How To Emotionally Prepare Your High School Student for Their College Years
The transition process from high school to college can be stress-inducing, to say the least. Many students often get overwhelmed by the idea of being away from home and maintaining good grades. However, stress is a staple of college life. Despite popular misconceptions, higher-education-related anxiety isn’t always negative, as it can motivate a student to deal with and overcome challenges. But when the pressure exceeds manageable levels, it can affect a student’s overall wellbeing and result in several health issues.
A recent report by the American Psychological Association indicates that 45% of college students seeking help are doing so because of anxiety, depression, and other stress-related problems.
As a parent or guardian, you need to focus on relieving your child’s anxieties related to the application process before addressing the child’s concerns about college life. Those students wondering how to get into college will often turn to the authority figures in their life for an expert opinion. When that time comes, you need to exhaust all options available to increase your child’s odds of acceptance.
Some of the best ways to hack the admission process include encouraging your child to apply earlier, motivating them to fill their high school questionnaire, and enroll in SAT or ACT prep courses before submitting their applications.
According to Custom Essay Meister, if your child finds themselves relegated to the college waitlist, don’t let them sit around and wait for a sign that things will turn around. Instead, consider other options available or suggest that your soon-to-be college student enrolls in a community college and transfer when they improve their GPA. Also, you can help them use data to pick schools where they have the best chance of being admitted. For instance, if they’re choosing their college based on the law school they want to attend, this law school rankings table shows what kind of LSAT scores they’ll need, plus how challenging the specific admittance rates are.
As a parent to a high school graduate, assisting your child with college application season logistics is only of your primary responsibilities. Besides editing their admissions essay, you’ll also need to instill the confidence necessary to conquer the college years with ease. That said, here are some tips to keep your child confident as they prepare to move away from home.
Personal Care
For your child to live on their own, they must know how to manage daily tasks independently. They should learn how to prepare food, do laundry, and practice good personal hygiene like brushing teeth and taking showers regularly. You should also teach them the importance of staying physically fit and explain to them the dangers of abusing drugs, smoking, abusive behaviors, and unprotected sex.
Resilience
Talk to your kid to develop coping strategies when things don’t go their way. However, this doesn’t mean you solve things for the children. If they forget to finish their assignment or even miss a lesson, what should they do? Teach them to build resilience and find solutions to problems facing them.
Self-control
College life is packed full of academic and emotional hurdles. Is your child prepared to face challenging situations when the storms are raging? Kids should make the right decisions regarding risky behaviors like sex, drugs, and drinking. For that matter, before sending your son or daughter to college, ensure they work on their self-control first.
Manage Uncomfortable Emotions
It’s their first time in college, and many students have no clue how to cope with these lifestyle changes. While your soon-to=be college student may be well-prepared academically, you may not be able to say the same for their emotional regulation abilities.
Your child may not know how to deal with frustrations, conflicts, disappointments, anger, or even loneliness. Ensure you equip them with the necessary coping skills before they flee the nest. For example, be sure to model how they might discuss cleaning responsibilities with their roommates. Additionally, recommend that they find a hobby, write in a journal, and work out for optimal work-life balance. These daily rituals can also help them regulate their emotions and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Conclusion
You wouldn’t ship your college student off to their freshman year without the dorm essentials (a comforter, shoe caddy, microwave, etc.), so why would you ever consider sending your aspiring college student out into the world without the necessary coping mechanisms. Invest in your child’s emotional well-being by covering the material above.