I keep a box of tissues on the table where I teach because,
As an SAT tutor and college application consultant, I hear
third and fourth year high school students who are so overwhelmed
because of the university pressure they begin to cry. Not just girls. Nope
only Ivy League hopefuls.
High school students are always convinced that their parents
I do not understand them. This time the students are right.
Parents don’t understand why college admission
process is much more competitive than it was when
most parents applied to college.
Here are the ten things I wish I could say to parents:
1. I am convinced that parents have to walk a mile in the
student loafers to gain some appreciation for the
the stress to which students are subjected and reverse the tension in
home. If parents take a practice SAT test, they will feel
some of the same anxiety, shudder at its results, and
discover that the test is hard. Instead of stacking 25 pounds of
SAT study books on the desk, parents can commiserate
with students about missed problems. Parents and students
they can become allies rather than adversaries when faced with
university admission process.
2. Hire SAT prep tutors who focus on the applicable
academic material instead of just the tricks. increasing a
academic preparation of the student for the test in addition to
teaching the tricks increases your confidence in the test
and in the classroom; teach only the tricks does
more insecure students because they rely on tricks
more than actual knowledge.
3. That guardians keep parents informed about each
session for parent to track progress with guardian
instead of pestering the student for information.
4. Have the student take the ACT. All universities accept it and
some students do better than on the SAT.
5. Make learning fun. For example, ask students
memorize vocabulary using Vocabulary Cartoons book
by Sam Burchers, et al. Also, ask the student to do the
crossword puzzles and other word puzzles on SAT Vocabulary
Express, the fun crossword book that will raise the SAT
scores. I wrote it with Michael Ashley, a nationally known
puzzler, so that our students learn to play with words,
an important skill for the new SAT.
6. Emphasize getting good grades instead of good SATs
scores. Bs in honors classes are better than As in regular
lessons
7. Hire an independent college counselor who works
with the family to create a realistic list of colleges, brainstorm ideas for
essay topics, set deadlines for the student and check
all college applications. High School College Counselors
they are overworked and don’t have time to walk families
Through the process.
8. Realize that the schools the parents attended may not be
within your child’s reach. high school number
students planning to attend college has increased
dramatically; the student may be well qualified for a
particular college and you may not get in yet.
9. Look for colleges where the student thrives
academically and socially. Choose colleges based on
the recognition of its name and the value of its prestige is a formula that
it will increase stress, not decrease it. everyone else wants
go to those schools too, making them even harder to get
within; they are not necessarily the best place for the student.
Loren Pope’s book, Colleges That Change Lives, is a good
place to start.
10. Support your child through a difficult process. Leave the
producing, scolding and yelling at the tutors and the university
adviser. The independent college counselor will tell the
student to work harder so parents don’t have to. why
ruin the student’s senior year at home?
Parents can make decisions so that senior year is not so
full of anxiety that family members start avoiding each other
other. And I hate when my students cry.