The What If’s seem more than the I Know’s when applying to college. While teens are the ones applying to college, parents have their own unique doubts, as they watch from the sidelines while their seniors complete college applications.
Work colleagues who often share their opinions about college can further fuel parents’ second-guessing. But, just because at some point in our lives a colleague went to college or their children went to college or their neighbor or their niece or…you get the drift, doesn’t make them an expert.
Parents are The Number One experts about their children. So, who else is better suited to help guide their children about college? (Which BTW didn’t just start in the senior year, but years before—in every extracurricular sign-up, late-night last-minute science project, baking cookies for their second grade birthday party…but I digress…)
Yet, in the aftermath of college applications being submitted, the anxiety of waiting for an admissions decision can be just as discomforting as the fretting while their child was working to complete applications.
With so much time at hand, parents and seniors aren’t so powerless. They can continue reflecting on what a senior just experienced during the application process. Strengthening the new awarenesses that arose about the past, while crafting college essays, can help seniors prepare for what’s next. Having a series of conversations about what kind of college and what area of study a senior might want to engage can help when the time comes in March and April to actually choose one college for next year.
For everything else, there’s Netflix and chocolate.
