10 Steps To Prepare Your Child For College

Are your kids at the age where they are starting to think about preparing for college? If so, then you need to make sure that you are taking the right steps to get them ready. There are lots of different elements to think about here. 

Build Independence Early 

First, you need to make sure that you are taking steps to build independence as early as possible. This means that once they are alone in college, they won’t find things quite so shocking or disorientating and disconcerting. 

So, how can you ensure your child are more independent? The easiest way to do this is to provide them with more responsibilities in their daily life. For instance, you could give them responsibility over their own money from middle school. Or, you might let them take charge of cooking for the family at least once a month. This is a great way to help them build up skills here. 

Promote Study Time 

Next, you should make sure that you are promoting study time on a regular basis. Ideally, you should guarantee that they are studying for at least an hour each night and this should be the case as soon as they start school. If you start them off early, then they will have the right habit long before college begins which is perfect. In school, you can get away with avoiding studying as much as possible and still get great grades. In college, it’s harder to coast like this and that’s why it’s critical that kids are taught the right lessons about studying from an early age. 

Wardrobe 

Another point worth thinking about is wardrobe. For girls in particular, college can feel like fashion school. That’s why it might be worth buying them a whole new wardrobe before they start attending classes to make sure that they feel as though they do fit in. There are lots of sorority apparel stores that you can look at to help your child get all the new outfits that they need before they start college. 

Networking 

Next, you should make sure that you are thinking in terms of networking. This should start before they even begin taking their college classes because once they begin college, they will already be on track towards their future careers. One of the easiest ways to help your child start networking is by setting them up with a LinkedIn account. This is a smart choice because it means that they will be able to get in touch with people in their chosen future industry or sector. They can let them know what classes they are taking and ensure that they are already working to get their foot in the door. 

Career Guidance 

You do need to make sure that they are giving your children career guidance before they start college. In doing so, you can guarantee that they make the right choice when picking their major further down the line. If they don’t have a good grasp on the types of careers that are available, then they can end up in a situation where they are moving towards a career that ultimately isn’t going to make them happy at all. One of the ways that you can help here is by encouraging your kids to take a career test. This will reveal which job, sector or industry is most suited for their personality and of course their interests or future desires. 

Budgeting 

Another point to think about is their budget. By focusing on their budget, you can make sure that you don’t have to worry about costs growing out of control for them when they are in college. This can absolutely become an issue because if you are not careful they can end up in debt, long before they actually leave college and that’s the last thing that you want for your kids. The best way to make sure that they are smart with budgeting is by using a cloud accounting software. This means that they will be able to avoid issues with overspending without even realising it is happening. 

Tech Literacy 

A big part of college days these days is always going to be technology. If you don’t make sure that your kids are on track of tech, then they are already going to be behind before school has even begun. You need to make sure that they have a good grip on everything from Xcel to Word and even Teams. All of these pieces of software are going to be critical for most careers. AI is also worth exploring, rather than shying away from it. 

Discuss College Options 

While they are still in high school you should make sure that they are aware of all their different college options. It’s possible that they have big aspirations for college. For instance, they might be keen to head to an ivy league school. If that’s the case, then it does make sense to get them a tutor and ensure that their grades are exactly where they need to be. 

Keep Communication Open As Possible

Last but but certainly not least, you need to make sure that you are keeping communication channels open between you and your child. If you don’t do this, then you run the risk of them feeling alone once they start college. This can be a total nightmare for them and they might also feel as though theory are isolated from their previous life. If you are worried about this, then the best way to avoid an issue is to make sure that your kids always feel as though they can keep in touch with you and call whenever things go wrong. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you can take to make sure that you are preparing your child for the challenges of college. Be aware that there are lots of different elements to consider here and if you don’t take the right steps then your kids can feel lost when they move onto this next stage in their life.