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Parents
Currently, we're reading a leading book for parents about family dynamics and the college search. To order a copy, please click here.
College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family
College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family will help you and your family lay the foundation for a successful, conflict-minimizing college search. We address the realities of today’s college admissions process and suggest ways that the process itself can become a source of family bonding. By addressing the major educational and developmental factors that influence most college searches, you’ll find that both you and your family will face less conflict and that your child will improve her chances of finding and being admitted to the schools of her choice.
Profound emotional and family issues tend to rise to the surface during the college search. In College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family, we first look at the psychology of teenagers in general and provide you with insights that will help you examine your child’s behavior in particular. Then we consider the key factors affecting parents at this transitional point in their lives – and what you’ll need to know about yourself that will affect your family’s successful completion of the college admissions process. Finally, we explore the dynamics at play within the family and beyond. This includes your extended family members, friends, and acquaintances, as well as other social influences.
Most cultures have a rite of passage that marks a child’s entry to adulthood and assumption of mature responsibilities. In American society, the cultural rite of passage is often marked by leaving for college. Decisions about looking at colleges, applying to various institutions, and leaving home exacerbate tension within the family. How a family addresses these specific college admissions matters, as well as underlying developmental issues, is crucial to both a successful college selection outcome and a well-adjusted family in the future.
All families approach the coming of age of their teenagers in different ways. The college search and application process merely increases the tensions already present in a family during this stage of the life cycle. Despite the infinite variations on the theme of adolescent maturation, there are clear steps that you and your family can take during this period to avoid the danger zones while enhancing your family’s relationships. Of course, we can’t help you avoid all family conflict. Rather, we suggest ways to constructively discuss emotionally charged issues and offer you our knowledge and years of experience to help resolve family conflict during this exciting and challenging transition.
Enjoy the book.
-- Authors Steven Roy Goodman, MS, JD, and Andrea Leiman, PhD
