| |
It's coming: one of the most important decisions since you had to agree on what to name your child. Now this same child is ready for college. It's the first step on the journey to individual freedom for your child, and parents can play an extremely important role in making this choice.
Parents, this is where all your practice at being there when needed—without getting in the way—will pay off big time. Most students need a lot of support during this time, whether it's helping with forms, estimating living expenses away from home, scheduling campus visits, or writing down laundry instructions for light clothes versus dark clothes. Just remember to let your student direct the process.
The voyage of a lifetime
The trick is to start small and approach your college search as though you're helping to plan the voyage of a lifetime. In fact, you are.
This is a process that takes time, so start encouraging discussions about college early. By the junior year, most students have begun to develop ideas about their life interests, goals, and ambitions.
Students should be doing research on college choices when they're juniors,” said Kathy Carey, a counselor at Catawba Valley Community College . Carey and other counselors in CVCC's Student Services office speak with students during numerous high school visits throughout the year.
Students and parents should attend college fairs and financial aid seminars. Contact schools for general information on admissions, financial aid and scholarships. A good place to visit is collegeboard.com: it has a wealth of information on everything from campus visits to scholarship sources.
So, what does your student want?
In every college selection guide, this is step one. Each student must determine: What makes me tick? which subjects and activities do I like and dislike most in high school? What are my motivations and my work and study habits? Most important, what am I likely to do when my parents aren't there to remind me what I have to do?
We always tell students to choose a college that's a good match for them, where they fit in,” said Carey. “Make sure it's the right size and offers programs they want.”
To help students with this process of self-assessment, check out the list of sample questions (See “Questions for Students”) that should help get your student thinking. Lay it neatly in her sock drawer. Tape it to his favorite video game. Then step back and wait.
Changing needs, changing times
Your options in higher education get better every day. You have a wider and more intriguing range of two-year and four-year institutions. Community colleges have come a long way from their early days as training schools for skilled trades only. Those roots, however, were vital in shaping the future of community colleges by creating student-focused learning environments that universities cannot duplicate. And for students who need time to develop better study skills, focusing on student learning can mean the difference between floundering and success.
|
|
Four-year colleges, too, have become more focused and improved their course offerings.The way colleges and universities approach learning is changing as well. The philosophy with most four-year schools grew out of the traditional belief in the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake (and a fine belief it is).
However, as today's careers require increasingly higher levels of education, many universities have shifted from the purely academic teaching approach. These days you'll find more part-time instructors who are still immersed in the working world and whose “real-world” perspectives can help students prepare better for an emerging career.
Four-year institutions also offer an entirely different social environment, a community within a community. Dorm life can provide a unique balance of relaxed supervision with greater freedom, bridging the gap between childhood dependence and adult independence. This experience can help students develop important life skills – money and time management, problem solving, self-reliance, goal development – and a stronger sense of their place in the world. It certainly adds a whole new dimension to higher education.
Small vs. Large
Another difference between community colleges and universities is class size. University classes, especially courses required for all incoming freshmen, may be taught in theater-sized rooms with hundreds of students. On one hand, large classes can provide a broader experience in cultural perspectives and allow less assertive students time to be “invisible” while they adjust to the new demands of college. On the other hand, large classes offer fewer opportunities for the individualized attention that may bring out the best in your student.
Community colleges work to maintain much smaller class sizes. This provides instructors the time and opportunity to identify students who need assistance and give them the help they need.
Social life: the campus visit
Don't underestimate the importance of social opportunities in the college selection process. Students need to feel that they “fit in” and are able to make friends and participate in ways that make them feel accepted. Your student may be looking to join a fraternity or sorority, or participate in athletics. Four-year colleges and universities typically have a broader and more diverse offering of student clubs, activities and athletics.
When you really start to narrow things down, the best thing to do is visit the campus,” Carey said. “A Web site or brochure can sometimes make a college look like it's exactly what you want, but when you get there it may be something entirely different."
Take the campus tour, talk with current students, sit in on a class or two in your student's field of interest. Find someone on the campus with whom you and your student can have a frank conversation about the school, classes, teachers and activities. If your student says it doesn't feel right, respect his opinion. He'll know what feels right for him. |
|
Student Services Counselor Kathy Carey (right) advises students to choose a college that's a good match for them, where they “fit in.” Carey advises student Allyssa Cha on courses to take to enter the nursing program.
Define “affordable”
Don't limit your student to only “affordable” schools. Some private colleges can provide aid packages that will shrink your contribution to a fraction of what you'd have to pay at a state college. Just be realistic for her sake about whether your student can meet an elite college's academic requirements. Why get her hopes up just to have them dashed because her ACT score didn't make the grade?
On the flip side, don't disregard “affordable” schools as “low-end” education. A hefty price tag is hardly a guarantee of quality.
Okay, so what will it cost?
Before you start feeling separation anxiety with your savings, the College Board offers you this reassurance: a record $105 billion in financial aid is available right now for college costs.** In fact, about 60 percent of all college students are receiving some form of financial aid.
Community colleges usually come out on top in dollar-for-dollar comparisons with four-year colleges and universities.
Remember: in many cases, courses taken at a community college will transfer credit-for-credit to four-year schools. CVCC has articulation agreements with all public four-year colleges in North Carolina . This ensures smooth transfer of credit. Schools typically provide credit transfer information and course equivalents on their Web site. Students at CVCC can get transfer information at the Student Services office. Counselors have transfer equivalency lists for lots of schools and are eager to work with students as early as possible to avoid loss of credits.
Finding the right fit
Go back for just a moment to the idea of helping your student prepare for college as though you're planning a great journey. Remember back to the last trip you took, accompanied reluctantly by your student. As most parents know from this experience, an unhappy traveler makes a miserable companion. As a rule, a miserable student makes a lousy learner.
Ultimately, the best way to support your student's success in college is to let the student choose the college that fits. The happier the student with the course of study, the campus, the instructors, and fellow students; the better the chances your student will succeed in college, career, and all of life's adventures that lie ahead.
*“Point of View,” Community College Week, March 29, 2004, pp. 4-5.
**Cost and aid figures from the College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2003 and Trends in Student Aid 2003. CF
|
Inclement Weather 