College – to career – Counseling Connecticut: Will Your Children Have It As Good As You?

In providing college counseling to Connecticut suburban families through the years, I have experienced what other social commenters have: a marked decrease in optimism from parents’ about the future lives of their children. 

I started this work in the ancient times of the 2000s.  Prior to the Great Recession, many of the parents that I worked with were had students in Guilford High School and Daniel Hand High School. Our main offices were in Madison and I had another partial office at the Women and Family Life Center in Guilford.  Parents in these towns almost always seemed sunny about the future: my children will be able to do anything.

My other base of clients’ were from Essex-Old Lyme but mostly for test prep.  These affluent towns also were filled with parents who had great optimism about the future.

The Great Recession took the wind out of many a sail and as The Learning Consultants grew we worked with families from most every town along the Shoreline.  I would increasingly hear: “I’m not sure our kids will have it as good as us.”

Here’s the hope: children whose parents’ are involved in guiding them and/or getting experts to guide them for their most pivotal life changing moment – moving away from home – (aka as “going to college” for most Connecticut suburban types), they have a chance.