<p>Although I consider it early, S is beginning to talk to us (!) about "what he wants to do with his life" :), regarding his college choices, career choices, etc. He is currently a HS freshman and we live in Va. His dad and I want to help guide and encourage him about his education, but yet want him to enjoy his years in HS and not get too stressed out. In other words, we want where he goes to school and what he does thereafter to be his choice not ours. Yet, we want to offer good , sound advice when he wants to talk with us about it. So many of you all have been through this before, either as a student or a parent. What are some educational suggestions, (other than the obvious "study hard and try to make super grades"), that would help his chances in getting into say William and Mary, which is one place that he has said he would like to go? Thank you so much for your time and advice.</p>
<p>hey! this sounds like the same situation i went through my freshman year. first, i'll give the pluses of it. as i obsessed over which college i wanted to go to, it really made me want to research different colleges to find my "fit". and the greatest thing i'm thankful for is that in obsessing in 9th grade over prestige (i admit to salavating over u.s. news rankings), i am now over it. i thought i was going to apply to 3ish ivies but i learned to look beyond rankings and that i should find my "fit", not the highest ranking.</p>
<p>when tiring my parents ears about college, i think they just took it in patiently. they never discouraged my ramblings but always emphasized the importance of education, how it was my decision, and keep looking(i think it was the ivy tuition that got them a bit scared :)). things will definatlely change as he gets older so what college he wants to go to can be a goal but not the ultimate goal. college, instead, can be an incentive to LEARN, EXPLORE HIS INTERESTS <-- these are my biggest hopes for h.s. students. not everything in h.s. needs to be set and not all of h.s. is just to get into college... it's for learning and exploring interests also :)... there is not get-in ingredient so the best thing to do is learn and explore, show strengths, take challenges... this is all easier said than done... but i pray that he will do his best (p.s. since u live in VA you might even consider a campus visit so he can hear the admission officer talk about the admission process so hopefully he sees that it is not just grades and superb SAT scores that get him in... but more being who he is (and not just to get in... not doing everything b/c it looks good on the resume)) :)</p>
<p>i'll try and give more when i think of my experiences... and w&m is an excellent school... i applied there and it is the most beautiful campus</p>