Choosing schools. It’s pretty hard nowadays to come across a college student who didn’t use College Board at some point during his or her application process. Become familiar with the Web site, but let your teen come up with a list. A typical student might apply to six colleges, but this can vary. Visiting schools can help narrow down a long list. A school guidance counselor can often make suggestions for a short list. Feel free to make your own suggestions, but don’t expect immediate interest from your teen; we assume that the schools which you like are probably not the ones we would like.

Filling out the application. With the rise of the Common Application, it is possible to apply to many colleges at once without much additional effort (for a fee). Your teen should be the only person filling out this application. It is essential that your teen honestly represent his or her own work. I cannot stress this enough: this is your teen’s application. Of course, you can provide the necessary biographical or financial information. You can double check that all the i’s have been dotted and the t’s have been crossed, though the process is electronic for most schools today. Concerning essays, if your teen needs help getting started, provide ideas, not sentences. Likewise, when proofreading, the help should be limited to grammatical and structural edits, or more general ideas.

Visiting colleges. College visits are critical in the college application process. Seeing a college’s statistics is one thing, but actually being on campus can change a teen’s mind, immediately. You don’t want this to be after deadlines have passed and final decisions have been made. As a parent, you should try to facilitate a good number of visits. Visits before applying to schools can help narrow down the list of potential candidates, but visits after help determine the ultimate decision. It can be helpful to weigh out the cost of visiting vs. the cost of applying. I recommend making local visits before applying to schools, and saving a long distance visit for after the verdicts have been given. (For better or worse, it might save you a trip.) Or, try to visit several faraway colleges on the same trip. In all situations, visit at least once before letting your child say yes.

Now, here I am, summer after my freshman year, training for another season of Varsity cross country, with a year of college and college athletics under my belt. Wait, did I even run cross country in high school? Nope. This past year, I ran cross country, winter track, and spring track for my college. If I wasn’t even the top of my team in high school, how did I fare in college? Well, I certainly was near the bottom of the team in cross country, but I never felt left out, and put in a good deal of effort.

That effort paid off in winter, when I went to the NCAA Division III Nationals as a member of the Distance Medley Relay (DMR). At the pre-competition banquet, one of the speakers asked the students in the audience who had not made it to their high school state track meet to stand up. Over half of the athletes stood up. This meant that the majority of these athletes had probably, at some point in their lives, been told that they weren’t good enough to make it in college athletics, and yet there they were, at Nationals. My DMR team eventually earned All-American status (which means we placed in the top 8).

The reality is, your kid doesn’t need to be the top athlete in high school to be a college athlete.  Does it help to be good at a sport? Of course. However, outside of varsity athletics, there are also club sports, intramural sports, and even classes for sports. I know that sometimes a kid is pushed too hard to become a star in athletics, which is not good. But, I have also seen the other side of the spectrum, where kids are discouraged from their talent in a particular sport, being told to favor studies and forget about the idea of a future involving athletics. I think that’s a shame. Especially in Division III athletics, the participants are student-athletes, where “student” comes first, but the “athlete” is beneficial to the student (which I’ll discuss in a future article). If your child has a love for a sport, there’s a place for it alongside a college education.

• First, doing your homework.  If you look at the semester, the homework seems to be at the heaviest from about 25% to 90% the way through the semester.  In fact, it peaks at about 75% of the way through.  And then, about 90-95% the way through the semester, it just kinda slows dramatically.  You still have homework, but much less that you previously had.  So, many students just don’t do their homework anymore.  Mostly, they no longer care.  So, you have to keep caring.  Most of the kids who no longer care are the ones who may be depending on their grade, and giving up seals the lid on the chances you had.
• Honors and other term papers.  Everyone knows that semester long papers are really only even thought about in the second half of the semester.  It is how the system works.  So, the end of a term can be a project cram fest.  That means that your options for handling the projects are slim.  Basically, if you are a student, you need to hunker down and work.  Nothing else, just work.  At the same time, parents should be there to assist the students in working.  That doesn’t mean the parents should be forcing the students to work constantly, but rather keeping distracted students on task.  This means that you do what you can to make sure they are working.  And if a student chooses to stay up until midnight working, that is their choice.  If I am on a roll with an essay, I am not stopping, because I will get it done then and there.
• Finals are a unique beast.  All I can say is study, don’t cram.  Studying is person by person, so generalized help won’t do anything.  And I don’t study much anyway

The end of the year can put you in a pickle.  So, just try to follow these tips and it should be all right.

I never had a curfew until my twin sister and I learned how to drive. Before then, my parents or the other parents would discuss a time when I would be picked up or brought home. I had no control in the matter aside from begging to be picked up later. When I got my own set of car keys, they were accompanied by a new set of rules. In my state, the law requires drivers under 16 to be off the road after 1 A.M. However, that was too late for my mother’s standards; she wanted us back by 10 P.M. Honestly, this seemed way too early, especially on nights when we didn’t have school the next day. We got around the problem by simply inviting friends over to our place; they all had later curfews. I’m not sure if this was my mother’s plan: yes, we were home on time, but our house also became the most common place for our group of friends to hang out during the school year. If you set an early curfew, be lenient about having friends over; this kept me from wanting to break curfew somewhere else.

But what about summer? What about if we wanted to watch a movie and were planning on starting it at 9 P.M.? We weren’t going to leave after seeing an hour of the movie; that would be pointless. My mother understood this, so we made a deal. If we called when we were starting the movie, which had to be before 9 P.M., and then called when the movie was finished and we were heading home, then we could stay for the whole movie.

A curfew can also apply to use of a computer, telephone, or other general electronics. I think a useful curfew to impose is to not allow electronic devices half an hour before bed time. Encourage reading to avoid the bright light of a computer of television screen; your teen will sleep better. Of course, my mother always let me go past curfew on the computer if I was finishing homework. However, if your teen is consistently breaking curfew to “finish homework,” you may want to check on him or her earlier to see if there’s a reason the homework never seems to be done on time.

Instilling a love for volunteerism needs to begin very early in a child’s life. Why? Because volunteering brings huge pay offs down the road –  from leadership skill development to enhanced college applications. As the parent of three teenagers and a life-long volunteer myself, I have seen first-hand the way volunteering enriches a young person’s life.

First and foremost, volunteering teaches children to care about others. When a child truly values another person’s well-being, they learn the importance of empathy. A young person who is able to put himself or herself into “someone else’s shoes” can grow from acting strictly for the “I” to considering “we.” This can be invaluable in the development of your child’s personal relationships.

Secondly, volunteering gives a child a sense of control over the world. As you know, the world can seem like a scary place. Through volunteering, children learn that our society can be viewed as a nurturing. It is a place where those who are in need have their needs met. Youngsters will have less to worry about if they realize that their needs will always be met as well.

A third benefit of volunteering is that it teaches children leadership skills. When an elementary-aged child works alongside mom or dad as a volunteer, they see his or her parent as a leader, someone who can make a difference. As the years pass, and children are continually exposed to volunteer opportunities, they realize that they, too, are confident leaders: brave individuals who make a positive change in the community.

One of the biggest benefits of volunteering from an early age concerns preparation for college applications. Colleges not only look for good grades and high ACT/SAT test scores, but they prefer leaders, those that have contributed to their hometown in concrete ways. It may seem like college is a long way off if your child is in the second or third grade, but preparation needs to begin as early as possible. I have seen many teens who have never volunteered try to “make up for lost time” in high school only to fail because of shyness or because of lack of knowledge of volunteering opportunities.

It is easy to begin volunteering with your child if you have not already done so. Look for opportunities that are short-term in the beginning. The following are a few suggestions on how to start:

1. Walk as a family in a 5K that is raising funds for disease research.
2. Have your child make cards for nursing home residents, and then deliver the cards with your child.
3. Work with your child on a food drive for a local pantry or domestic violence shelter.
4. As a family, plant flowers around your house of worship each spring.
5. Donate gently used clothes and toys to your local Good Will or Salvation Army. Box the items and take them to the center together.

As I said earlier, I have volunteered literally dozens of times with my children. As a family we raised awareness about the issue of domestic abuse, we spread the word about the importance of organ donations, and we sent care boxes to soldiers overseas – to name just a few. In all honesty I can say that volunteering has helped to shape my kids into the smart, caring individuals that they are today.

“Volunteers are not paid — not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.” Unkown

Financial aid has played a big role in helping families pay for a college education for years.  In fact, students all over the country received more than 168 billion dollars during the 2009-2010 academic year to help them pay for their respective educations. Most of the financial aid is federal aid, which is every taxpayer’s tax dollars contributed to help students to fund for their education. Almost 110 billion dollars were used as federal aid in 2009-2010 academic year to help students finance their education. That’s sure a lot of money. I mean, boy, that’s not just some pocket change, that is Bill Gates money.

To me, financial aid is probably the best thing since sliced bread. I know that it is an exaggeration, but financial aid really helps parents and students not only in paying for student’s education, but also from losing their minds. First of all, financial aid is easy to apply for, and nearly everyone who applies is eligible to some of the money. Parents and students need to fill out a Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to become eligible, which can be found on the official FAFSA website. It is easy to fill the form out online. Also, the website gives out professional help to parents and students by providing tips to even the easiest questions on the form. The application should be submitted immediately after the 1st of January each year a student goes to college, or at the latest before summer vacation starts. The application allows the government, the state, and the institution to determine how much money that student’s family can contribute and how much they, in turn, can give the student.

Financial aid can be given out as scholarship, grants, loans, and educated tax benefits. I think grants are the best because they are “free money” since they won’t have to be paid back. So tell your kid to fill out the application as quick as possible because you can’t play around when funding for your future.

Usually, counselors tell their students to fill out around five to eight applications. But still, about twelve percent of high school seniors submit more than 8 applications, and some apply as many as 20 schools, according to collegeboard.com. Twenty applications are a bit much for me because the fact is these applications are not easiest things to make. Students have to write essays for each application and additionally just the effort to fill out around 10 applications can be quite challenging.

Students who are thinking about applying to over 10 colleges should narrow their lists down and research their colleges more precisely, because it only make sense to apply to colleges that you would fit in academically, socially and geographically. These admission officers made their applications hard enough to entice only the ones that really want to go there.

Also, college applications are pretty expensive. The fee for applying is quite high, each one around 40-50 bucks. Plus, you have to also send SAT or ACT scores and your high school transcripts to your selected colleges, and although they are not as expensive as the application fee, adding that to the application price will be a pretty hefty application fee. The more colleges a student wants to apply to, the more the money that student has to spend. Think about this: let’s say a student applies to around 8 schools and application fees are averaged around 60 bucks: you are spending around $500 to get into some schools that maybe you had no chance of going to even if you were admitted.

College applications are like makeup for women: sometimes less is more. The amount of money and the effort you save from doing those college applications might be actually more than what you save from GEICO in 15 minutes.

Some parents just aren’t ready to let go of their children when they head off to college, but some wish it would happen sooner. Most parents feel a sense of loss after seeing their children leave for college. Some parents are just not confident that their kids can handle surviving in college alone. It is almost like the parents woke up on the wrong side of the bed the day when they send their kids off to college. Now, I understand kids’ regular contributions to leaving the house a mess is very notorious, but after all the things considered, after all these years of teaching the kids what to do, kids should know what to do.

Learning to let go is one of the last phases of parenting. It is also the most important phase. First, parents have to understand that you taught your kids the best you could do, you have done the best job you could do with them. You have given responsibility at a young age, you compliment when your kids did the right things and disciplined them when they messed up. Now it is time to let your kids go out and make you proud by executing the great things you had taught them. It is time for you to place complete trust in your children that they can handle the real world, and take off your crowns as king and queen of Helicopter Parent kingdom.

Letting go is not supposed to be easy, you can still do your crying ritual. But it is the best graduation gift you can give them because it gives your kids a chance to explore the world for themselves, and gives confidence that you are their biggest supporter. Isn’t that what parenthood is all about?

It is my first year in college, and I can’t help but notice some of the students who are still extremely dependent on their parents. I know a student who forgot to bring a grater and had her mother send her one in the mail, which cost three times as much as what it would cost to simply go out and buy one. I’ve also seen a bag of flour sent in the mail–talk about expensive cookies! Try not to send supplies that your children can simply go out and purchase on their own. (On the other hand, “care packages” with home-baked goods, or items that you know your child can’t buy wherever he or she is, are great and strongly encouraged!)

It is important that your children learn to be independent. It’s okay to be the parents who expect a phone call every other night, but you shouldn’t panic when it doesn’t actually happen. If you live nearby, limit the number of times you visit, even if, and perhaps especially if, your child encourages the visits. Don’t hover like helicopters; encourage your children to flourish on their own.

• Business Schools

• Engineering Schools

• Most Valued Schools

• “A+ Schools for B Students”

• “Up-and-Coming Colleges”

• “Academic Programs to look for”

• Historically African American Shools

• “Best Undergrad teaching”

• Unranked Specialty Schools

To explain the value and experience better, I will take you through a journey of the search process. Let’s say I am a guidance counselor of a motivated student who just cannot seem to get the good grades: Here are the next steps:

1. Select the category “A+ Schools for B Students”

2. I am still unsure the student should really be referred to as a B student. So, I read the methodology behind this option which provides me with a detailed explanation of how this list was calculated and crafted as well as high school statistics such as ACT scores, SAT scores, and class ranking.

3. I am convinced now. The next step is to simply choose National Liberal Arts Colleges or National University. I know the student and most of his interests and imagine he would want a National University, so I choose that.

4. Region: there are 4 options here (BEWARE: this is when the options exponentially increase!): North, South, East, West. West Coast it is.

5. The next categories displayed are Score, Selectivity, Fall 2009 Acceptance Rate, and SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile. I also get a compare option.

6. I choose to compare Loyola Marymount with Santa Clara. Just the overview is astounding enough listing things like: US News Rank, Institutional Control (private or public), Setting, Selectivity, Fall 2009 Total Undergrads, and Costs.

7. I decide to stick with a suburban setting and choose Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, CA and I jump onto Loyola’s profile where I find the following information:

• Address , admissions email and website

• US News and World Report’s Score and Rank

• A comprehensive overview of the school including everything from when it was founded to the amount of land it owns.

• Admissions information such as selectivity and application deadline

• All academic majors offered as well as a summary of who majored in what last year (with percentages!)

• An overview of services offered such as counseling and ROTC opportunities.

• General student body information

• Costs such as tuition and fees as well as statistics relating to how much debt the average student left with and the percent of the latest class that borrowed money.

US News and World Report can be bought on the shelves at your local magazinestand…but what pay when you do not have to? Use the free online resource that will make your search smooth and easy. US News and World Report is one-stop-shopping (only without the shopping) for finding the right college or university for you.