Vision Casting with My Sophomore

A month ago, I received notice that a local college was having a 2-hour college admissions/ financial aid meeting for juniors and seniors.  I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to begin talking about The Future (especially since learning this summer that Ben did want to attend college), and RSVPed that my sophomore and I would attend.

I sort of forgot to tell Ben that we were going to this until this morning; but that ended up working to our advantage as he wasn't able to overthink our casual visit.

from www.StuckInCustom by Trey Ratcliff

So, what ended up happening is that he got something out of it and it opened doors to talk about interests and learning preferences.  He doesn't see himself at a large college.  He liked the idea of computer studies and entrepreneurship/ business studies.  200+ students in a class is repugnant to him.  Thirty-five is nice, but 12 is better.

We talked about the importance of internships, career/ job placements centers, not partying too much in college, but still having fun, changing majors, non-traditional learners, scholarships.  Great stuff.

If I have one piece of advice to offer to those with younger students that you are home educating it is this:  begin talking about the future early.  I wanted to avoid dumping the entire college vs. career discussion on my son at once.  Instead, through a variety of sources and conversations, we've been talking about it for years.  Visiting colleges doesn't have to wait until junior year.

I don't honestly care if this particular college is one that Ben ultimately applies to.  I just wanted it to be a common experience that we could use to build upon as college begins to take a greater emphasis in our curriculum planning for the next few years.  Ultimately, Ben has to be responsible for all these steps, and I want him to begin to realize that it is a process that will take time and planning.

I wasn't really looking for a "you were right, mom" moment, but I was looking for acknowledgement that it was a good idea.  I know I got that as we talked and as I watched him on the tour.

Tomorrow, we are back to sophomore classes -- Geometry, Spanish, American Lit.  But this afternoon, it was nice to spend time thinking about what the future might hold for my pretty cool young man.