5 Ways To Improve Your Teen's Chances Of Being Accepted To Their Dream College

Parents often begin preparing to pay for their children's higher education while they are still sleeping in their bassinets. While you may not know how much college for your child is going to cost, you can get a better idea by choosing the schools they want to be accepted to. Better your teen's chances of getting into the college they really want to with the following five tips.

1. Accelerated Classes - Every parent wants their child to do well in school, but when colleges compare GPAs, they give a lot of weight to students who are taking accelerated and advanced placement classes. Find out what the prerequisites are for getting your teen into an AP class, then push them to continue to be a top performer.

2. Achieve High SAT Scores - First and foremost, you are going to want to have your child take the pre-SATs prior to even attempting the SATs. Both pre-SAT testing as well as SAT tutoring is going to help them achieve the best scores possible. Remember that preparing to take the SATs is completely unlike preparing to take a midterm or any other non standardized test, so your child will greatly benefit from professional SAT tutoring.

3. Volunteer Work - Being able to show college admissions officers that your child performs well academically is fine and good, but being able to demonstrate the ability to balance a full class schedule with volunteer work is much more impressive. Your teen can volunteer when time permits or commit him or herself to working with a community organization regularly. As long as your child is able to accurately surmise how volunteering has enriched his or her life, you can count on colleges giving weight to this activity in your child's favor.

4. Honors and Awards - Enrolling your child in sports, clubs, and other organizations that honor standout players and members might be the difference between getting an acceptance letter and being asked to reapply again in the future. You should have your child get involved in activity that he or she enjoys and that you have a strong belief that your teen will excel in.

5. Employment - Many of the qualities that colleges look for in applicants, employers also look for in job seekers. If your child has been able to go through the job application process, then manage work life, SAT tutoring and preparation, as well as school at the same time, college entrance officers will ultimately be moved.