Is Your Child Ready for College?

How do you know if your child is ready for college? This is a question with no simple answer. If you are the parent of a college-bound high school student, you owe it to yourself and your child to attempt to find out. It may help you eliminate the need to ask yourself why your child is failing in college.

Maturity, motivation, and study skills are predictors of success in college. So are college entrance tests such as the ACT and SAT exams.

The two most popular entrance examinations used by American colleges and universities are ACT and the SAT tests. ACT originally stood for American College Testing. SAT stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test and then Scholastic Assessment Test. Today, we know them simply as ACT and SAT.

In 2009, USA Today reported that all four-year U.S.colleges now accept [the] ACT test. If your child has taken the ACT Test, his/her scores correlate well to college readiness. There are five tests, which assess the student's proficiency in English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing.

So, how high must a students score to indicate he/she is ready for college? It depends on the college. The Princeton Review reported "The High, the Better." The maximum score is 36. An ACT score of 15 or below is consider low by most four-year institutions. Scores in the range of 20 - 21 are considered average and will gain acceptance in many colleges and universities if the student did well in high school. Elite schools look for scores in the high 20's to low 30's.

With this in mind, you and/or your child should:

1. determine potential colleges and/or universities;
2. identify entrance exam requirements; and
3. compare ACT (or SAT) scores to those requirements.

ACT has published College Readiness Standards for each of the five tests. These scores will give you a sense of how well prepared you child is.

Both the ACT and SAT websites offer study aides for students. ACT has practice questions for each of the five subject areas. The College Board, publisher of the SAT test, provide practice and review questions plus a full practice test.

Some students will need more structured help. Ed2Go offers online preparatory courses for ACT and SAT test takers. I am very familiar with Ed2Go, and online provider for training programs. I offered them to students at my last college, and I myself have taken one of their courses. It was well done.

Here are the ACT college readiness standards for English.

Here are the ACT college readiness standards for mathematics.

Here are the ACT college readiness standards for reading.

Here are the ACT college readiness standards for science.

Here are the ACT college readiness standards for writing.

Work cooperatively with your child's high school to assure that the education your son or daughter receives will result in college readiness.

However, keep in mind that a four-year college degree does not define one's worth and seal one's fate. Perhaps your son is better suited to become an automotive technician. Perhaps your daughter is better suited to be dental assistant. Help them direct their time and effort, and probably your money, at an achievable, rewarding and productive goal.