Sending a Child Off to College: Part 1

What is not a good reason for selecting a college?  Your child's friends are all going there, you went there, you want them to go there, it's close (or far) from home, it is prestigious or it's a great party school are all bad reasons for your child to choose a college that they will be attending for four years.
What is a good reason for selecting a college?  Start by sitting down with your child and explore their needs, expectations, stregnths and weaknesses in order to determine what type of college is best for them.  Consider the size of the school that will work best for your child.  Some children thrive at a large college where they have lots of choices and other children thrive with the smaller class sizes indicative of a smaller college.  Help your child determine what works best for them.  Remember Ivy League schools meet very few children's needs and graduation from those schools does not guarantee success. 

Visit a college's website, talk to alumni and current students at the various colleges being considered.  Visit several campuses.  Take time to eat a meal in the dining hall, visit the dorm rooms if your child will be staying on campus, note the parking situation if they will be commuting, sit in on a few classes in order to get a sense of student/professor interaction, and observe the student population in various locations around campus. 

Don't be concerned if your child has not picked out a major.  It isn't necessary to pick out a major before choosing a college.  The majority of students change their major several times throughout their college career anyway.   Just be sure to pick a college that has several majors that meets your child's needs and interests.

Don't allow your child to put all their eggs in one basket.  Have them apply to several schools, even if they have their heart set on one school in particular.  This eliminates the heartbreak of having to wait out a semester, if they don't get into the college of their dreams.  Remind your child that many students start out at a community college for the smaller class size or another college altogether while waiting to be accepted by their college of choice.