Choosing the Right College
In our class for parents of teenagers these past couple Sunday’s we have talked about this subject. Here are some resources for you!
I remember those days well. The fall before I graduated was filled with anticipation, excitement, stress and the inability to sleep. I had all sorts of things that I was working on for school, all sorts of applications that I wanted to fill out, grants and scholarships to apply for, and no time to do any of it! And then something happened. Someone began to dialogue with me about how this process can be mapped out, charted, processed, and thought through well to eliminate some (and I do repeat SOME) of the stress. There is always stress in change and there is always hardship when we have transition, but the thought of choosing the right college doesn’t have to be completely overwhelming. We are doing a short seminar on “Choosing the Right College” for teenagers after AFW tomorrow night and I am excited to get to talk to our Seniors about some of the things that they can be thinking about and through.
I have a couple random thoughts for those of you that are Seniors. Remember, college is NOT the end all/be all of your life. It is a time in your life where you will experience all new things but college will quickly become routine much like High School is. Enjoy your senior year of High School. Remember to continue to live in the present and invest in those around you such that you leave a legacy in the lives of the people that you have influence with now! One other thought, college is NOT for everyone right away. If you are struggling to know exactly what you want to do eventually, you may want to choose a different path than a four year school. You may want to do some Junior College work and get some of the General Education Requirements out of the way. You may want to experience a short term (but longer) mission trip for a few months. You may want to do some online courses or really do an internship to figure out of the area of internship is where God would have you be long term.
This blog is meant to give them a couple of online resources to plow through and look at. Here they are! I’m praying for all of you that are looking to head to college and all of you that are looking to do something else post high school. May God direct you and keep you and may his face shine upon you!
http://www.christiancollegeguide.net/
Oh man! The above resource has some awesome stuff on it. Articles on how to decide where to go to find financial aid, planning a visit to the college that you are thinking about, how to discern the will of God in this area, and so much more. There are invaluable things to read and delve deeply into here. Click and find all sorts of stuff here. Show your parents, there is awesome stuff for parents here as well.
http://www.quintcareers.com/college_application_timeline.html
If you were like me in High School, you didn’t have the capacity to plan the next morning no less the next year of your life. The above resource helps to map out some of the things that you’ll need to be doing in the next several months in regards to choosing the right college and making sure that you stay qualified and ready to step into the collegiate world. I would add to each of these stages of the senior year that you pray like crazy and stay open to the leading of our God in your life. There are things that will change spur of the moment and while for some of you that is not comfortable, it is inevitable and sometimes how God operates. Stay flexible and work through the applications and such things with diligence and fervor.
http://www.christiancollegeguide.net/choosingacollege/2008/2.14.html
Here’s a great article on a checklist that you can use when you visit a campus. It is helpful to know what you might be looking for as you head onto campus for a weekend or two.
http://www.quintcareers.com/first-year_success.html
This article may be something that you file for when you get to August 2010 and you are headed to college. It is a great resource for some basic ideas on what you could do to really help you succeed where you are going!
FOR PARENTS
http://www.christiancollegeguide.net/parentsguide/
I hear from parents often that this is the scary time in their life as well as a stressful time. Here are some good articles for you as well!
Again, my hope in doing these practical trainings is to open the box of mystery and help people understand that this process is one that for too long as been one that is frustrating and stressful. I think we can live in the present and really enjoy as God leads us to where he would have us be Post High school!
