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The Parent Channel Newsletter

TIPS, TRICKS & STRATEGIES
as you plan for your kid's college education (no matter what their age).

April 7, 2008

What to do when...college is the furthest thing from your teen's mind

For every kid who knows exactly what they want to do when they grow up, there are probably ten times as many who are more worried about whether they're going to be able to squeeze in a few more IMs before they go to sleep.

And while it's easy to say "don't sweat it" -- can you really not sweat it when you, as the parent of a future college graduate, actually have a degree yourself?

It's probably time to focus not so much on the "where" but the "what" -- more to the point: are you actually using what you studied in college? If the answer is "no," that's half the battle, as your teen might actually be looking at furthering their education as a means to an end. Fair, but better to focus on phrases like "life-long learning." Or talk about the value of a Liberal Arts education and the doors it opens.

The social aspect of college is another plus: taking advantage of freedom, independence, no curfew. Sometimes that's enough of a hook to get a student's head in a college frame of mind.

You get everything else online, why not a tutor?

U Sphere has been working with TutorVista for a couple years now, and the feedback we're getting is great. (They're not just for SAT and ACT prep, by the way.)

But the question that pops up the most often is whether you miss out on having a tutor across the table from you.

It's not for everyone, but here's where this tech-savvy generation, if they can call the shots, might just prefer the comfort of their own laptop.

TutorVista is running a special for the U Sphere community. See this link. ADVERTISEMENT: TUTORVISTA.

The U Sphere Network presents...A couple more cool offers

We did the legwork and found a couple things you can take advantage of as a Parent Channel member. For instance:

LifeLock: You've seen this guy giving out his SSN.

Franklin Electronic Publishers: They have handheld translators and test-prep tools.

From the bookshelf:

If you bump into a U Sphere editor in a bookstore, you're likely to find them suggesting one book as you start asking "where to go?" Noted education reporter Loren Pope first wrote "Colleges That Change Lives" in 1996 and the book gets updated each year. These schools are all that -- many of them don't have the household recognition of the Ivies but are just as (sometimes even more) competitive in their admissions standards.

They also produce graduates who are amazingly well-equipped for the real world. We highly recommend the book.

Disclaimers and other fun stuff

The Parent Channel Newsletter is a service of U Sphere, Inc. and is FREE to all Parent Channel subscribers. To get your Parent Channel subscription, click here.

In some cases, companies will contract with U Sphere to have their products and services presented through this newsletter and other marketing vehicles in the U Sphere network. These are disclosed as "advertisements" or "paid listings" on the site and through our network.

In many instances, though, we'll share information and links as a public service, and/or we'll link to other sites in our network.

If you have any questions about what U Sphere does, the Parent Channel subscription, or anything else in the whole "I gotta send a kid to college" process, let us know. Send a note to editors@usphere.com and we'll do what we can to respond.