Family Conversations Around College

5 minutes can save a lot of family miscommunication around college

“Dream college” is a buzz phrase that I see way too often. Teens are often choosing a dream college based on what they are seeing on social media (dorm rooms, fraternities and sororities, parties, football games, ascetic, beach trips, ranking charts, etc.) and parents are often choosing based on what they read about in ranking reports, have seen in message boards, heard from other parents, or based on price tag. Often, neither parents or teens are really communicating about WHY it is the dream.

Here is a quick two page checklist each family member can fill out and then families can sit together and compare answers. It offers a way for each person to be seen and heard about what is important to them. I have used these sheets with parents and teens and most of the time, they have never discussed most of these topics so it is a great chance to connect and decide where compromises can be made or certain factors can be mutually declared important or irrelevant. Comparing sheets can also lead to heated arguments and debates, but it is better for that to happen now early in the college search than later.