By Mitchell Lipton, Board Chair and Co-Founder of Dabima; Director of College Guidance, the Frisch School
Opportunity #1: Be transparent about finances
It is important for families to begin to discuss the financing of college and how much money is available to help support your children early in the process so that your children know which colleges are affordable. If you have concerns about being able to afford the cost of attending college, it is helpful to begin to talk with individual institutions about your eligibility for financial aid.
Opportunity #2: Visit college campuses together
Another area worth getting involved in is helping your children as they visit various campuses. While it is your child who should ultimately feel that the college can meet his/her/their personal and academic needs, you should feel free to share your own thoughts about the college, especially after the visit.
Opportunity #3: Brainstorm college essay topics and activities with your child
Parents can be a wonderful resource when helping children think through potential college essay topics as well as all of the various activities that they have been involved with since the beginning of high school. You would be surprised how often students forget about various clubs, jobs, or activities that they were involved with earlier on in their high school years.
Opportunity #4: Prepare students for more independence
If parents have any concerns about their child being prepared to live more independently in college, it can be healthy to talk it through well before graduation. For example, if you have hesitation about your child's ability to manage his or her own workload in college, address deficiencies while in high school. Most children will benefit from being given opportunities to learn how to better take care of themselves while in high school. This could mean living with a more flexible curfew, learning to help cook meals, cleaning more frequently, and even doing their own laundry.
When you give your children space to learn more about themselves and grow during their final years of high school, they will feel more confident as they move on to college. You can also help them grow by allowing them to drive their college search and application process. As a result, the bonds between you will likely grow stronger for the trust you have put in them to figure out their path to higher education.
When we created Dabima, we had the core principle of organization and personal connection for students and their parents in mind. We hope you and your child will enjoy the journey together.
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