We often assume that once our students have been accepted to college that means they’re ready. But many of the students we work with are not prepared for the academic, social and emotional demands of college life. In this episode, Vicki and Lynn identify ways in which parents can evaluate their student’s readiness. We share what to pay attention to and suggest some important conversations to help students and parents explore their next steps.

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Your student has graduated from high school, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are ready for college.

We hear a lot about academic readiness and most high schools are working on helping students prepare academically. But there are those social and emotional qualities that so many student may be lacking. As higher education professionals, we see so many students who are having difficulty managing themselves in college.

As a parent, you know your student better than anyone, but it’s not always easy to determine whether or not they are ready for college. It requires a combination of knowing your student and knowing what it takes to succeed in college.

In this episode, we explained some of the things that parents can watch for to evaluate whether or not their student is “college ready.”

Lynn mentioned an article that that explains how we assume that our students are ready since they have graduated from high school: College Readiness: How to Know If Your Teen Is Prepared by Lisa Endlich Heffernan

We talked about using the application process as an indicator of readiness – and interest in attending college. We talked about academic readiness, and then we talked about life skills and emotional/social readiness.

Watch for another podcast episode coming up where we talk about some ideas that can help you prepare your student if you are concerned that they may not yet be quite ready. This episode is primarily about how to determine readiness, but then you’ll want to help your student prepare.

Vicki shared some of the attributes in the College Student Success Mindset:

• Motivation to learn
• Drive to succeed
• Judgment
• Intellectual Integrity
• Foresight
• Resilience
• Creativity

Vicki also shared an assessment tool that can help students think about some of the skills that they will need to succeed. We don’t necessarily agree with every item on this questionnaire, but it will provide a student with some food for thought. The questionnaire covers six areas: academic skills, self-understanding, self-advocacy, executive function, motivation and confidence, post-secondary education. Check out the College Readiness Assessment. 

If your student is in high school, check out our e-book 60 Practical Tips for Using the High School Years to Prepare for College Success. This guide is not about getting in to college. It is about how to work now to help your student succeed once they get to college. Open the door and get the conversations started!

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