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Getting Prepped for Collegiate Success
Part II By Tamar Weiss
"The admissions office and financial aid office at each college should provide you with everything available from the college itself," DeBenedictis says. He advises making sure "you know which forms are required and when they need to be completed. Most colleges expect you to be working on these before the student is even accepted." In addition to the college resources, DeBenedictis suggests checking your guidance office and local library for software that can identify available outside scholarships. Also, check with your employer, local newspapers and places where the student may have worked. You may be surprised at where possible scholarships and financial aid are hiding.
While in the midst of the application process, many students and their parents put the emotional side of going to college on the back burner. Once the applications are in, suddenly they have time to think about what it all means. New and exciting adult responsibilities will be taken on, as will frightening and challenging ones. "Even my daughter -- when talking of graduation night -- said she felt she was still just a carefree high school kid as she walked across the stage," Judie says. "Then it was all over as they handed her diploma to her."
Rosenstein suggests planning a family vacation before your child goes off to college. This may be comforting for someone who is a little scared to enter a strange, new environment. Also, she says, give your teen some time and space to hang out with friends and say goodbye to those she won't be seeing for a while. Make plans for your teen's first trip back home. This will give him something to look forward to and might relieve some of the separation anxiety.
"We still struggle with the issues of best friends going away out of state, college financial arrangements and such, but we will survive that all," Judie says. "I am sure college will hand out its own unique challenges, but maybe by then she'll be ... prepared to handle it on her own, but I'll be here just in case."
