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College may still feel at a safe distance, but the decisions your eighth grader makes now will build the foundation for later success in their college admission journey.
What should you, as a parent, be discussing with your eighth grader?
If you’re struggling with a particular subject, or conversely, if you want to make sure you’re at the top of your game, a tutor can be of great service to you. Having an individual who specializes in a particular subject to work with you one-on-one on a weekly basis can make a huge difference in your understanding of a topic.
While some high schools offer college counseling services for applying students, many families choose to seek a private counselor for their applicant’s needs. When you’re seeking outside help then, it’s important to be discerning about who you choose, and to know what to expect from a great college counselor.
When most students and parents think of budgeting for university, they think of tuition costs, along with room and board. However, it’s important to remember that applying to university itself can come with a hefty price tag, and you should plan for that as well. The college applications may cost significantly less than the tuition of any school you’re applying to, but ignoring the fees can mean difficulties with certain purchases down the road, such as textbooks or certain meal plans.
College counselors are helpful in guiding a student through the admissions process for college. With the national average for students to counselors being 350:1, it is safe to say that many high school students don’t get time with a college counselor to address their questions, let alone their planning needs.
Kids and parents alike have a vision of what college will be like for the graduate. This can include general expectations, such as what kinds of friends they’ll make and how they’ll do in their classes. It can also include more specific and larger scale expectations, such as what school they’ll go to and what they’ll study when they get there. Sometimes these visions and expectations differ, and it can be difficult to know how to navigate the waters of disagreement, especially when the stakes are so high. So we’d like to take a moment to explore what happens when parents and kids don’t agree on schools or majors, and how they can navigate the murky waters of disagreement.
College admissions has become a crazy game where students and parents apply to more and more schools each year. The process has become more complicated over time, and exponentially so.
As a parent, it can be difficult to know how to best help your child through the arduous college application process. On one hand, you may feel tempted to help them with each and every step, wanting to have as much control over the process as possible. On the other hand, you may want to leave your child completely to their own devices, encouraging them to stand on their own two feet.
There is no formula in college admissions, and for that reason it can be easy to pick and chose what ideals we think schools most value. We dream up myths behind seemingly “perfect” applications, but the truth is that no Top 50 admitted student harbors every quality these rumors praise.
With the school year fast approaching, it’s time for students to begin thinking about how to prepare for the ACT and/or SAT.
One question that we regularly receive is: “Should my student treat the ACT and/or SAT the same as they do a class?”
It’s a great question, and one that we feel confident answering as one of the fastest growing education companies around the globe.
