service clubs, working a part-time job, participating in theater, sports, school clubs, yearbook, school newspaper, etc.).

- Home duties (helping with household chores and assisting with care for younger siblings).

- Completing outstanding college application packets to optimize chances for college admission and substantial amounts of financial aid.

- Oh, and least we not forget, these students are still children trying to enjoy their youth and high school experience.

Parents can help reduce the stress and anxiety associated with the college admission and application processes and increase their child’s potential for college admission in dozens of ways. Besides providing encouragement, parents can help with scheduling events (campus visits, SAT/ACT testing, college fairs) and provide transportation to those events, help research colleges to apply to, download college application materials, drive to the post office to mail college application materials, proof read application essays, search for scholarships, monitor completion of college application requirements, be timely with parental financial aid and tax information, etc., etc., etc.

So, students ask your parent(s) for help and parents be ready and willing to help your student. A collaborative effort between college-bound students and parents is a win-win situation for everyone. For more information visit MyCollegeCalendar.org