Phone: 202-246-7357
| Reach for College! For Parents |
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A training program or college after high school means a few months to
several more years of schooling for your child, rather than working. It means
the cost of tuition and books as well as not working and earning money right
away. Some parents and students wonder if it's worth the sacrifice. The
answer is yes!
Financial success Education after high school is the best way to assure that your child will have the best opportunities to earn a good salary. "The more you learn, the more you earn" is absolutely true. The average college graduate earns one million dollars more in his/her lifetime than the average high school graduate! In some careers a high school diploma may get you a job, but people with more education will generally receive more promotions and more money. Personal satisfaction More education after high school can also bring many other less obvious benefits. Besides higher pay, a degree can open the door to more interesting jobs with benefits such as health and life insurance. More schooling also means more careers to choose from. More education will likely give your child greater self-confidence and sense of accomplishment. It will open doors to new networks of people. Also, more education can mean more freedom and security both on the job and in life. Some worries you might have Often parents worry about several things when considering whether their child should go to college or not. Some common worries are: -My child's not smart enough--college is for smart people -We won't be able to afford it--college is for rich people Neither of the statements above is a reason to keep your child from going to college! Smart enough? College is like every other school your child has attended. There are smart kids and there are not so smart kids enrolled. If your child works hard, he/she will do fine. Colleges want your child to succeed, so they try hard to help all students be successful and graduate. Affordability? College does cost money. But the cost depends on which school you go to. Some schools are cheaper than others. State schools, for example, are subsidized by the state, so they charge students less. Money should not deter anyone from going to college. There are all kinds of financial aid programs from the federal government, from state governments, and from the colleges themselves to assist as many students as possible to go to college. All you have to do is apply. Applying to training programs or college There are steps to take in order to pursue more education after high school. Sometimes these steps can seem overwhelming, but that's what Reach for College! is all about--helping students and parents through the process. Reach for College! provides a parent handbook that walks you and your student through the necessary steps of choosing the right program and applying to it. If your child is in a Reach for College! class at his or her school, you will automatically receive this handbook. Then your job is to encourage your child to go on to further schooling after high school graduation and to help them through the application process. Those will be the wisest hours you will spend with your child at this stage. That will put your child on a path to success! |
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