Advice for Parents of Junior High School Student

Many eighth graders will be ending middle school soon and they're going to be going off to high school in the fall and want to make sure that you are equipped with the information that you need to be successful.

First and foremost, parents, please talk to your kids about college. The reality is that they're going to be applying to college in four years. And no one wants to be blindsided by how quickly it kind of came up. Talk to them about college, what the expectations may be of high school, and help them understand that they're laying the groundwork to have a successful college admissions process.

In addition, talk to them about possible majors, possible career interests. No one has to know what they want to do with the rest of their life at age 13. But it's good to know what options are available.

The same thing applies to extracurricular activities. High schools are flushed with opportunities for students to be involved with community service, arts, athletics, clubs, student government. Please make sure that your kid knows that there are options and that they explore those options.

And lastly, as you're traveling during the summer possibly or any other time, visit a college or two. It can be a local one near your home or somewhere near a relative. But take the opportunities to kind of stop and check out a college, so your child is exposed to what college actually is.

We hope that you've found this helpful!