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You shouldn’t need your parents to push you to work on stuff. If you’re ready for college then you need to be able to have the motivation and initiative to do things on your own without your parents ‘pushing you’ but I’m not sure you really meant the statement that way.</p>
<p>Some parents know nothing about the college process and some are simply ‘hands off’ in the area. That means that you need to get busy and perhaps ‘push them’ for the pieces they need to do. It souncds like you’ve already figured a lot of this out but you should meet with your HS guidance counselor to ensure you have all the checkpoints taken care of. There are deadlines on most of these things so make sure you get it done by the deadlines. The app process really isn’t all that difficult as long as you know the steps and just get it done. </p>
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<li><p>College apps - make sure you apply to a few colleges at least and make sure there’s at least a realistic ‘safety’, one that you’;re fairly assured of being accepted to, or two that you’ve applied to. You can do this without your parents’ involvement.</p></li>
<li><p>SAT/ACT - make sure you take one or the other or both of these tests and make sure you have the scores sent to the colleges by the deadline of those colleges. You can do this without your parents’ involvement as long as you can pay the fees.</p></li>
<li><p>FAFSA - you need your parents’ input for this. Make sure you understand what the purpose of the fafsa is and then get the form and work with your parents (badgering them if necessary) to get it done. Make sure they understand there can be a significant dollar davings (but sometimes none) as a result of getting the form completed and that it’s well worth the hour of their time to complete it. </p></li>
<li><p>For financial aid some colleges might require the CSS form to be filled out and returned. You’ll need to enlist your parents to get this form completed as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Most colleges will require that you either purchase their health insurance or provide evidence that you’re covered adequately under your parents’ policy. You’ll need their help on this as well. Some colleges will require you have the college health insurance regardless.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure you understand the actual cost of the colleges in your list and how you’d end up paying for them. You need to include tuition and misc. fees, books, housing, meals, and incidentals (clothing, medication, entertainment, etc.). Understand where the money will come from. If you’re unable to have the costs paid you might need to alter your plans and do something like attend a CC first then transfer.</p></li>
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<p>If your parents balk at any of this be sure to explain in a calm manner how this hour of their time spent on completing the form can mean many thousands of dollars off the cost of attendance saving them or you (whoever’s paying) a huge amount of money and it’s time well worth it. They can get it done in the time they’d otherwise spend watching a silly TV show.</p>