Mom & Dad, I Need Your Help! Prepare Your Child for College and See Them Succeed By Tanya Knight
“We can no longer afford to
ignore them. We need to walk them through the education maze so
that each and every student can and will go to college”. ~Tanya
Knight
Preparing for college is a goal
that both you and your child need to work towards. It’s vital that you take an
active role during this process, to ensure your child succeeds! Most high
schools will focus on college prep, particularly during the past two years of
school, but getting ready for college involves more than ensuring your child
takes the right courses and fills out applications.
Fear of the Unknown
Most college freshmen drop out
of college simply because they were not prepared for college life and not just
the increased level of academics, but living alone as well. For most students,
this is the first time they will be living alone. This means that they need to
become responsible and dependent upon themselves while they are in middle
school and high school. This not only teaches responsibility throughout high
school, but will prepare them for living on their own at college. Time
management is one area that ends up haunting students in college and this issue
can be prevented if they are taught good time management habits while in high
school.
Financial Literacy
Finances are another area of
concern for students going to college. Teaching your child how to manage their
money and set a budget early in high school is important. Most high school
students will begin a summer job or part-time job at some point in their high
school career. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get your child a
checking account and teach them how to make smart financial decisions. Students
should also be taught about credit card debt early. According to Bankrate, the
average undergraduate carries $2,200 in credit card debt. If your student must
have a credit card, it is vitally important that you teach them to pay off the
card each month and to only use it in emergency situations. The longer they
wait to pay a credit card bill the deeper in debt they will get, particularly
due to their high interest rates and fees.
Applying for Financial Aid &
Scholarships
Financial aid is also a step in
college preparation that both the student and parents need to be aware of. You
can apply for federal student aid as early as January 1st,
prior to starting college in August. Keep in mind, the absolute last day that
you can turn in the FAFSA for federal aid is June 30th .In
order to apply, you will need to have your income taxes completed prior to
filling out the application. It is vitally important that both the student and
parents complete their income taxes as early as possible to ensure that they
can send in the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as early as
possible. The earlier you send it in, the earlier you will be able to determine
if you'll receive federal aid, school assistance, scholarships and how much you
qualify for in student loans. The FAFSA can also be filed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Finally, scholarship
applications can be sent into schools and other organizations a year to six
months prior to school beginning. Most colleges have an early scholarship
application deadline. This deadline is generally around February 1st prior
to the fall semester beginning. Search for scholarships online as well as
locally from various organizations in your community. Many corporations also
offer scholarships to students of employees and it is important that you look
into those as well, if they are available.
Following these simple steps,
you will be able to prepare your child for college and set them up for success,
not only financially but also teach them the life skills they will need for
when they are on their own at college!
For more info on our guest blogger Tanya Knight follow her @EducationCoach
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