Seeing your children off to college might be one of the saddest and most heartbreaking moments of your life. Imagine caring for someone for more than half your life, then sending them off to a place where there is a high chance of them not returning anymore — save for a few holidays. Every year, college enrollment increases by a fraction of a percent. Due to changes in legislation and the overall increase of the population, this trend will only increase as more and more people can afford college.
Before you take than college loan up for your child, it is good that you discuss his or her interests before diving into the course they want for themselves. While they are already young adults, your advice can still be needed in deciding the proper course for them. Offering your guidance, as a parent, should be welcomed with open arms, especially if you are the one taking the major financial hit in their education. Around the United States in 2020, around 44% of the potential college students still rely on the financial support of their parents to pay for college.
Choosing a course doesn’t have to be difficult. If you have been with your child all this time, you can easily pinpoint what may or not suit him as a career for his or her future. How can you properly guide your child to choose the course that best fits him/her?
Play to The Strengths
A quick review of what he or she excels at in high school would be helpful in picking a college course. The strengths of a person reflect the interest and the nature of work he or she may be geared for in the future. There are many types and categories of courses that anyone can fit into as a career.
Placing your child in a position that he or she will excel further in a college degree is a safe path to success. Certain personality types, skill sets, and values come out during their development years in high school. Identifying them early can help you and your child get a clear focus on the path worth taking. A person who excels more in English and the Arts may be a person who will excel in communication arts or literature in college. A person who excels in mathematics and science might have a chance to succeed in an engineering course.
Choose According to Interests
Choosing according to their interests may not be a bad idea. There are a lot of success stories involving people picking their interests as a college course. Having the support of their parents played an integral role in their success in their careers. They must choose according to their interests because the motivation to study can quickly fizzle out if they are not interested in their course. It may cause them to shift courses every so often.
The entire trajectory of a person’s career can be directed by their interests alone. Someone who would show great interest in social media will be motivated to finish a course in social studies. A person who has a subtle interest in luxurious women’s bracelets and clothing can succeed in a degree in fashion design. It does not have to always be involved in a direct subject taught in high school. Interests shape peoples’ careers and futures.
Relevancy to the Future
You might want to steer your child into a course that will become relevant in the future. A career that is planned is certainly not a bad idea when preparing for your child’s college course.
In the early 90s, it was predicted that computer courses will take over in relevancy in the 21st century. When it became true, people flocked into computer courses a little too late. Now, there is an over-saturation of those studying computer courses. In the early 2000s, nursing courses were predicted to overtake those other health and wellness courses in the 2010s. Now, there is an oversupply of nurses around the world. The trend is slowly shifting towards courses involving sustainability and food chain management. Demand for courses will shift over time. You will be lucky if the course you and your child are interested in coincides with what is going to be highly demanded in the future.
Trusting your child with what course to pick is essential. A glimpse of non-support will send his dreams in a spiral. Picking a course can be difficult. Long discussions and introspecting are needed before finally making the choice.
