Teens and College Planning

[luvmarypoppins]

This year ds is a junior and will take the PSAT. He is also enrolled in a college and career class. He also has to go to a mandatory college fair at school and he went last year too voluntarily. He just got some postcard pack to send away for info for colleges that might interest him. Well that is the problem. He is so unmotivated, doesnt know what he wants to do career wise, where he wants to go to school etc. He is a good student, works as a bowling coach and did lifeguard for the summer, volunteers at church etc. I am sending some of the postcards in for him, hoping something will spark his interest. I dont want him to do anything last minute, but what did you do to get your teen motivated etc. Should he talk to others in college now etc. He has been to the local state university for a field trip and got to see the campus etc. Help!!

 

[Serena]

How about asking him if he wants to make minimum wage for the rest of his life.

Ask him what he plans on having as an adult. Ask him where he would like to live, like to drive. College doesn't guarantee anything, and there are some that have made a good income without it. But there aren't many.

Sit him down with you when you do your bills, let him learn how much it takes for just the neccessities and then for perks, like clothes.
But don't forget, this is his life, he has to decide what he wants to do with it. He doesn't have to decide on any majors right now, but he does have to get his behind in gear and do some things on his own.
The more you do, the more he'll think he doesn't have to do.

 

[cati]

xx

 

[nsyncraider17]

I'm a senior in high school, and at the beginning of my junior year, I honestly had no idea where I wanted to go to college or what career I wanted to pursue. I got TONS of mail from colleges (and still do...I throw most of it away now, but over the summer I had over 2 shoe boxes full of mail), but didn't really know what to do with it, because I didn't really know what I was looking for in a college. I've always been a very good student and very ambitious, but had no idea about specifics. I still wouldn't have any idea what I'm doing, except that I took both Thesis in Law and Government during my junior year, loved both of them, and decided I want to be an attorney. And after looking at a few colleges, I've realized that the local University (which I always said I would NEVER go to, lol) is probably the perfect fit for me.

So after all that unnecessary detail , I guess the point I'm trying to make is that maybe your son isn't really unmotivated, maybe he's just overwhelmed. Don't worry about it too much...maybe he'll stumble across something this year that interests him, maybe not. http://princetonreview.com/college/research/advsearch/match.asp is a good survey type thing just to get an idea of what kind of colleges he might want to apply to...a lot of my friends who graduated last year didn't decide until late spring of their senior year where they were going! College visits are always good...I've visited 4 colleges, and if nothing else, 3 of them showed me aspects that I don't want in a college. Just make sure to encourage him to start some research, but not do any of it for him...his future should be his decision.

 

[BrerLizzie]

we just had an assembly today on all the fun stuff.. military, coledge, ACT, SAT, credits... I'm a junior to.. I am so not ready for this!!!

 

[Gupsmom]

My advice would be maybe encourage him to go to your local college and get his englishes, maths, and sciences over with. During those years he can decide what he wants to do as far as his major.

I agree. I wish I had started off this way. Go to a local school. Pay a fraction of the cost. He'll get all his Gen-Education classes taken care of. He won't have problems getting into the classes he needs. He'll have small classes with teachers that care. After 2 yrs, hopefully with a major in mind, he can transfer to any 4 yr school. Truthfully, you only need to attend the big name, expensive school for 2 yrs to get your degree from them.

If he's completely unsure what he wants to do, this is how I'd suggest he start. I think a giant university is hell unless you really know what you want and are determined to succeed. I know I went through a lot of grief, changing programs and basically floating, before I got my degree.

Jess

 

[bsnyder]

Relax a bit!

I wouldn't worry at all about him not knowing what his career choice is. Most kids at that age have no idea, and the ones who do will more than likely change their minds a few times before they graduate from college.

I'd focus on the concept that he has much more to learn beyond getting a high school diploma. That he should strive to be an well educated person. And that the college experience is much more than just what he will learn in his classes.

And don't worry if you have to do some of the paperwork for him. That's perfectly natural too, for the large majority of kids. The ones who are super motivated and doing the research and applications completely on their own are rare.

The process is stressful, for the parents, but even more so for the kids. I had one son who needed a lot of prodding and help to get through the process. And then my younger son was the complete opposite, one of those rare kids who knew early on exactly where he wanted to go and what he wanted to study. But when it came down to it, even he procrastinated some. I finally figured out that it was the fear of rejection and that is certainly an all-too-real fear in today's competitive college admissions process.

Good luck to you and your son! I bet it will all work out in the end.

 

[Pooh's Pal]

My DD is a freshmen in college and believe me...in her junior year she was "clueless" as to what to do or where to turn next!!!
We went to the area college fair in her junior year and got some brochures of different colleges....looked online at collegeboard.com and took a road trip in the summer between her junior year and senior year, all over New England! (cause that's where we live and that's where she wanted to stay!)
These all helped alot in her decision. Best of Luck!
p.s. one bit of advice....visit as many colleges as you can, and do it while the college is in session, they will get a better feel of the campus etc.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Originally posted by Pooh's Pal

p.s. one bit of advice....visit as many colleges as you can, and do it while the college is in session, they will get a better feel of the campus etc.

Let me echo this statement completely, and add that just about any college admissions office will set you up with a tour of the campus, all you have to do is ask. When you go on the tours, ASK QUESTIONS! Campus Tour Guides are usually hired/recruited (some are volunteers, othre schools pay their tour guides) because they're outgoing and they like talking to people. Yes, they have enough information to fill the entire length of the tour and more even if you don't ask questions, but it makes the time more useful for you, and it's also nice for the tour guides, because they can see what interests people, and try to touch on it more.

(yes, I was a tour guide when I was in school, why do you ask? )

 

[Aimeedyan]

He's only a junior, don't stress out yet!!!!!!! That's really young to be thinking seriously about colleges, NONE of my friends knew where we were going until our senior year at least. He has a good year before he needs to really think about it, unless he wants to get into an Ivy League or something.

Even in my senior year, most of us decided to do the community college route and I am SO GLAD I did. Most 18 yr olds aren't sure what they want, so why spend bookoos of money sending them off to a university they likely won't finish at? Very very few of my classmates from HS finished at the same school they started at. I can only think of one, matter of fact. Everyone else went somewhere initially, took some classes, figured out what they wanted to do, and transferred. Not really a big deal, but you usually do lose some hours along the way in transfers.

I can't push community college enough. The classes are EXACTLY the same as the higher priced universitys, and the classes are smaller. It gave me two years to take ALL my basic courses, check out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go, and apply myself to get scholarships and such.

Don't worry! He has time! Send in the cards if you want to get some info and just leave it lying around for him to look through if he wants... being uninterested as a junior certainly doesn't mean he's destined for minimum wage jobs!

 

[MinnieM21]

At 16-17 years old, of course lots of kids don't want to know what they want to do with their lives and they shouldn't be expected to know what they want to do. It's a confusing time for kids because they're feel they're expected to have their lives planned out already. At college he can take various classes and he'll most likely find something that sparks his interest.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by Pooh's Pal

p.s. one bit of advice....visit as many colleges as you can, and do it while the college is in session, they will get a better feel of the campus etc.

Yes, I have to echo this as well!! Of course we have taken her to our Alma Mater many times... Also dd is only in 8th but we talk college already!

Here is a site that has some good info for you and might give you some ideas. Upon looking at it, it seems they are changing the SAT's. Hmmmm good or bad, I don't know.

http://www.collegeboard.com/article/0,3868,2-9-0-23718,00.html

Good Luck!

 

[chrissyk]

The only time that the Jr. College idea won't work out is if your child ends up majoring in something like engineering. I have an engineering degree, and many of my classmates had done the Jr. College thing before starting their engineering degrees. The engineering degree took a minimum of 3.5 years for most, no matter what. We didn't have Gen. Ed. requirements, because we had too many ABET requirements to allow for Gen. Ed. requirements! With pretty much any other major, the Jr. College idea would probably work out great, though