Send to Friend

Getting your teen into a good college can be a rough experience when neither of you are prepared. The first thing you have to assess is your teen's level of commitment. Does he or she even want to go to college? Although becoming a day laborer isn't a key to a life of comfort and decadence, it is an honorable profession. If that's your teen's choice and it's something he or she is passionate about, then so be it. The ultimate goal here is turning your teen into an adult and helping him carve a path to happiness. Just like you, they're going to have to plug away at a job eight hours a day for the rest of their lives. The best thing you can do is help them make that job something they love.

If college isn't the life choice they want to make, then trying to get them into a good college is going to be an uphill battle. Getting accepted into a top school is going to require a great amount of determination and hard work, beginning with your teen's freshman year. If they're lackluster about making the grade, universities aren't going to be beating down your door for their admission.

If this is something your teen wants and is willing to put in the time and effort for, however, he or she can get accepted. Here's how:

1. Keep up those grades - A top-level college is not just going to go over the last two years of your teen's high school career. Their cumulative GPA takes into account all four years of high school curricula, and any sour grades are going to bring that score down. Additionally, not doing well in earlier classes can hinder a student's performance in later ones. If your teen doesn't do well in Algebra 101, don't expect stellar grades in Advanced Calculus. For tips on how to help your kids succeed in their classes, click here.
   
   
2. Join organizations and succeed in them - Good colleges want to see that your teens strive to do more than is expected of them. They want to see that your teens care about their careers so much that they join after-school organizations and associations that challenge and better them. Additionally, succeeding in such organizations is immeasurably valuable. As one user pointed out in this article, it is far better to be the president of one club than to be a member of many.
   
   
3. Do extremely well on the SATs - Your teen's SAT or ACT score will tell colleges much more about their learning abilities than any grade point average ever will. It demonstrates how well they think on their feet, how well they retain information and, frankly, how intelligent they are. It's easy to cheat your way through high school; it's a lot harder to cheat your way through a standardized test. Have your teen do a few practice tests to see how well they score and determine how much work they have ahead of them. If they study for nothing else, make them study for this.
   
   
4. Go above and beyond - High schools generally provide college-level curricula to students who desire it. Your teen should be enrolled in these courses. Aside from getting them prepared for what will be expected of them at college, enrollment in these tells college administrators and recruiters that your teen is serious about his college education.

Making themselves look good for top-level colleges is a full-time job for your teens - not counting the regular hours they work as normal students. It requires after-hours activities, intensive study time and phenomenal dedication to success. It is by no means easy, but if your teens have the drive and the passion, they can make it happen.