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Originally Posted by Logan
Honest question and I hope no one takes this personally. Being an involved parent is awesome and that should always be the goal.
That being said, do you guys who have so much knowledge on the gearing up for the application process and seemingly have so much hands-on experience actually guiding your kids through it...did you hope for or expect to be so involved when you think back on your kids being younger?
I only have one at this point, and she's not even 3 yet, so of course my thoughts will change as she gets older. But my plan has been to save as much as we can to pay for things and to generally give advice, keep her grounded, make sure she pays attention to deadlines, etc. Pretty basic stuff. That's about how much involvement my mother had with me back in the day (except for the saving, that wasn't in the cards), and I don't recall having many friends whose parents were doing much more than that.
Did you have the same mindset as me back when your kids were young? What caused things to change? Was it simply feeling like being so heavily involved is now a necessity due to a more competitive/confusing (especially for the kid) admissions process?
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My daughter had dreams of going to a good school. She wasn't the best of students, but she is bright. I let her guide her own path way, but let her know it was her responsibility to apply to schools, get funding, and find a way to make it work. She did nothing, didn't apply anywhere, did one semester in community college and dropped out. If we has gotten more involved and made sure she hit deadlines and such, could she have done more? We will never know.
My son is going to be 16 when he graduates and barely 17 when he starts school. We are letting him drive the bus, but we are definitely helping him along the way. He has the potential for a very special future, and it has been totally self driven. I want him to meet his dreams, and I will help get there whatever he may need.