Dear Parent,
Some of you may be hoping I am going to lay out a plan or formula for success, but that’s not what I will be talking about. For some of you, and you know who you are, it seems like the quest for the right college has become the quest to get your teen into the best college in the universe! But really, what is the best college? You can read all the reports and rankings but if your child is not ready or doesn’t want that kind of pressure maybe it’s time to ease off. Is this quest more about you and being able to tell your friends and family that your teen got into the best college in the universe? No one needs to know you are reading this so be honest with yourself. Our teens today have enough pressure just trying to get the best grades they can, take challenging courses, join clubs, do extracurricular activities and volunteer with all that extra time they have! Oh yeah, they are also trying to figure out who they are and what they might want to do with their lives, choose a college major, find a career, etc. They do not need the pressure of getting into the best college in the universe. You need to be supporting them in finding a college that is the right fit for them, so they can be set up for success, not failure. I think there are many college environments that get overlooked because they are not at the top of the ranking lists. When in reality many of these colleges offer awesome college educations and preparation for real life. Talk to your teen about what they want, how they feel about the pressure of getting into college and how you can help them in their quest. Once they know they don’t have to get into the best college in the universe if they don’t want to, the pressure will ease, and they just might find a college that fits them best of all.