When is the right time to talk about
Post-Secondary planning?
We get a lot of parents that ask us what they should be doing with regards to the college process and/or their students post-secondary planning. The answer is it is never too early to start thinking about what your student plans to do and how they plan to get there after they complete high school. Though the application process for a student who plans on attending a 4-year college, 2-year college, or a trade school doesn't typically begin until the Fall/Winter of their senior year, there are important steps that needs to be completed to get to that point.
For many students, the college major is not the most important piece when researching colleges, but if a specific major is known it can absolutely and should be used as part of the search process. Environmental factors (such as location, size, style of campus, academic rigor, distance from home) tend to play a larger role in not only whether or not a student will be successful but also whether or not they will be happy and stay for the length of their program.
We encourage families to visit college campuses either through formal tours (you can sign up on most individual school's website) or just simply by driving or walking through a campus if you happen to be in the area. As a student is exposed to different campuses and gets a feel for what styles of schools exist, it will make researching and decision making much easier, because they will begin to have opinions about what they like and dislike.
As your student begins collecting data, we encourage the use of programs such as Naviance-Family Connection to save lists of schools they like, begin building their resume, complete college/career surveys, complete college searches, and keep a list of things that are "must haves" based on their information gathered. As students continue through high school, discussion about potential careers is important, and if your student has a very specific idea about a major/career, then finding a school that offers that particular programming is also relevant. The majority of students still enter college as "Undecided" and tend to attend a more liberal arts based school (a school that offers a variety of majors in many different areas of study).
We recommend a student keep a rigorous schedule that is appropriate for their individual level and ability and also encourage families to set up meetings or phone calls to discuss any specific questions or concerns about the process with their counselor. We offer a lot of resources on the Guidance website, under the "College Planning" tab as well for you to reference. Though considered to be an extremely overwhelming and stressful process, when it is broken down into smaller steps it is very manageable and exciting. If your student needs his/her password for their Naviance account or if you have any specific questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
