Are you afraid that your son or daughter may not be ready
for college? Here are some indicators to help you find out if they are. Not being able to
do one or two of these is perfectly normal, but more than a few leads to a high
probability that they may need to take some time to mature before college. In
fact, 44% of college bound high school graduates don’t end up finishing their
degree. Inevitably, times at college will get tough at some point, either right
away or during finals week. Does your son or daughter have what it takes to
handle college? Here are some indicators to help you find out.
1) They can resist
temptation. Even when their friends call and say they want to hang out,
they have the ability to decline when there is a deadline. Putting off a long-term
assignment for one day is one thing, but not completing an assignment due to
social obligations is cause for concern.
2) They can handle
down time. Most of college is spent doing… well… nothing. Many students
choose to fill this time with extra curricular activities or a part-time job.
If they don’t, or still have down time after these activities, they need to be
able to handle it. Boredom can be dangerous if it leads to drug use and other
ill-advised activities.
3) They are able to
finish long-term assignments in chunks. This one does not apply to all
students. Some work best under pressure and love doing impossibly long
assignments the night before it is due. However, others procrastinate to the
point where they end up not trying because the task seems insurmountable. If
your son or daughter tends to fold under pressure, make sure they space out
their assignments into pieces.
4) They like to get
involved in extra-curricular activities. This will help you connect to your
campus/surroundings, not to mention take away some of that free time. This is a
critical factor that is often over-looked.
5) They know how
their degree will translate to a career. It is great that you want to major
in creative writing or sociology. But what do you actually want to be? How will
it help you land your dream job? How will you be able to make a living? Knowing
the end goal will help make your determination to finish school much stronger.
6) When they are put
in new situations, they are able to meet new people.
When arriving at college, freshman can become overwhelmed by
the amount of people around them. Being able to introduce yourself and be
comfortable in social situations will certainly help the transition process.
Many people hope to get a good roommate, or go to a school where they know
someone already in order to alleviate this issue. If this doesn’t happen, your
son or daughter needs to be able to meet new people independently.
7) They possess
intrinsic motivation
Is your son or daughter motivated to succeed, or motivated
to get you to stop nagging them? The will to succeed and general interest in
their area of study, rather than the avoidance of punishment, is a strong
indicator of success after high school.
8) They understand
the value of money (and hard work)
Does your son or daughter think that money falls from the
sky and everything is cheap? Regardless of whether they currently work hard or
not, do they understand that making a living independently can be hard work?
That success is tied to effort? If they do, they will be willing to put in the
work when times get hard.
9) They have a system
for studying and keeping organized
Note: It doesn’t have to be a good one, just be a plan.
Having a system is the first step to staying on top of schoolwork and material.
They can always adapt their style later as circumstances change.
10) Can they wake
themselves up?
This is a tough one. If your son or daughter cannot get up
without extensive prodding, how will they manage to get to class with no one
encouraging them? In fact, there will be many distractions discouraging them from attending. They need to be able to take the
initiative on waking up and getting ready for class.