Parenting today can be extremely challenging with multiple demands on your time through work and home responsibilities and carving out time to engage with your student around their schoolwork and activities can be daunting. Most parents feel comfortable with the level of interaction they have with their children’s schools, trusting the schools to educate and guide their students. We are grateful for the communication received and no unwelcome news is taken as a good sign. Despite the challenges of work and home, countless studies, teachers, and administrators have confirmed that more parent involvement and engagement is better for the overall academic, social, and emotional development and success of the student.
The Benefits of Parent Involvement
A parent’s involvement in their child’s life, regardless of socio-economic status, race, or culture, has been proven to increase the student’s engagement in their schoolwork, improve their academic performance, improve their social and emotional development, and increase their chances of attending a college or university. As Admissions Consultants we encourage our parents to help prepare their student for the college admissions process, by staying engaged in the student’s academics and activities. You can do this by developing relationships with your student’s teachers, and doing periodic check-ins with their teachers, not just when they are scheduled, such as parent/teacher conferences. This allows you as a parent to stay ahead of any challenges your student may encounter academically or socially and work through the challenge in a productive and successful manner. In return, this helps build the confidence of your student and increases their desire to engage more deeply in their academics and extracurricular activities.
Technology Challenges
Since the onset of Covid, technology has become increasingly instrumental in how our students are educated and how schools communicate with students and families. On the one hand, we can now “check-in” on students and their academic progress anytime we want. However, teachers and parents are increasingly losing those personal relationships I discussed previously. Why attend a parent conference when I already know the status of my student’s academic progress as seen online? Although initially this quick access to a student’s progress is appealing, parents can fall into detachment and miss important and even critical information that could impact their student’s performance and engagement in the classroom. As Admissions Consultants, we encourage parents to find a balance between the ease and accessibility of your student’s online academic portal, with maintaining active communication and engagement with your student’s teachers, and their extracurricular activities. Technology cannot replace personal relationships, encouragement, and guidance that our students need for lasting success.
Parent Involvement and College Admissions
Parent involvement is instrumental and necessary for students who are planning to attend college. As Admissions Consultants, we often experience the difference in a student’s academic and extracurricular engagement based on the level of involvement of the parents. Parents who have sought out extracurricular involvement for their student both in school and after school, as well as during the summer, have laid a solid foundation that develops into strong leadership abilities for their student in high school. Parental involvement in the selection of academic courses is also important for students who want to attend high-ranking and Ivy League institutions. The guidance on course and extracurricular selection, as well as encouragement from parents during middle school and into high school, sets the foundation for college admissions success. This elevated level of involvement with your student in middle and high school, empowers the student to be an active member of their community once admitted to college.
How an Admissions Consultant Can Help
At Solomon Admissions, our Admissions Consultants collaborate with parents and students as part of a team to prepare the student for the college admissions process. As trained professionals in college admissions, we know the academic courses and extracurricular activities that make for a strong profile that will be appealing to elite colleges and universities. We collaborate with parents to select the right courses that will align with the student’s goals, setting benchmarks for academic performance and extracurricular involvement. We also collaborate with the parents to identify activities that build upon the interests and talents of the student, that also align with their college goals. This team approach fosters parent involvement, deeper student engagement, and ultimately student success. We’d love to help ensure the best possible results for your college applications! Contact us today.
All of our blog posts are written by Former College Admission Officers who serve as members of our admission consultant team.
