How to get son to work on college applications
Posted August 11, 2015 - 11:41am
My son is heading into his senior year of high school (I can't believe it!). He needs to start working on his college applications, especially for the school he's applying early to. He just doesn't seem very motivated to work on his essays though. He wants to get into a good school, but won't put the work in. How can I motivate him without being overbearing?
SuperDuperMom
Designate a time each week for him to work on it. Either two-three hours on say Sunday when he should have a lot of time or one hour M-W-F. I've also heard that tutors can help too. If you have someone who needs to see progress between sessions that can put the pressure on in a healthy way!
DanaP
That's a great idea! I'm glad your mentioned tutors. He had one for SAT/ACT, but I never thought of using one for the college application process as well. Maybe once he has outside influences emphasizing how important his applications are, he won't shrug off the work so easily.
Haymalz
Does your son know where he wants to apply? It could be that he is reluctant to put in work because he isn't passionate about the schools he's looking into.
SuperDuperMom
That's a good point-- make sure he is applying to a range of schools. That way he has his gets, his reaches and his backups lined out for him!
CraigK
I would also just sit down with him to come up with some strategies and talk out what approaches he should take. Say that you understand how tedious these things seem, but it's all for a purpose.