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The Seven Rules for Stress Free College Admissions
The Senior Year ritual of applying to college is stressful and difficult. We all know, intuitively that stress is harmful, but few families realize the magnitude of stress that accompanies the college application process until they are in its midst.
In addition to the work involved, tensions run high as parents and children bicker, accuse and procrastinate. The atmosphere in a typical ‘senior year home’ is tense, to say the least. Such an atmosphere is hardly conducive to the production of quality applications. At best, it results in everyone just trying to ‘get the job done and out’ and at worst, produces incomplete or poorly prepared documents.
To make matters worse, stress itself is often reflected in the quality of the application and can be a drawback to college acceptance. While private college counseling and SAT tutoring are multi-million dollar industries, issues of family mood and temperament are often overlooked. Intangibles such as optimism, enthusiasm and family teamwork come through in the application.
Parents and children feel extreme tension when they watch the days fly by and the paper work is still not done. Problems arise when parents’ and students’ view of the right college do not mesh, or when students detect that their parents distrust their ability to get the applications in on time. The result can be anger or depression that spills over into their early college years.
This is where “coaching” comes in. Professional life coaches, have turned their attention to a new specialty, college life coaching for teens, preteens and families.
Coaching promotes maturity, enhances organizational skills and helps students make better life choices. Even last minute coaching can give the student a leg up in going to college while reducing family tension.
Whether you decide on coaching or not, here are the top seven antidotes to the stress mess in the college application process:
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Remember the Parents’ Golden Rule: want the best for your children but remember that it is, after all, their life.
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Remember the Students’ Golden Rule: your parents are on your side.
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Don’t become over-attached to anything: there is no “one and only” college, but rather a huge array of excellent choices.
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Be organized: keep your papers, applications and documents sorted and handy.
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Watch your language: great schools that want you and that you would love to attend diminish in value when you call them “safe schools”.
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It is about You: your essay should reflect who you are and not what you think the college wants to hear.
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Be complete: don’t just get it over with, get the job done. Your final answer should be as thorough as your first.