My friend Amy recently shared with me that she tells her kids, "Everything is figureoutable." With most things in life, you can figure out a solution. While I knew this subconsciously, Amy's words struck a chord, and maybe more so now when we as parents consistently face decisions we have to make. Do we let our kids hang out with friends during the pandemic? Should I let them go to the pool? How will we navigate the school year when there are still questions to be answered? I tell myself, "I...
Raise your hand if you are ready for May to be done. If you are like me, your May was filled with many end-of-school-year events, graduation parties, sports events, award banquets, and so on, and so on…. In the midst of my crazy schedule, I realized I didn’t have a full plan on how to keep kids busy over the summer. I had two weeks booked with vacation and an overnight scout camp. But what would I do with the other six weeks of summer break? I wasn’t about to have them become zombies by...
Learn more about My Ideal College in this video.
WhooHoo! Your teen has decided to go to college, and you’re excited! You’ve made plans to take a half-day off on Friday, and you and your teen will spend two nights in the college town. There’s an informal get-together Friday evening where you can meet other potential students and parents. Saturday morning is a campus tour followed by a home football game in the afternoon. Sunday morning is a brunch when they’ll help you complete the college application. The weekend...
The My Ideal College team had a supportive and structured approach to college application preparation. The routine of weekly meetings kept me focused on what I had to accomplish. Ordinarily, I would have been overwhelmed and unsure how or where to start. The regular video sessions held me accountable. We would review the work I accomplished and plan my next steps. When writing my college essays, my advisor did not do the work for me but rather...
Did you grow up hearing, “you get what you get, and you don’t get upset?” Or maybe a different version, “you get what you get and don’t throw a fit.” There are reasons we teach our kids to be quiet and accepting, but as they mature, they must begin to question things. Asking questions helps us learn and grow. Last week, at the dinner table, my 10th grader mentioned he is taking French for his foreign language requirement. His older brother, Donnie, was perplexed. He thought Spanish was...
Laurie did an excellent job simplifying and talking through the topics that all of us parents wrestle with.
Let me tell you! Navigating college applications and essays for your high school senior while working full-time plus having other responsibilities is no laughing matter. Before working with Laurie and her team, I was super stressed out about my daughter's college admissions applications and associated essays. Making sure that she kept on top of those deadlines, including scholarships and grants, was way too much for me, especially knowing how our children don't always listen to what we, as...
Laurie helped my daughter, who is a rising high school senior, and I go through a process together which was extremely helpful in her decision on what occupation, college degree, and which colleges she wants to pursue. It has given her confidence in her direction and she is truly excited about her post-high school future instead of anxious about overwhelming decisions in an unknown direction. Thank you, Laurie, for using your expertise to help me have some peace of mind and to help my daughter...
I recently met a mom whose son is starting his first year in college. I congratulated her on his accomplishments. Then I asked out of curiosity, “What’s he majoring in?” She replied, “Oh, we don’t know. Plus, how can a 17-year-old know what career they want?” Actually, it is very much possible for them to know, and I have the answer. Many teens don’t know what to study in college. It’s been that way for a long time. Some of us got lucky when we were teens and stumbled upon our...
My family and I recently attended our sophomore’s high school open house. Even though this was the sixth open house I had attended, I felt a bit overwhelmed. The cafeteria was quite crowded, with families going in all directions. Several booths were set up, and mobs of people were waiting to talk to someone at every booth. Some of the stations to visit were: Counselors PTA Sign Up Sports Passes Cafeteria Accounts STEM Academy Registration I have to say, though, that I breathed a huge sigh of...
It’s hard to believe that summer break will soon come to an end for most families. As the start of a new school year gets closer, we wonder where the time went and think about all the things we wanted to do over the summer. If you follow my posts, you know I talked about how summertime is the perfect time to work on post-high school planning. Maybe you had the best intentions this summer: tour college campuses, write the application essay, research career options, and so on. But as always,...
My younger son has a learner’s driving permit. When we go out, he always asks, "Can I drive?" He is eager to be on his own, and it’s no secret that he is a planner. He already has plans A, B, and C for his future, which includes college. And he is confident in the career he wants to pursue. On the other hand, my 19-year-old son is very different. He graduated from high school and went into the Marine reserves. We knew forcing him to go to college would not have been good for him. He decided to...