Last year was a very exciting one for me as a mother because my son allowed me to help him decide which college he would attend after completing high school. I already knew which colleges I wanted him to go to but I had to reserve my judgement and allow him to make his own decision, which I of course would guide him with. My son ended up going to drama college AMDA and the AMDA reviews were probably what eventually helped us decide on the New York campus as being the best place for him, and he absolutely loves it. If you are helping your child to pick the best college for them, here are some tips on helping your whittle down your choices.
Realistic
You have to be realistic when selecting a college for your child and that may mean bringing some reality to proceedings. For example my son knew that he wanted to study performing arts and as much as he would’ve adored going to Julliard, we both knew that his grades weren’t good enough, and even if he did get in then there is no way we could’ve put that kind of money together. Be honest with your child in terms of their expectations.
Location
Location plays a key role in where they will go to college and you should start off by asking them where they would like to go in terms of distance. Some kids are home birds and they don’t want to go too far away, others cannot wait to get as far away as possible and taste their independence whereas others like to be far enough away that they are on their own, but close enough to home that they can come back for a weekend should they wish.
Speciality
Not all kids know what they want to do in their careers at this point but if they do you will be able to further define your choices based on specialities. My son did make our selection that little bit easier by telling us that he wanted to study performing arts and whilst a lot of colleges amy offer this, it is always better to find the college which is a dedicated specialist in the subject which your child wishes to study.
Success Rate
If you take a look online at some colleges and their success rate of their students finding careers, you will see that some colleges are selected by certain companies to take on the new crop when it comes through. Given that you want your child to have the best options when they finish college, it is best to chose a college who regularly have students finding careers. For example you may find that many legal firms look to Harvard to recruit their next crop of lawyers, so if your child will be studying law this would be a preferred university to say, Brown.
Be open minded and listen to your child, remember that this will be their decision.
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