How to Choose a College

Some parents might not be ready to say goodbye to their teenagers, but the fact is that high school only lasts so long. Once that long awaited senior year is finished (and yes..it does fly by), many young adults will be making the move towards higher education. This means different things for different people. Generally speaking, this is the time to pick a college or university.

If you're going to be sending your first graduated off to college in the next year or so, you're going to have a lot of things to do. At the top of the list is helping your son or daughter pick a college in the first place. Some kids make it easy on their parents. I chose one college, applied, went, and graduated without a second thought. However, it's the rare teenager that can decide that easily.

There are ways to get more organized in the whole process. The following is a list of tips you can use to help take some of the stress out of choosing the right college with your son and daughter.

1.
Encourage your teen to see college representatives - Throughout the year, colleges and universities will send representatives to high schools all over the state. Their mission is to advertise the university by informing students of what they have to offer in both academics and extracurricular activities. Make sure your son or daughter is signing up for these presentations. Have them bring home brochures and other materials to go over with them at home. This will help you make a decision together.

2.
Take cost into account - It's going to be important for your teen to go to the college of their choice, but it's also going to be important to stay within your own personal budget. College isn't cheap. Loans are an option, but you or your child is going to have to pay them back eventually. Take the tuition and housing costs into account and decide what is and isn't affordable. Urge your teen to choose from those that fall into your budget guidelines. If they want the more expensive one, let them know that the extra burden will fall to their shoulders. Remember, scholarships and grants go a long way towards helping, but you will still end up footing part of the bill