Rebecca Joseph

Executive Director & Founder
getmetocollege.org

“I wish they’d remember I’m the one going, not them”...

I hear this plea often, so parents remember college is your gift to your child. So help but don’t control the process. Help organize their application and financial aid requirements with a real and virtual filing system for all college communications.  Coordinate college visits as they affect your child’s view of a college and chance of acceptance. Use NAVIANCE’s amazing resources. If your school...

Jill Greenbaum

Founder, Independent College Counselor
Major In You

Parents step back and support teens in becoming college ready...

Parents can be at their most helpful by recognizing that this is their teen’s search. They need to partner with their teen in this process by: letting their teen take the lead, and help their teen find support through books, websites, the guidance counselor, an advisor or a coach; asking open-ended and supportive questions to check in on the search and selection process; taking responsibility for being...

Pamela Hampton-Garland

Owner
Scholar Bound

Parents' are vital to the college application process in so many ways from being a positive motivator to become an expert organizer. Students' are typically very nervous and anxious during their senior year, not to mention focused on being successful in their final classes and competing against many other great students for the limited seats at their preferred college, all of this anxiety makes the...

Nancy Milne

Owner
Milne Collegiate Consulting

Parents and the Process

I know you only have the best intentions. All this talk about college causes you to reminisce about your days on campus. When you see the facilities these days, you're ready to enroll. Please remember, it's not about you right now. Your job is to keep an open mind, be supportive, and do more listening than talking. Hiring an independent educational consultant may be the best decision you could...

Suzan Reznick

Independent Educational Consultant
The College Connection

Parents should play a key role in this very daunting process; but it can be challenging for them to define exactly what their role should be and what boundaries are necessary. Often parents, who can be more anxious then their children, become over-invested in the entire process. Their success as parents becomes connected to their child’s success in gaining acceptance to their top college choice. ...

Hamilton Gregg

Educational Consultant
Private Practice

Guidance, not overbearance!

Parents can be both a positive and negative factor in the search and application process. Since applying to university is the first time a student has had the opportunity to choose a school, they do need some guidance. However, guidance not choosing schools for students. It is the time for a student to self assess their strengths and weaknesses, matching their aspirations with a solid perspective....

Mark Corkery

Head College Counselor
International College Admissions Network (I-CAN)

Parents' Role in the College Admission Process

As much as colleagues have written on this subject over the years, be it for the parent who heeds our advice. Letting go is the name of the game. I just met last night with a mother and a daughter. They argued in front of me the importance of doing 10 sample ACTs to prepare for the test later this month. The daughter had not done one. The kicker here is that both the parent and the student knew...

Carita Del Valle

Founder
Academic Decisions

Make college visits part of your vacation time.

Parents can help students by making sure college campus visits are incorporated into each and every family vacation. This is the perfect time with very little stress for students to get a sense of the area, the people, and the distance from home. Parents should make sure to pick up a "sticker" or some treasure from the campus bookstore, and have their student (regardless of what age) keep it in a...

Jolyn Brand

Owner & CEO
Brand College Consulting

How to keep kids on task without nagging...

Parents need to involve students in scheduling and planning out projects, whether these are science fairs or college applications. With a calendar and a to-do list, sit down with the child to discuss the goals, deadlines and when they have time to complete the tasks. This helps teach them executive functioning, skills they will need for the rest of their life. Print a free calendar online and write out...

Ralph Becker

Owner & Director
Ivy College Prep LLC

Helping research costs, scholarship and grant potential by college...

One way that parents can help is by determining the costs of the various colleges and clearly calculating what is affordable, and what scholarship and grant money would be needed to be able to attend. The costs, scholarship and grant information for most colleges can be found at College Navigator, which is a government site. Additionally, setting preliminary budgets with their students would be...