When it comes to school graduation, all parents and students puzzle over where a learner should go next. This is an essential stage in the life of every teenager.
It will determine the future path of development and successful career. Therefore, many students and their parents are wondering how to choose from thousands of colleges and make no mistake.
Don’t know where to start and which college is the best for your child? We are going to help you with this important decision and explore all the insights from applying to acceptance.
To begin with, college plays a significant part in everyone’s life. Obviously, we learn a lot there, but it also opens up our minds. It’s important to be in the community that challenges you, communicate with teens and professors.
A lot of people meet their first love in college, and it ends up with a happy marriage. You can also meet future colleagues and friends during these times. Besides all of the relationships, college gives great opportunities for the improvement of hard and soft skills and expands career opportunities.
What Professions Are in High Demand?
The senior year at school is exceptional for every student. It is time to think thoroughly about which profession fits your child the most. This choice will determine one’s future life in many ways.
It is generally believed that the job should be both prestigious and exciting. Everybody wants to benefit from the social privileges provided by a career. It is wonderful when a hobby becomes one’s work, but it is impossible to forget about the material aspect of the future profession. It should meet the demand and values of your child.
If you are still choosing the field of study, consider what your child likes to learn most of all. Art or science? History or Finances? The most important part is understanding what one wants as a future career.
High demand professions are worth considering. However, this should not be the most influential factor while making a decision. As a parent, you can give advice, but don’t push your children. This is their lives, but not yours.
The Best Colleges
Every parent wants to find a learning environment where their child will be happy and successful. With the endless list of schools, it is becoming harder to understand which one to chose.
Once you and your kid finally decide which major is the best, start looking for colleges in your state. Make a shortlist of the schools your child wants to attend.
While making notes, take into account such factors as location, majors and programs, cost, campus, and opportunities outside the classroom. Rank all priorities and weigh the pros and cons of each option you have on the list. Wrap up and choose the top three colleges for the final decision.
What Is the Perfect Timeline for College Admission?
If your child is in a senior school year, it is the perfect time to start planning one’s future. The final two semesters are essential for every student, so better begin planning college admission in advance.
School Attendance
Once you have the list of schools your child wants to attend, consider visiting those one by one. The best time to do that is summer before the final year when students have more free time to gain information.
You can also get the required information about schools by doing online research. The most important part of this stage is to review the deadline for acceptance. Make notes on your calendar for each school. If you consider an early admission, look for any special requirements.
Essay Writing
Any college application process entails writing an essay. The perfect time to work on this part is September. With a huge competition, it could be a real challenge to stand out from the crowd and impress the admission committee. Moreover, if there are equal test scores of two students, the essay becomes the decisive factor.
It may happen that your child lacks confidence or skills to write a good application essay. A smart option will be to turn for help to professionals like the ones employed at EssayPro.com. This is the top online writing service.
With the years of experience, their authors know exactly how to make your essay appear on top of the list. Besides, you can always send them your draft or let the writer start the work from scratch.
Entrance Test
Many parents and their children start the college preparation process by choosing which entrance test is better. There are two options that primarily cover the same topics: ACT and SAT.
All schools use ACT and SAT scores for admissions and scholarships. Most students prepare for and take both of them to decide which one is better.
Scholarship
If you consider Free Application for Federal Students Aid, you can complete it starting from the 1st of October. Federal grants and loans are the perfect opportunities if you have a limited budget.
FAFSA gives access to significant financial aid to pay for the college of many learners.
Gather Recommendations
November is the perfect time to gather recommendations. The essence of requirements and the number of those depend on the school. Yet, usually, the student should have at least one personal and one academic recommendation.
Think twice before choosing the referee, as it should be the person who can confirm as many positive accomplishments and qualities of your child as possible. Besides, these recommendation letters identify how a future learner builds relationships with society.
It is a good idea to choose the teacher with experience relating to the field your child wants to study further. For instance, if it is a finance major, a letter could be written by the Maths teacher.
Deadlines for Applications
Each school may have its own requirements when to send applications. While regular college applications could start in January and finish in March, the early one could be required until the end of December.
Deadlines differ, but if you do research in summer, you will not miss any of them.
Prepare for the Interview
Once applications are written and sent, it is time to prepare for the interview. Not all of the colleges make it obligatory. However, it is better to be prepared for an interview to feel confident.
Depending on the student location, the conversation could be conducted via phone or in person. Dedicate some time to practice with your child.
Decision Making
March is the time for decision making. However, some schools send letters even sooner. When you have the list of schools your child applied to, it is time to choose the one.
Weigh all the advantages and disadvantages one more time, but let your kid have the final word. One should be fully responsible for this decision as it identifies the future life of a person.
On the Last Note
One of the vital factors is financial statements. After you get the answer of available federal financial aid or scholarships, it’s time to discuss opportunities with the family. Compare the final costs of all colleges a future student is accepted to. Take into account whether relocation is required as there will be extra expenses in such a case.
Although the college application could be challenging, this is a critical time for every student. So everyone in the family should leave behind all fears and take this issue seriously.
Don’t procrastinate and start choosing the future roadmap in advance. This way, you and your child will feel more confident about prospects.
This is a collaborative post.