The Long Road To College: How To Prepare Your Kids Years In Advance

Parents start worrying about college fees soon after their children are born. Paying for their tuition is seen as a way to enhance their chances in life and put them on the road to success.

But how do you do this properly? What specifically can parents do to ensure that their child makes the most of their time in education when they get older?

That’s actually quite a challenging question, but the general consensus is that parents should start early. Getting their minds ready for the idea that they’ll need to take on this challenge at some point can prepare them for it when it inevitably happens.

Here’s our no-nonsense guide to setting your kit up for success in college, starting as early as elementary school.

Get Them Ready For Being Academically Rigorous

You could start by preparing your child for the idea that college is more academically rigorous than regular school. University lecturers demand far higher standards than most teachers or SAT exam boards.

This reality isn’t always pleasant, but if you can get the idea into their heads early on, it will arrive as less of a shock in the future. Furthermore, they’ll be prepared for it and will know how to approach their studies.

Many students flunk out when they get to college, costing thousands in wasted fees, not to mention the lost time. Leaving college early is a problem for many people, with the tech entrepreneur class comprising a vanishingly small minority.

Therefore, don’t let them coast. Ensure that they understand how to apply rigor in their students and what it means to be confident of the “right” answer. They should take feedback seriously and pay extra attention in situations when teachers tell them they’ve gotten something wrong.

Encourage Them To Take Risks

As counterintuitive as it may sound, encouraging kids to take risks is also valuable. Getting them out of their comfort zone and into life allows them to take advantage of opportunities at college when they arrive.

Therefore, focus less on success per se and more on bravery. Children who display the ability to try new things often put themselves at a distinct advantage compared to their peers.

Yes, when they try new things, they will inevitably fail. However, the risk is often worth it. It makes it possible for them to expand beyond their confines and really make a difference in the future to achieve something.

Get Them Cooking

At the same time, you also want to get your children cooking. Many arrive at college not knowing how to make a baked potato, which pushes up their food costs considerably (since they are relying on external sources). Boiled ramen noodles get old fast.

You can start your kids on a few simple recipes when they are young and build up from there. Ideally, they should understand the principles that underlie cooking, like chopping, baking, boiling, and adding seasoning. They should also understand the value of critical elements, like acid, fat, and sweetening.

Once they have these basics in place, it will become easier for them to rustle up meals, even when they don’t have much in their store cupboards. These tiny changes can make all the difference and help them make the most of their time at college, and perhaps even cook for their friends.

Encourage Volunteer Work

Another idea to prepare your children for college is to encourage volunteer work. These activities are important because they allow kids to develop empathy and the ability to see others from their own perspective.

Here, you have many options:

• Scouts' activities for the community
• Religious community soup kitchens
• Tutoring younger students
• Helping at food banks

If you can make some of these activities family-based, that’s even better. Children love it when they can work alongside you and follow your lead, as it normalizes the activity for them.

Of course, you don’t want to force it. Bullying kids into volunteering is a contradiction in terms and will likely only produce conflict.

Teach Them The Value Of Networking

It’s also critical to teach kids the value of networking. As students, they’ll need to get to know people and understand what they want to succeed.

Usually, networking comes naturally to teens because they are so peer-focused. However, they may engage in relationships with the wrong emphasis. After all, networking is a skill.

The trick here is to get them to talk to adults and go with an attitude to find out what they want. This other-focused approach to networking is often highly effective.

It’s also worth showing children the importance of offering value to others. If kids understand how the transactional nature of networking works, it will put them in a better position in the future.

Learn About College Admissions Processes

Furthermore, it’s also worth exploring various college admissions processes with your kids. These let them know what they’re shooting for in their academic and personal lives.

Websites like College Confidential go into this subject in more detail. These days, there are more planning and advice tools than ever, so it is critical to leverage these. They often provide inside knowledge of the best tactics and strategies to use to convince admission staff.

However, even if the best approaches, colleges won’t always accept qualifying applications. As such, it is also worth educating children on the reality of “luck” in the world, and how it sometimes comes into play.

Teach Them To Become Self-Advocates

Related to this last point, it is also worth teaching young children to advocate for themselves. Nobody is going to hold their hand for them.

While pushing them in this direction seems harsh, it is also essential. They need to have the ability to speak up about their needs and approach college in such a manner.

For example, you could advise them to speak to teachers about their grades and ask them what they need to do to improve. You can also get them to do things themselves when they go out, like order food or pay for tickets. These little tasks give them a sense of autonomy.

Having a part-time job that can tide them over is even better, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their studies. Even a small amount of employment can give them a sense of power and direction.

Therefore, don’t intervene directly unless you have to. Get them to fight your battles where you can.

Visit College With Them As A Family

Another pro tip on the long road to college is to visit it with them together as a family. This approach means you can turn it into something real.

Try to look around the colleges your child wants to apply to. Look for ways to increase their confidence and get them interested in everything that’s involved with campus life. For some children, this will be the independence it offers them, while for others, it’s the friendships. Others still will be interested in all the clubs and societies they can join at the start of the year.

Teach Time Management

Teaching the value of time management is also something you should focus on. The more you can do this, the better.

Time management can be a nightmare for children. Kids will often focus on what they want to do instead of trying to meet deadlines, which is a problem at college where exam papers require timely submissions.

One way to do this is to teach them about time blocking. The idea is to break the day into chunks that focus on specific things that need to get done.

As a rule, children should spend time on essential tasks first, focusing only on them, and then work through the rest of their to-do list after that.

Teaching time management can involve the use of calendars and planners. Again, these are handy for remembering everything that needs to be done.

Promote Health

Parents that promote health prepare their kids for college. The stress of education is real, and a lot of students believe that their lives depend on their performance in their roles.

Therefore, encourage them to talk about how they feel and get them to exercise more. Better sleep and eating habits make it easier to cope when things get tough, usually around exam time.

Build Their Problem-Solving Skills

If there’s one thing that college professors love, it is students with problem-solving skills. Many intellectuals hold these abilities in the highest regard because of the innovation and unusual thinking they require.

Furthermore, college is full of problems that need solving, and not just within the realm of academic work. Kids need to work out their timetables, shopping and more.

As a parent, you can build their problem-solving skills by giving them brain teasers or getting them to solve hypothetical scenarios. These challenges create new connections in their developing brains and allow them to think more fluidly when the time arrives.

So there you have it: how to prepare your kids for college along the long road leading up to it.