Identifying Your Teen’s Greatest Strengths

Identifying Your Teen’s Greatest Strengths

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Teenagers are almost halfway through summer break. For rising seniors, it's time to start preparing for college applications if that's their plan. While most applications are due in January or February, some colleges have early deadlines in October. The one thing college-bound teens should not put off is writing their application essays. College admissions officers say it takes an average of two months to write an essay from start to finish. October sounds like a long way off, but the time to...

A Debt-Free Approach to Higher Education

A Debt-Free Approach to Higher Education

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In previous articles, I talked about how summertime is the best time to work on planning your teen’s future. There are many different tasks you and your teen can take on. Click here to read Post-High School Planning: What Your Teen Needs to Do Now, where I share several ideas. An important step in planning is to determine how you’re going to pay for your teen’s post-secondary education. A parent reached out to me after her teen got accepted to her dream school, asking for my help with finding...

Post-High School Planning: What Your Teen Needs to Do Now

Post-High School Planning: What Your Teen Needs to Do Now

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I was recently a featured speaker at the Georgia PTA Conference. My presentation addressed ways to handle post-high school planning without becoming overwhelmed. An excellent way to tackle planning is to spread out tasks throughout each grade of high school. And one of the best times to do this work is during summer break when your teen does not have the stress of school, homework, or extracurricular activities. Share these summer post-high school planning activities with your student:...

Helping Teens Use Social Media to Their Advantage

Helping Teens Use Social Media to Their Advantage

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Using social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, teens can interact and share their lives instantly by posting status updates, videos, and photos. They view these platforms as essential tools for social connection and self-expression. But social media can be a slippery slope. Teens can easily make mistakes in sharing or commenting that can reflect negatively on them. How can teenagers use social media platforms to stand out in a good way, especially to college recruiters and...

The One Thing Every Parent Needs to Know

The One Thing Every Parent Needs to Know

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I was recently interviewed for a TV show. One of the questions the interviewer asked was, “What is the one thing you want to get across on this show? What do you want parents to know?” My answer was that college debt is unnecessary and easily avoided. The answer is right in front of us. We just need to do it.  What is the answer that is right in front of us?  We parents need to teach our teens how to:  Find their first career steps that match their natural interests and behaviors Analyze the...

How to Find the Right Fit, Right Price College

How to Find the Right Fit, Right Price College

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Choosing which colleges to apply to depends upon two factors. You want to find a school that is the right fit and at the right price. The good news is that there are over 5,000 colleges and universities in the US from which your teen can choose. The bad news is that there are over 5,000 schools from which your teen can choose. How do you narrow it down? If you are like me, you get overwhelmed just picking out a wall color when there are so many different shades of gray. The thought of helping...

The Cost of College – Sticker Price vs. Net Price

The Cost of College – Sticker Price vs. Net Price

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Despite a long-term increase, college enrollment has fallen over the past decade. There's a widespread perception that college tuition is too expensive. For most of the US, college tuition has outpaced inflation. Blame has been placed on a decline in state aid to colleges, as well as an increase in administrative staff. More employees = more costs.  As a parent, you can’t stop colleges from raising prices, but you can better understand what components make up the overall cost and how to reduce...

Changing Majors: Why It’s A Big Deal and How To Avoid It

Changing Majors: Why It’s A Big Deal and How To Avoid It

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I received an email from a father whose son is in college and has already changed his major three times and is in his fifth year of college. Yet the son still hasn’t found the right major. The father is lost on how to help his son and needs some guidance.  The impact of changing majors is much bigger now than when we went to school. I changed my major in college and still graduated in four years. That’s not the case not now.  Recent research shows that college students change their major up to...

Analyzing the ROI of Your Teen’s College Options

Analyzing the ROI of Your Teen’s College Options

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If you follow my posts, you know that the higher education industry is a big business. Colleges are not-for-profit, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make one. It simply means they don’t have shareholders to whom they report their profits.  Did you know in Germany, education is free? In the UK, higher education pricing is capped at $12,000, including schools like Oxford and Cambridge. In the United States, colleges do not have price control, and the prices just keep climbing. College costs,...

Helping Your Teen Hone Their Interview Skills

Helping Your Teen Hone Their Interview Skills

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Lately, I've shared a lot of networking tips for teens and the importance of crafting a high school resume. If you missed those articles, check them out here. The next step for students is to prepare for the big interview. Keep in mind that interviews are not only for jobs but for internships, college admissions, and scholarships.  Here are some tips to share with your teen on how to prepare for an interview: Research the company, college, or scholarship - identify their mission or purpose and...