Even prior to the economic downturn, kids were returning home... "Its too expensive out there!"

Ellen Gibran-Hesse, author of Failure to Launch: How to Get Your Teens and Young Adults to Independence agrees with me that as parents we have enabled our children to remain dependent. Parents are continuing to support their adult children beyond what is necessary. They are denying their children the experience of "roughing it" and earning their way. When we are sitting around reminiscing as adults - how many of our stories are about when we first started out? The good ole days when we had card board boxes as end tables, crates for book shelves, bean bags and pillows for sofas...

Many want to point their fingers at the young adults, blaming them for taking advantage of the generosity of their parents. I am afraid, I hold the parents responsible. This dependency started many years prior to the post college years. We begin teaching independence in elementary school. We begin teaching about financial responsibility when we start paying an allowance. We teach personal responsibility when we expect them to be productive members of the family which includes chores, responsiblities for younger siblings, and respect for others.

If you have an adult child living with you... expect them to be productive members of the family. Expect them to contribute in as many ways as they can to benefit the family. Communicate with them what the expectations are and how long this arrangement will be available to them. If you have not taught this independence earlier, then teach it now.

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 29, 2009 at 10:51 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Do you have a "bored" high school senior this summer?

Recommend that the summer be used to get the college admissions essay written. It will be so much easier now than when the whirlwind senior year is in full swing.

This is their essay but you might want to brain storm some simple but creative topics. Your involvement is limited to listening to their ideas and reviewing what they have written. It is not heavy editing or re-writing the essay. Allow them to do this.

Ideas:

• Tell a story.
• Describe an experience. It can be an every day experience seen through the students eyes.
• Describe an experience seen through the eyes of a pet, an object...
• Write about a passion, giving the why...

The essay needs to be original but it can be a simple concept.

If it is the correct topic for your student, then the writing will come easy and the essay will take form quickly. Writing is easier when the student is rested and not rushed. So use the summer to get this requirement off the Senior Year"To Do" list.

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 21, 2009 at 7:28 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is the time of preparation. All the hoopla of the senior year in high school is over. Now it is time for the next level.

What can you do to make the transition smooth? Try these suggestions.

Talk to others that have gone before you. Next summer you may be talking to parents that are looking at this same transition and you will be the expert.

Double check that housing is secure. You do not want any surprises. I had a deposit check get lost and my freshman had no housing so he ended up with the worst of the worst dorms even after all the preparation.

Get everything medical taken care of early in the summer. This is physical and visual.

Get prescriptions filled and review how this will be handled during the year. There will need some planning.

Check your insurance. You may want to find a primary care doctor in the area of the school. Call the insurance company. Have this approved. Explain the procedure to your student so they know who they will call and what the process is.

Talk about Money.

Talk about Expectations. Should they get an on campus job? Allowance?

Talk about when they will be coming home for a visit.

Talk about when you will communicate with them when they are away. Set a definite time and day. This can be renegotiated but initially you need a firm time.

Remove some of the anxiety by problem solving before a challenge presents itself. Everyone will benefit from some pre-planning.

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 20, 2009 at 7:18 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I have said this before, I went the community college route and I never regretted it. I got a great education at the minimum cost. I recommend this for students that do not know what they want to study, students that do not have the grades to get into the University of their choice and for students to supplement their requirements during the summer. If your student does not have a job, have them take courses during the summer that will transfer. They can take a difficult course, a course they have dropped during the year and need to make up and an elective for fun.

After attending Community College your student can transfer to a four-year state university or private college. It is important to make sure that all the courses your student took can transfer. If the course is too easy or is in a subject not taught at the four-year college, the student might find that the University will not accept the community college course for transfer credit. Often there are agreements in place for which courses will transfer. Look for a list on the websites of both the community college and the prospective four-year college. And when in doubt, ASK.

This is from Professors Guide 4-Star Tip. In many of the larger states, the Department of Education maintains a tool that allows you to see what will transfer. To see one of the best, click on www.VaWizard.org. Then do a Web search to see if your state offers something similar.

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 20, 2009 at 7:14 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

We know about Bachelor Degrees, Masters Degrees and Doctorate Degrees but the Community Colleges have their 2 year degrees. Do you know the difference?

Community colleges offer both the associate in applied science degree (A.A.S.) and the associate in arts (A.A.) or associate in science (A.S.) degree.

• The A.A.S. degree is a two-year vocational degree, preparing your student for a career such as nursing or other healthcare, business, criminal justice, fashion, design and graphic arts, information technology, or paralegal work.
• The A.A. and A.S. degrees, on the other hand, provide your student with basic, lower-division liberal arts coursework that parallels that at a four-year college and prepares the student for transfer to that sort of institution. Be sure your student picks their track appropriately. Once they start on an A.S. or an A.A., it's very, very difficult to shift to an A.A.S. (and vice versa).

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 7, 2009 at 1:33 PM | Leave a Comment (0)