 Is there an impasse at your house about college choices and where your future college freshman is in thinking about applying and about majors? Then your family is NORMAL. Parents and rising seniors often have periods where talking about college choices and process is difficult. Parents want the best fit for their teen and to be able to afford the cost. Students want a wide variety of things including:awesome dorms great sports teams good food amazing fitness center coolness factor a place where my current peers will not be far enough from home Other things on student college shopping lists include prestige, where my friends are going and a where I can play my sport  Notice that cost and major are not listed above. Those are often the last two things on a student "must have" list about colleges. They see cost as a parent issue or believe the loan program will give them as much as they need (nope-they are limited to $5500 freshman year). They often think most colleges offer all majors (also not true). One helpful exercise is to have your teen make a college chart with majors, costs, locations and "other reasons I want to go there" on it as they make a very important decision. The chart will help in family discussions about which college is the best option. |
