Welcome to a new year of high school! As you get started on the new year, here are some tips to help you start it right. Whichever year of high school you’re in, make sure you’re paying attention to the things that will help you with college planning. Here, by year, is a list of fall tips for college planning.
At many high schools, counselors don’t start engaging with students about planning for college until spring of junior year.
But if you’re a parent or student, waiting till spring of junior year makes college planning harder for many reasons. In fact the best advice for parents is to start early: as early as possible, in freshman year if you can. College planning really starts the first day of high school, since its when all the work your teen will do starts making a difference.
Parents I speak to often ask “What’s the best university to study engineering?” or “Where is the best place for my daughter to study biomedicine?” There are many ways to answer this question. The answer I always give is: “It depends on your child.” I tell them to focus on fit, not rank.
For teens starting out in life after high school, or parents helping them, remember: your first gig after college doesn’t have to be your final “true passion,” but it does have to pay the bills so you can keep searching. So find a way to balance pragmatism and passion in your choice of college and major.
College admissions can be confusing and scary. With the costs of college exploding, average student debt now over $37,000, and the myriad choices and deadlines, it can feel overwhelming. Linda King of the King Advantage, who has over 20 years experience advising students, and Venkates Swaminathan of LifeLaunchr hosted a FREE webinar to help you with a roadmap for stress-free college admissions.
Filling out federal forms is always scary. But if you’re applying to college – whether you want need-based or merit-based grants – filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an absolute must. This year brings some big changes to the FAFSA. The FAFSA is meant to be easy, and for many families it is. But for some families, it can be complex. For those families, LifeLaunchr can help.
We’re excited to be supporting the great work school counselors do by sponsoring The Counseling Geek’s scholarships for school counselors to attend the ASCA conference, and offer a special discount to students.
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