How Prepared Is Your Teen for the College Admissions Process

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A dream that most parents have for their children is for them to get to a place where they are prepared to go to college. That requires having a good education, a solid financial plan and also the know-how as it relates to college admissions. After all, no one can get into college just by walking onto the campus. There is a process of applying that must take place first.

If you have a teen that is getting to graduate from high school and you’re curious about if your child is even ready for the college admissions process, we have a few tips to help you to come to the conclusion that’s best for you and your son or daughter.

Assess if your child is mature enough for college. There was a recent report that revealed that there are a lot of children who may be “smart enough” for the first grade, but they still do poorly because at 5 (and sometimes even 6), they are not emotionally mature enough for the environment. The same can apply to teenagers when it comes to college. There are far too many teens that are sent to a university because “that’s what you do after high school” when the reality is that they need a bit more time to figure who they are and what’s next. You can save a lot of money and disappointment by asking yourself “Is my child mature enough for college?” before automatically moving towards the admissions process. They may actually need a semester or a year to work a part-time job or even join something like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps first.

Think about how well-rounded their life is. Colleges are not only interested in what students do inside of the classroom, but their activities outside of it too. If you have a child who is a low B or high C student, but they are active in school clubs, community service and projects at church and any other places where they spend their free time, this can definitely make them reputable contender when it comes to getting into college. It also doesn’t hurt to take your child on a “mini college tour” during the junior and senior year to check out a few schools and meet with some of the administration to get a feel for how well they will thrive in different college settings as well. After all, a brochure can only tell you so much.

Test scores do matter; the application matters more. There’s no way around the fact that the ACT (and in some schools, still the SAT) is something that the admissions department of virtually any college looks at; however, if your child’s score is less than ideal, don’t allow that to be a discouragement. One of the main “attractions” is the college essay and so we encourage you to support your teen in being as honest, direct and clear as possible when it comes to conveying why they want to go to college and what makes them feel like they would be a valuable asset to the particular institution that they are applying to. As you review the essays with your teen, remember that there are no real “right or wrong” answers nor do they need to be made to feel like there’s an MBA ranking system (meaning a higher level of expectation than being an incoming freshman); they simply need to speak from the heart. Sincerity translates really well on paper; especially on college admission applications.