As a parent, it may feel difficult to relinquish any control to your child out of fear and worry. There comes a time in a child’s life, though, where you must be able to part ways with said control. For many children, that time comes when they begin the college search process. Your child should feel empowered to control the entire process from start to finish. Of course, they will need some guidance along the way. Depending on your child’s organizational skills and attention to detail, the level of help you provide may need to be more (or less) than what you anticipate, but your student should be the one selecting colleges to consider, researching their options, and submitting application materials. Though many parents may feel tempted to write a college essay or complete an application for their child, college admissions officers are good at recognizing parent-written essays and may end up rejecting your child’s application outright as a result. Offering to edit for grammar and spelling and providing a dialogue for their ideas is the best way to support children throughout the essay portions of their applications. For more information on the ways you can support your students in other aspects of the college search process, please see the resource supported alongside this post.
The Parent-Student Relationship In College Searches for more information on the college search process, be sure to check out the Encourage App
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