Senior year is a big year for students and their parents. Many students by this point have made up their minds on what they’re doing after high school. Now, I want to discuss senior year and the parents guide to making the most of it!
Prepare For Life After School
Hopefully by this point your senior has decided whether or not they’ll be attending college after high school. If their plan is to pursue a higher education, make sure they send out their college applications. This is especially important for the fall semester of senior year as most colleges will be sending out acceptances in January. If they are not planning to attend college, encourage them to explore their interests. This is a great way for them to find what they want to pursue professionally. This encouragement can come in the from of taking elective classes, trying a new sport, volunteering, and interning. Furthermore, this is why it’s so important to have a parents guide for senior year.
SAT and ACT
Ideally your senior would have taken the SAT or ACT during their junior year. Chances are though, they’ll prefer to take it another time during their senior year to improve their score. Make sure they stay on top of the testing dates as there’s not a lot of wiggle room to get your scores in before they need to send out college applications. Assist them in preparing for the exams by helping them study, hiring a tutor, or enrolling them in a test prep class.
Encourage Student Independence
As seniors approach the end of their high school academic career, it’s important they begin taking steps towards independence. Regardless of what their plans are after graduation, independence is an important skill to develop prior to walking across that stage. You can do this by encouraging them to get a job or internship. This can gain them valuable experience while they take advantage of the free time senior year provides. Another great thing to do is teach them how to do chores. Things like laundry, washing dishes, and cooking are all necessary skills students should learn in preparation for their independence.
Visit Colleges
Most high schools give students an allotted amount of days to leave school to visit college campuses. This is an important part of junior and senior year. This allows the student to see the campus in person while also getting a feel for how college classes feel. Many of the campus visits you can schedule allow you to sit in on a class or lecture currently happening. Encourage your student to participate by attending so they get the most accurate experience to how it really feels to be a college student.
Celebrate Your Student!
Becoming a senior is a big deal. After working through the first 3 years of high school, many students are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. While it’s important to still do well, as grades still matter, letting loose and enjoying the last little bit of high school is important too! Encourage your senior to participate in social events. Events like prom, senior prank, homecoming, and more are all important experiences to have as a high schooler and help make the final year special.
While it’s important to remain focused on school work during the senior year, allow your student the freedom to celebrate themselves too. For many seniors, the final year of high school is a celebration of accomplishments and their hard work. While senior year classes don’t get easier, there’s less of an academic pressure on the students as most of them have made their after graduation plans already. One caveat is senioritis. While it’s great to be able to cut loose a little bit, make sure you reel them in if they start presenting bad habits. Cutting class, not completing work, and staying out late are all signs of a senior developing senioritis. This can kill a student’s GPA and in some cases prevent them from graduating if they fail a class.
I hope these tips were helpful in creating a parents guide for senior year. Please let us know if you have your own tips you’d like to share. You can email us at [email protected]. Thanks so much for reading!