College is coming: Prepare for the inevitable

By College Advice

My oldest graduated Old Saybrook High School last year; my next is a sophomore; and my youngest is a middle-schooler.  Thoughts of my children leaving the nest has created a depth of poignancy that I’ve never experienced before.  One of the reasons my wife and I relocated from Washington, DC to Shoreline, Connecticut was our view that family mattered more in places like Old Saybrook (and, of course, neighboring towns, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Madison, Guiford, Branford, etc.) than it did in the big city.  We were right.

The challenge of being children centered is the onset of their adulthood. Some parents – even while engaged in helicoptering on a day to day level – cbury thoughts about college.  One of my wife’s friends will tell her to change the subject when anything related to college comes up.  Their child is a sophomore.

I understand.  I really do.  I would wake up in the middle of the night when my son was a junior.  I would feel profoundly sad at thoughts of his departure.  (Good news: he braced me when we dropped him off and told me that he was not leaving me, he was just living in a different location. This proved to be true).

So what can you do when dealing with the inevitable: prepare.

Come see us for a kick-off to college, college counseling meeting.  Or sign up for our spring SAT-ACT class. I use the class not only for test prep but also to shift my students to start thinking about college.

There is more good news.  If your child is getting ready for college, then you should smile deeply.  Picture the child as an infant.  You likely prayed and wished that your baby would be physically healthy.  That’s all that mattered.  As your baby became a toddler, you likely prayed and wished that your child was mentally sound.   And, while you likely added to your desires for your child through the years, you likely hoped that he/she would be college bound.  Now your children are college bound.  That means your child is both physically and mentally sound. Your wishes came true.