How to Prepare Your Child for College (Even at a Young Age!)

Kids are never too little to learn about higher education. Get tips on how to prepare your child for college (even at a young age!).

How to Prepare Your Child for CollegeI started getting my kids ready for college even when they were still in preschool.

Now, I wasn’t sifting through college applications or signing them up for enrichment activities. Nothing like that.

Instead, I was (and still am) cementing the idea of college as an exciting opportunity, even at a young age. We’re already talking about the college years, from dorm cafeterias to getting a degree.

You see, I don’t want to spring college onto them like it’s a foreign world. I want them to feel comfortable with and excited about the idea of it long before they step onto a campus on their own.

If you’re here, I’m guessing you want to ensure that your child sees college as an attainable and even expected part of his education.

You understand that raising college-bound kids isn’t just about filling out applications or getting good grades. Instead, it’s also about nurturing a love of learning and the confidence to make an impact on the world.

What can you do to help him feel excited about college, even at a young age?

1. Make learning fun

Preparing your child for college starts with her view of education.

Watch your language and tone of voice when talking about homework or school. Is school something you dread or avoid (“Yay, no school for two weeks!”)?  Do you nag about homework as something to get out of the way?

Similarly, encourage her passions and interests. Does she love comics and art? Borrow comics from the library and gift her a sketch pad and pencils.

Keep your words positive or at least neutral about her current school activities. Frame learning as something fun she has the privilege of doing. And the better she does in school, the more likely she’ll attend college (and enjoy and reap the benefits of it).

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2. Visit college campuses

Exposing campus life gives your child an early introduction to college. Years later when she steps onto hers, college won’t feel so foreign or intimidating. Visit nearby colleges, or make it a point to include campuses on your next vacation.

What are some things you can do at a college campus?

  • Visit the botanical garden. Take advantage of the biology department’s botanical garden.
  • Attend child-focused events. College campuses sometimes host family events.
  • Visit the museums. Most colleges have museums open to the public.
  • Eat at the food court. As a teenager visiting campuses, I was impressed by the food courts of our college campuses. It was something familiar and non-intimidating, and I could actually see myself eating there at some point.
  • Picnic on the grass. Many campuses are filled with grassy areas, perfect for a picnic blanket and basket.
  • Run on the track. See if your local campus has a track and field open to the public.
  • Look at fountains. Fountains have fascinated my eldest, and the local campuses we visit have plenty of them.
  • Visit the student store. Like the food court, the student store also impressed me as a child and made campus life seem more exciting. Many campuses have restaurants, retail stores, groceries, and arcades. These venues tie daily life with academics.
  • Attend sporting events. Going to a sporting event like college football or basketball instills team pride and makes for a fun experience.
  • Walk around. Give yourself a tour of the campus and walk around.
  • Attend festivals. Universities host music and book festivals as well as concerts, too.

3. Teach your child how to handle school work

The last thing you want is for your high schooler to never have done schoolwork independently before going off to college. Use the time now to teach him how to handle schoolwork, being less involved the older he gets.

In kindergarten, sit down with him as he does his work. As he gets older, be in the same room to help as needed without looking over his shoulder. As a teen, he can own his work completely and be accountable for tasks and deadlines.

By giving him these responsibilities, he learns the study skills to manage his workload on his own.

4. Encourage free play and curiosity

Raising kids who love to learn starts with giving them plenty of time to tinker and play. Your child is always learning, but more so through free play.

Don’t feel pressured to enroll her in every class or over-schedule her days. Yes, it’s good to expose her to extracurricular activities, but carve plenty of time for her to direct her own time as well.

One child might want to spend the time after school bouncing a basketball while another wants to sit and read. Yours might want to build and construct one day and observe bugs in the yard another. This unstructured time allows her to be curious and engage with her surroundings.

5. Involve your child in “school” early

Being in a school setting like preschool can help your child acclimate to a learning environment.

If she’s not enrolled in preschool, you can still do the same activities that preschool teachers would be doing with their students. Introduce letters and numbers and read often. Encourage open-ended play and practice self-sufficient activities.

Open-Ended Play

6. Make college a given expectation

One way to make college feel normal is to talk about it as if it’s a given, not a rarity. Talk about when your child will attend college, not if. Phrase it as the next step after high school that she can eventually experience.

According to  Lance A. Millis about early college preparation:

“…[M]ake college a part of their life, one of your expectations, and something they learn about, talk about and hear about throughout their young life. When it’s summer they will go swimming, when it’s Halloween they will go trick-or-treating, and when they’re finished with high school they will go to college. As the parent, you can make it that way.”

7. Start a college savings fund

Starting a college fund makes higher education feel more tangible, however far away it seems. Setting aside a long-term goal like saving for college expenses bridges the present to the future. You can use the time between now and then to save and talk about the prospects of going to college.

Taking the time and money to start a savings account reinforces the importance of college—it’s something worth saving for.

If your child receives money, set aside half of it toward a college fund. More importantly, explain where the money goes. You can say, “Grandma gave you $40 for your birthday. Let’s put half of that into your college fund.”

That way, putting half of her money toward college won’t seem like such a foreign concept. It also instills long-term savings habits for other life goals like retirement or a down payment. And once in a while, share how much she has saved so she can see that her college money has accumulated.

Conclusion

Preparing your child for college at this young age should be positive. You’re not sorting through applications or enrolling in enrichment classes to give her an “upper edge.”

Instead, focus on framing college as something exciting. Start saving and instill a love of knowledge and learning. Create a school “curriculum” and make higher education a given in her life story.

You can expose her to the benefits of college life—even if she’s only in preschool.

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