 Students can and should plan their college major and select their college based upon the type of career and lifestyle they would like after college graduation. Knowing their optimum career field and how the student would like to live can help narrow down choices to those options that allow the best life and career outcomes. For example, if the average pay for a chosen career is low a student should keep student loan debt low also. If the amount owed in student loans is high, monthly payments (even with the income sensitive repayment option) may make living independently difficult. |
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Looking at the scandal about the U Penn admissions officer who was fired for mocking admission application statements on Facebook took me back to other unsettling observations I've had in both higher education and k-12. The thing that struck me about all of them is that the people involved in them tended not to like or appreciate students and their world. Teachers of the year, favorite college staffers in admissions and financial aid and popular professors all have in common that they like students.
A popular question about college is why it costs so much. The usual answer has something to do with retrofitting hundred year old buildings to accommodate technology and the general rising costs of supplies and services on campus.
In over 30 years working with both children and adults it has never ceased to amaze me how each person seems to come specifically equipped in personality, motivation and talent to enter a specific profession. Whatever that is for your kid, that is the BEST career field for them even if it is not on the current list of hot or trendy careers.
Celebrating your past accomplishments as a mom this Mother's Day, resolve to celebrate a wonderful future with your kids as well by nurturing them and not nagging about college and their future. The junior and senior years of high school are the last 2 years you will have the most influence over your kids. After that, the relationship will be more distant because you are more likely to live apart.