How To Help Your Child Get Into Their Dream University

Every parent wants their child to succeed and be happy. With so much pressure on teens to not only get into a top university, but also pick the right degree the first time around, it’s becoming increasingly normal for students to get stressed. As a parent, you need to encourage them to go after their dreams, but also show them the way so that they work smarter, not harder, and always put their health and well-being first.

Keep Their Efforts Focused By Understanding The Real Acceptance Average

Firstly, you should always think about how to help your teens in a supportive way that lets them take the lead.

When it comes to acceptance, if you think that the only metrics your kid will need to know are the acceptance requirements, you should think again. Acceptance requirements are nothing more than the absolute minimum that a school will accept. As soon as there are more applicants than there are spots open, those who scraped by with the bare minimum get shown the door first. Highly competitive universities require competitive grades and SAT and ACT scores.

Take Stanford University. As one of the top universities in the country, it has countless applications pouring in every year. Yet, it only accepts around 5% of applicants. This means your child would need to go above and beyond, and the average grade of current students is a good benchmark to meet and then exceed. You can calculate your child’s chances together on CampusReel, and then create a plan of action that will help them get the grades they’ll need to get considered.

Strategize Over Extra Curricular Activities

To get into a top university, students today need extracurriculars under their belt and milestones to show their effort and progress. Teens, however, can get too caught up in trying to do it all instead of doing a smaller amount more thoroughly. That’s why, as the parent, you need to sit them down and work out a strategy. A good option, for example, is for your kid to commit to one club or sport of their choosing. They can then take on one short-term internship, volunteer position, competition, or project. This way, there’s a balance, and with you by their side, they can feel like they’re making progress without burning out.

If They Don’t Get In This Year

If they were hoping to start university the following fall, then they may not have enough time to bump up their grades or make a big impact with extra-curricular activities. Don’t worry because it’s not the end of the world. They could take a foundation year, a gap year, or even attend a lower-choice university and then work on transferring to their dream choice. There are always ways to pick themselves back up and try again. In fact, that tenacity and dedication to work hard to make your dreams come true is exactly what many universities look for in their students! As a parent, making sure that they know of backup plans is essential, and that failing the first time does not mean that all is lost. Sometimes failure can be the best teacher, but as a parent, you also need to be the pillow to help buffer their fall so that they can get back up again sooner and stronger for it.