Parents’ Expectations about College
In a recent poll, is was discovered that a vast majority of college-bound students’ parents play a significant role in helping students to decide on a college to go to. Not only are they arranging tours of campuses and steering their children towards colleges of their choice, but they are increasingly involved in the entire admissions process, from securing financial aid packages to selecting a suitable room mate for their daughters and sons. You might think this level of involvement amounts to hovering, or being what is coined a “helicopter parent,” but according to many students, that isn’t the case.
College-bound high school seniors who have been polled are overall fairly satisfied with the current level of their parents’ involvement in the college search process. Surprisingly, nearly 30 percent of the students want more, rather than less, parental involvement — and that figure rises to over 40 percent among students with lower SAT scores and lower household incomes. Is this an indicator of a decline in student independence that could be leading to a negative trend? After all, the home security team can’t be there to follow these students around for the rest of their lives.
“Not really,” said college admissions specialist Barbara Thomas. “If anything, what this tells us is that the students may be taking college more seriously, and instead of making mistakes that could be avoided, they are seeking out the advice of their parents. That can be a good thing.”
Here is an infographic showing the level of involvement:
