One of the most exciting times in any young person’s life is the season between their senior year of high school and their freshman year of college. There’s their senior prom, graduation and all of the preparing that comes with getting ready for college life.

If you’re looking for a few tips on how you can help your child to develop a solid college plan while still in high school, we have five recommendations below that will definitely have them ready for their first day (and year) on campus.

Discuss career goals. On average, many college students do not commit to a major until the middle of their sophomore year in school; however, that doesn’t mean that your child should wait until then before exploring the kinds of things they would like to do in the workplace. So, spend some time discussing with your child what their favorite subjects are, what they’re passionate about and what they could see themselves doing for the rest of their life.

Encourage them to seek out scholarships. For a student to attend an in-state public university, tuition plus room and board, fees and books will run them somewhere around $15,000 per year; this means that it will cost them approximately $60,000 to earn an undergraduate degree. And, with many students leaving school with about $27,000 worth of student loan debt, it’s important to get as [Read more…]