Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Get Your College Kid Back On Track

Tutors can help college kids get back on track.


Whether your college-aged kid got off track with his academics due to his wild nightlife habits, poor organizational skills or because of more serious issues, it is possible to help your college kid get back on track. University and college retention departments are available to work with students to catch them up or start them on a new road to graduation. Depending on where your college kid left off will determine what he needs to get back on track with his academics.


Instructions


1. Meet with the college's academic or retention department. Find out how many courses are needed before your child can graduate. This will help determine what needs to be done to get your child back on track.


2. Enroll your kid into summer and winter courses. Summer and winter courses serve as their own semesters and provide college students with the chance to catch up with their courses, get ahead or retake classes that they failed. If you want your college kid to get back on track, summer and winter courses will help her catch up.


3. Hire a tutor for your child. If part of the reason he fell off track was due to his inability to grasp some of the course material, a group or private tutor can coach him through the material until it makes sense. Tutors are also beneficial for teaching kids effective study and organizational skills.


4. Pile on the courses. If a college student wants to get back on track badly enough, she can take more credits than the standard amount -- so long as this is permissible by the school. If taking additional course credits is an option you and your child are considering, you must also make sure that the heavy course load will not send the student further off track due to the amount of stress or time commitment involved.


5. Look into community college as an option for supplementing college courses. Your kid may be able to catch up with some of the classes and credits by attending community college before diving into a university.


6. Talk to your child about why he got off track in the first place. You can make all of the necessary actionable steps to reenroll your kid into the college program, but if the underlying issue is not dealt with, you may be setting your kid up for failure, again. Ask your kid about what went wrong the first time around. Help him understand the benefits of college and show your support.


7. Make a career plan with your kid. If your kid has certain goals she wishes to reach, show her how college can help her meet them. A career plan will help her pinpoint the type of major she should study and can get her excited and eager to get back on track.

Tags: your child, back track, back track, will help, winter courses, your college