Teens Preparing For College

Preparing for college is a big decision for all teenagers as it dictates their future course of action in any particular field. Before they jump to making any hasty decisions, they must stop and give some thought regarding what they want to study and of course consider what they are good at. Parents play a pivotal role in the success of their children in college. Firstly, parents must avoid imposing their own decisions on their children. They need to let the children make their own decisions regarding their course of study and the particular career choice. Although it may be emotionally quite tough for the parents to accept the fact, that their children are grown ups, they have little choice.

The teens must be allowed to make the decisions, as this will make them feel more responsible. It would be a good idea for the parent to ask the child how he or she feels as this will make them feel better as well as eliminate any confusion which the teen may have. Effective communication will also help build a strong bond between the parent and their children. Make sure that you take your teen to a grocery store to shop. Teens need to learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle otherwise they might end up gaining a lot of unwanted pounds, which a lot of freshmen ultimately do in their first-year at college.

Let your teen have a separate study room in the house. This will be a good practice for teens are trying to get into a decent college. Teenagers will need to adjust living alone in the dorms, so having a separate study will mentally prepare them for the dorm life. Next, the parents need to assist the children in making informed decisions about the college, so that they know what they are getting themselves into. Parents can also assist in choosing a particular college which is best for the subject which the teen wants to study.

While the teen is still in high school, parents need to encourage the children in taking the standardized aptitude tests; such as the Standardized Aptitude Test or SAT. Getting a high score in their SATs will increase the teen's chances to enroll in a college of their choice. Besides this, they also need to develop a good track record of their extracurricular activities and not just restrict themselves to the books.