By Helena
Am I ready? I keep telling myself that I am, but deep down inside, I know that I’m not.
My daughter is preparing to go to college in the fall and while this is a very exciting time for my family, I must admit that as a mother, who is sending her first child off to college, I do have some trepidation.
The old cliché… “It seems like yesterday” is so very true as I sit back and think that it was just yesterday when we took her to preschool for her first day of school. In a few short months we will not only be taking her to school, but to a school in another state.
I guess this is what we as parents have worked so hard for-to be able to send our children out into the world and know that we have done everything in our power to prepare them for adulthood. We have dedicated seventeen and a half years to:
• Giving her a moral compass,
• Showing her what a strong work ethic looks like,
• Telling her that she can be whatever she wants to be in life,
• Sharing with her that not everyone is going to be her friend or will have her best interest in mind
• Making her aware that hard work does pay off
• Telling her that there are always consequences to everything she does-good or bad
When I think about my daughter as she prepares to leave for college, it is quite apparent that she is excited and feels that she is quite ready to begin this new adventure in her life, so maybe the real comment should be… Hey World-Ready or Not, Here She Comes!!!!!
Also worth a Look: Visit A Mother’s Wit.com
Believe me when I say this day came entirely too fast, I cannot believe that it is almost time for me to send my child off to college.
I remember when my child was just five years old, now the kid is about to enter college.
Along the way, we have let our child be in control of the process, just providing guidance, some pointers and maybe a few tips. We have been challenging her to really think through why she makes the choices she makes about choosing a school.
We want it to be her choice totally. When it is all said and done we want her to be able to look back and say to herself – “I made this decision.” It’s time for her to make her own way in life.
On his website / blog - ‘The Admission Game (TAG) College Planning Blog“, Peter Van Buskirk, has a terrific post about how our children have failed to fully assess their own needs and interests, when it comes to college planning.
So often they are focused, if not obsessed, on the place—the destination and not the overall process. Excerpts of the post are below:
A student-centered approach to college planning begins with a fundamental question: “Why do you want to go to college?
The correct answer is not: “Isn’t that what you do after high school?” Or “My parents told me I have to go.” Or “I don’t know what else to do.” Regardless of your circumstance, going to college should never be the default answer! There is too much time and money at stake for you to follow a whim. That doesn’t mean you have to have the rest of your life mapped out before you can consider college, but it does mean that going to college needs hold some sense of purpose for you.”
Brian at AcceptedToCollege.com helps to unravel the mystery behind calculating your high school GPA.
Many High School juniors who are trying to figure out their chances at competitive schools are confused about what their GPA actually is.
Between “unweighted” and “weighted” GPAs — and also with many high schools now calculating the grades of AP courses, honors courses, and standard courses differently — students are often presented with two or three different numbers to represent their GPA.
Even more confusing, many colleges use their own formulae to calculate GPA, meaning that the numbers your high school reports may all be different from what the university actually considers.
So what is a confused student to do? First of all, you should understand the process…Click here to read the entire post
