4The
path to college success begins in high school Parent Spot for Parents of High School Students
If your
teen is planning to go to college, here are some eye-opening
facts that parents and high school students should be aware of:
While more and more
students are enrolling in college after high school, many
don't make it past the first year. According
to the U.S. Department of Education, only half of students
who attend community college make it to their second year.
At four-year-colleges, one in four students drop out by the
end of their freshman year.
Today's college
students are taking a whole lot longer to earn their degrees.
In fact, according to a recent study,
it takes more than six years for six out of 10 first-time,
full-time college freshmen to earn their bachelor's degree.
Factors contributing to this lengthy college stay include
the need for remedial courses, uncertainty over career
choices (which leads to switching majors and/or colleges
mid-stream) and a lack of organizational skills and
self-discipline required for college success.
The annual cost of a
college education is rising rapidly. According
to the College Board, the average yearly cost of a four-year
private school in 2003-04 was $19,710; a four-year public
education was about $4,694 a year, while two-year public
schools averaged $1,905.
With
price tags like this - often financed with loans that need to be
repaid by students regardless of whether they finish college or
not - parents and students are well-advised to begin paving the
way for college success during the high school years. Here's
how:
Work hard and take a challenging course
load. There's simply no substitute for hard work.
Students who put in minimal effort in high school should know
that they are putting their college success in jeopardy. These
are the students who will need to spend valuable college time
taking remedial classes before they can tackle the higher-level
courses needed for their degree. Encourage them to talk to young
adults who've "been there" and learned this the hard
way.
Take high school courses that lead to
college credit. Encourage your son or daughter to
take Advanced Placement (AP) and other accelerated high school
coursework offered in partnership with area colleges. These
courses can lead to college credit (at a much lower cost),
positioning them to enter college on the fast track for success.
Explore career interests. Your
high school guidance office can recommend many print and online
resources to help teens discover where their interests and
strengths lie. High school internships, part-time jobs,
volunteer work and extracurricular activities are all valuable
ways for teens to learn about what they like and don't like -
insights that will prove enormously helpful when it comes time
to choose a college major.
Nurture organizational skills.
Coach your teen on time management and organizational skills -
but encourage greater independence now. The more practice high
school students get at meeting deadlines and organizing their
own time, the better prepared they will be for the rigors of
college. If they learn some hard lessons about responsibility
and organization while still in high school, they're less likely
to have problems in college - when the stakes are so much
higher.
Visit colleges to help your teen find a good "fit."
Visit colleges while classes are in session to give your teen a
true flavor for campus life. Suggest that they sit in on a few
classes and talk with other students about what college life is
really like. As you visit schools together, encourage your teen
to make a list of the college characteristics that are most
important to him/her (e.g., large vs. small classes, particular
majors, close proximity to home). This information will help
your son or daughter choose a school where they're more likely
to feel comfortable and be successful.
Make sure your teen takes an active
role applying for admission and financial aid.
Teens who take responsibility for
the process of applying for college and help figure out how to
pay for it are more likely to develop an appreciation for what
they are moving toward and the costs associated with it. This
may make them less likely to take the whole experience for
granted or waste time while in college. At the Web site for the
College Board, www.collegeboard.com,
you and your teen can find information about college costs and
the financial aid process.
When in doubt, start small.
For some students, the leap from
high school to living away from home at a four-year school can
be overwhelming - both in terms of cost and commitment. In this
case, a more gradual transition to a two-year school may make
sense. There are very good two-year schools in the region within
an easy commute for students. This option lets teens start
college while living at home a little longer and still holding
part-time jobs - arrangements that can significantly defray
educational costs.
For permission to reprint
this article, please contact the Capital Region BOCES
Communications Service by e-mailing
dbushsuf@gw.neric.org.
