Is Your High School Senior Sick of High School?

For those of us with a high school senior, it’s the start of their last semester of high school.  They feel like they have seen it all and done it all and it’s now time to fly.  Most college-bound seniors have completed their college applications or will be wrapping them up this month.  Unless they applied early decision or early action and already received all of their responses, they are stuck in a waiting period.  It can seem like a long, boring, frustrating wait.  And they just want to select a school and be done!

What Should Your High School Senior Focus on During Second Semester?

• Don’t let those grades slip!  You’ve probably heard it a million times – colleges care about second semester grades.  Your student could be in jeopardy of having his or her acceptance revoked if he or she bombs the last semester of high school.  Don’t let them stress out too much about it, but do make sure they keep working all the way to the end.
• Scholarship Applications – Focus on local private scholarships and any special scholarships with separate applications that are offered by the colleges your student wants to attend.  Spring of senior year is when most of the scholarship deadlines arrive.  After college applications are complete, there is usually a second round of work focused on scholarship applications.  Your student will probably need a fair amount of encouragement and help with organization in order to get these all completed.  Check out my Scholarship Tracker to help your student stay on top of scholarship application requirements and deadlines.
• College Visits – Almost immediately following the college acceptance notifications will come the invitations to Admitted Student visit days.  Make sure your student takes advantage of these to assist in making the final college selection.  These visits offer so much more than the visits for prospective applicants.  Now that your student has been selected, the school really wants to show him or her why their school is the right one to pick.

Above all, sympathize with the fact that your student is excited to leave high school and move on to the next chapter.  Enjoy the time you have with him or her at home and help make sure your high school senior makes the most of the last semester of high school.