In today’s episode, I talk about how much input (or, how little input) parents might want to have in their child’s college admissions journey. What should your strategy be? How much should you get involved? When should you get involved? When you should back off? In other words, how to thread the needle, to make sure your child - and you - have a positive and productive experience.   

 

Of course, there is no right or wrong answer here - every child, parent, and dynamic is unique - so there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Instead, I will discuss 3 strategies that you, as a parent, might consider when dealing with this important period of time in your teen’s life. 

 

We’ll start out with the extreme strategies - parents who provide a ton of input and direction - and then move to those who provide little-to-no direction. And then we’ll explore the middle-of-the-road case, where parents provide a measured level of support (the Goldilocks strategy).

 

My goal is to get you thinking about which strategy to take with your child when it comes to college admissions. Does this experience become a noose around your neck that you can’t wait to remove, is it something that you wash your hands of and let your child figure it out on their own, or can it become a productive “rite of passage" between parent and child - where you learn about your child’s strengths/weaknesses/goals/worries/and everything in between. 

Here is what I discuss in this episode:

0:02:53 Strategy #1: The Overlord Parent 

0:04:20 What is Considered “Too Much Involvement”?

0:07:00 Challenges of Becoming an Overlord Parent

0:07:34 How the Overlord Parent Impacts their Child

0:08:49 Strategy #2: The Hands-Off Parent

0:10:00 How the Hands-Off Parent Impacts their Child

0:11:25 Challenges of Hands-Off Parenting

0:13:45 Strategy #3: The Empowered Parent

0:15:10 The Empowered Parent Principles

0:15:57 How to Become an Empowered Parent

0:16:06 The Most Affordable Option

0:21:19 The Private Mentoring Option

0:23:15 Summary of Strategies and Consequences

0:24:04 Questions to Ask Yourself

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Podcast Host: PrepWell Academy's Founder, Phil Black, has spent a lifetime cracking the code on the world's most competitive programs: Yale University, Harvard Business School, Navy SEALs, Goldman Sachs, Entrepreneurship, Shark Tank, etc.

Inside PrepWell Academy, Black teaches students everything they need to know about the college admissions process in a series of expertly-timed, 3-5-minute, weekly training videos starting in 9th grade and continuing through 12th grade [Note: this program can only be joined in 9th or 10th grade]. My specialties include military service academies, ROTC scholarships, Ivy League, and student-athletes.