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Parenting college students is a never ending responsibility. While there are many areas in which parents can assist these emerging adults, it is in the arena of finances that parents can often make a huge difference in the lives of their children.

As you parent your college student consider what responsibility your child has in the pursuit of their college education. This responsibility should be discussed. After college graduation, who pays this debt? During the college years, will the student have any financial obligation? Parenting a college student is a golden opportunity to teach financial responsibility.

Financial lessons should begin before the child leaves for college. Middle School and High School is when the lessons should begin. Parents tend to worry about a student’s expenditures and this is an appropriate worry. If parents don’t teach financial lessons to their children while they are still living at home, disaster is waiting in the wings during the college years.

Lessons Taught in the Launching Years

Before leaving for college, parents need to discuss financial expectations with their college student, including the plan for how many years they expect to be in college. This affects the number of credits they will need to carry each semester/term. The usual is 15 credits. Students taking 9 credits are taking up to 6 years to get an undergraduate degree. So it is important to talk about this so there are no surprises.

Prior to that first semester in college, parents and children need to discuss money management and the budgeting of funds. What are the expectations? Will they have a parents credit card? Do they have their own credit card? I personally suggest that only debit cards be used. No credit cards.

The discussion of finances prevents any surprises on either side, and it encourages open communication. Money management is very difficult initially. A parent might consider a weekly allowance until the student learns to manage their money. If they get their allowance monthly, it is often spent the first week or two. The last 2 weeks is when the whining begins… So, it is imperative for parents to set boundaries and to provide clear guidance. It is nice to set the student up for success, too. Do everything you can think of to help the student be successful. Adapting to college and being responsible for yourself is a big transition.

In order for the college student to establish independence they need to learn to handle their finances proficiently. So much is learned during the college years that is not taught in a class room. College Students need to be reminded of what their goal is. The goal is a college degree, independence and a career that they enjoy.

Spending money foolishly increases their college debt and does nothing to build their resume. It only postpones financial freedom.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Parents must remind the college student to keep their eye on the prize, which is graduation. At times, 4 years, seems like an eternity but it flies by. It is so easy to forget that student loans are just that. Loans. Students need to be reminded of this and when possible they should limit their college debt.

Credit cards are fools gold. The credit card companies send college students credit cards constantly. My recommendation is to forbid the use of credit cards. Period. To a young person, there is no reality to a credit card. Adults have problems with credit cards so why would we expect a young adult to have a good handle on using a credit card. It is a very difficult concept to learn because you cannot see the debt. The student only sees the minimum payment.

A debit card has a monetary limit to withdrawals. If the student receives an allowance, the parent can make a deposit, and the student can make the withdrawal. Parents can consider placing some financial responsibility on the students by making them responsible for their spending money. If you ask them to pay for the books, I am afraid books will not be purchased because text books are over priced and hard to resell.

Somehow, parents need to teach their young that difficult lesson, “there are no free rides in life.” This applies to a college education. Especially during the summer, a student can be expected to earn their spending money for the following year. When they are responsible for earning their own spending money, there’s a good chance they will be more careful how they spend it.

When parenting a college student, one of the best lessons a parent can give their child is a sense of financial responsibility. It’s one of the best winning strategies for success in life.

Home-school kids’ entry to high school raises eyebrows
New Party Taipei City councilors yesterday challenged the homeschool education system after some parents protested against the admittance of home-schooled students into high schools with a perfect grade point average (GPA) marked by their own parents.

Read more on Taipei Times

Most students have come to expect an annual rise in tuition.  The cost of a college education can increase from 3.5 percent to 6.0 percent.  Increasing cost of energy and the struggle to compete with colleges that have large endowments is putting colleges out of reach for certain students.  Colleges are obligated to increase their level of security.  Parents expect a safe environment for students who are in urban and rural communities.  Many colleges are offering a wide range of transportation options for students.  Some colleges are establishing contracts with transportation companies who will manage on-campus buses and schedules.  Students can feel safe traveling from the main campus to local residents in their community.

The changing economy is putting new demands on college budgets. Students are applying to five colleges to increase their chances of getting admitted and to identify the least expensive college.  Colleges are facing challenges in terms of reaching their enrollment goals because students are not making a firm decision right away.  Students need to have options when they consider the cost of earning a four year degree.  Students must consider the cost of travel to colleges that are far away.  This can lead to an inability to travel home frequently.

Colleges are obligated to meet the requirements of the accrediting agencies that approve their curriculum. Some college presidents are increasing the number of professors and research activities to ensure that their college is reaccredited.  Additional research can require millions of dollars in an institution’s resources.  Students will not enroll in a college that is not accredited.  Also, outstanding professors will not aspire to work in a college that is not highly regarded in various aspects of a colleges’ curriculum.  

Colleges are offering online courses to students who need an alternative education choice.  The students can benefit by eliminating the cost of traveling to the campus for a three hour course.  Some students enjoy the online courses because they can meet people who are in locations around the world.  The online courses are unique because they can be delivered at the time of the instruction and it can also be recorded for later student viewing.  Colleges gain an advantage because they can offer online courses of professors who are on sabbatical.  More online courses can be expected within the next five years.  As these courses expand they can reach the international audiences of students, instructors and researchers.  The possibilities for international exchanges of information are limitless.

College stability is essential to the competitive edge that the United States maintains in its workforce.  We are faced with the possibility of closing colleges who cannot keep up with their enrollment goals.  This is particularly worrisome for colleges that do not have large endowments.  College administrators must come up with a new paradigm regarding how they will work.  For example due to the recent oil crises several colleges created a four day work week.  College employees worked ten hours each day and did not work on Friday.  Difficult college budget challenges should inspire innovative approaches to educate future generations of leaders.

On The Money / Scholarships can be worth more than paychecks
With the unemployment rate at more than 25 percent in June for people 16 to 19, many teenagers are discouraged, and so are their parents, especially if they were counting on summer jobs to help provide college money.

Read more on Pioneer Press

Brand New College Guide that Gets Students and Parents to Laugh at the Stress of Applying to College
Risa Lewak’s new book, “Don’t Stalk the Admissions Officer:

Read more on PRWeb via Yahoo! News

All I knew about college was that I wanted to go out of state. I wanted to be on my own away from home, away from all things high school and start with new friends in a new city. I’d been to France, England, and Germany all on my own; and moved regularly while growing up. So, I expect it was no surprise to my parents when I told them I wanted to go to college out of state. At that time, I honestly didn’t know much more about what I wanted out of my college experience or even what I wanted to become. The next four years would bring me the most unexpected and valuable learning experiences of my life.

My Dad and I had decided on Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee by the end of my junior year in High School. I liked the college very much. It had all the qualities I was looking for. Classroom sizes were small (the college itself wasn’t more than 4,000 students), it seemed friendly, and I loved the look and feel of the Old English Architecture. It felt like it had been uprooted from 16th century England and plopped in the middle of Memphis. So, I applied for early admission and had gotten accepted. My grades were only slightly above average, but I had drive, many extracurricular activities that I had excelled in, and a killer essay. So I was packing my bags, leaving high school gladly behind, and heading to Memphis.

It’s weird how most things in life don’t turn out quite like you expect them to. This was no exception. At the beginning, I was glad to be at Rhodes College. When my parents dropped me off and left back home I was giddy and celebrating my new found freedom. I liked my roommate Anne, from New York and I quickly made other friends. I also plunged myself into extracurricular activities such as Student Round Table. No problem, right? Well, after a few months I really started to get more of a feel for the college and I wasn’t sure it really was right for me after all. Rhodes College was great academically and I did make good friends, but the social scene revolved mainly around Greek life and Greek parties. And, without a car, there wasn’t much I could do about that except not have much of a social life. So, I went to a few parties and on a couple of dates, but I didn’t drink and I was never planning on joining a sorority. I found myself oddly enough unhappy and debating transferring to a different college with a better fit. I decided that I needed a college where the social scene was not centered around Greek life and where there were more people with my same beliefs and values that I could connect better with. So I applied to Rick’s College in Rexburg, Idaho.

It’s now called BYU-Idaho, but back then it was Rick’s College. Nevertheless, I arrived as a sophomore transfer and loved it right away. I loved the beautiful campus, the good classes, and I definitely like the social scene a lot more. This was a religious-based college and I knew most everyone had the same values as I did. That made me feel a lot more comfortable while I searched for who I really was and what I really wanted to do in life. I soon discovered I love to write. I mean, I already knew I loved to write as I was the editor-in-chief of my high school literary magazine. But I discovered I really, really thought this was the right career path. I was enjoying being a part of the school paper and I really liked my advisors. However, at the time, Rick’s College was only a two year school and that meant I needed to transfer, again.

So, in looking for a new college in which to continue my journalism major and graduate from, I started to look at what I had liked and not liked about my previous colleges. I loved the diversity of Rhodes college student body, but not the Greek life. I loved the strong values of Rick’s College, but they seemed a little too strict for me. So I started to look for a new school that had a strong diversity of students, had the values I was looking for, but didn’t have a million rules and had a good journalism department.

I decided on Utah State University. Although my Father was convinced I should go to BYU, I knew better. So, when I didn’t get into BYU I was actually relieved. And what do you know, I got into USU. I had never even been to the campus before the day I arrived for my junior year, but my gut told me this was definitely the place for me.

Over the next couple of years I went on to get a scholarship from the journalism department, got on the honor roll, met life-long friends, and fell in love with the beautiful area. That same junior year I also met the man of my dreams, and got married the following summer. I graduated on time and continued to support my husband as he pursued his doctorate.

Now, six years after graduating from USU, I look back at all the colleges I went through and the long journey it took to get here. Choosing a college isn’t always cut and dry, but neither are our desires in life. What we may think in high school rarely carries through our entire life, and the experiences of college only remotely center on the classroom. My experience was varied and unexpected, but all I can say is – I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m not a National Merit Finalist, but my SAT scores are 1500 composite / 2210 total and a 96 QPA (but my school does not rank). I plan on becoming a doctor, so I’d like to apply to a few good schools that offer me a free ride so my parents don’t have to worry about paying for 8 years of college education. Med school is killer, don’t want to add to it.

College is a very important part of your child’s education because it gives your child more opportunities in life. College provides a wider view on subjects that interest the student and gives them more ways to grow and learn about these topics. Also, after finishing college, your child will have more choices for jobs and these will also be higher paying than jobs which only require a high school diploma.

Nowadays, high school students wonder why a college education is so important, especially since they want to earn right after graduating and because college is quite expensive. They do not know that often a college education will be worth more than the tuition later on in life. This is why you should start preparing your child for college early.

Firstly, you should prepare a college fund for your child. There are many banks that offer services for parents saving up for educational funds, so you just have to choose a bank in order to start your college fund. Look into tax breaks that may be available for education designated accounts. Start this fund as early as you can, so you can start saving early. You can deposit an amount like $50-$100 every month and by the time your child is ready for college you will have quite a bit of cash in the fund.

When your child is in elementary school, you should already start to monitor your child’s academic and extracurricular activities. Teach your child how to study well and excel in his or her studies. Also, allow them to pursue the different activities that they are interested in and expose them to other fields so they can find out what they are passionate about. This will already prepare him or her for college.

By the time your child reaches middle school, you should start talking to him or her about what they plan to do in the future, what job they would like, and what courses they want to take in the future. Talk to them about how important college is and how they can prepare for it now. Taking the right courses during their junior high years is very important. Your child should take up all of the necessary courses like math, English, science, and history every year, as well as extra subjects that your child is interested in like computer, visual arts, foreign languages, etc.

Once your child has reached high school, it is important for you and your child to look at different colleges together and weigh out the pros and cons of every college. Make sure to think about the different aspects of the college such as their tuition fee, distance from home, as well as their facilities and curriculum. In-state tuition fees are usually much lower for you than out of state.

After finding a few colleges to apply to, help your child take the proper admission tests and submit all of the documents necessary to apply for the colleges. Creating a calendar for the deadlines of these tests and submission dates is important to help your child apply for these colleges. Many of these deadlines are absolute so you need to stay on top of matters. You can also apply for financial aid through the college or through a bank to help your child get through college without any interruptions.

For those of you who have been through the college application process, should I involve my parents in the applying process and have them look over my shoulder and stuff when I’m applying for college or should I do it myself? I have gotten into a few arguments with them about it and they think they should be involved and help me while I apply online for the colleges I have chosen to apply to.

Compared to earlier days today teenagers have several options whether it is about studies, entertainment ways, career or any other field. Teenagers are always interested in starting earning so that they don’t have to ask for money to their parents. Teens can do several part time jobs and along with earning money get some good working experience too. If you want you can also do some full time job during your summer vacations. Apply for jobs online for teens, and grab the first good opportunity that comes in your way.

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How to apply for jobs online for teens – Simple easy methods

You should not keep high hopes; you have to realize that as you don’t have better qualification and better experience, you will not get good high paying jobs. You can think about options like receptionist or some kind of administrative jobs. There are several companies who like to hire fresher for certain kind of jobs. You must apply for such kind of jobs. Here you will get to learn several things about the industry. You should not feel bad for applying for jobs like working in some grocery stores or restaurants. There are several online jobs for teens that you can search on the Internet.

Before going for the Interview for any job, just check what are their requirements and whether you will be able to fulfill them. See whether the working hours they want and the free time that you have match or not. You should not stop your further studies and hence try to find such a job which gives you lot of time for your college and studies. There are several job websites, where you can find special category for how to apply for jobs online for teens. You can search for jobs for teens in this category, as this will save your time and energy.