The time might have come for your child to fly the nest. You might be sending them off to university to follow their passions. It can be a very tough time watching your precious bundles of joy grow up and go on to bigger, better things. Just know that they will always be your baby’s and they will come home for dinners every now and again.
Here are three things to consider when you are getting your teen prepared for university.
Course
If your child has a passion for a certain subject they might like to study it in more depth. For example, they might want to become a nurse as they like helping people. If they have discussed with you what their ambitions are, encourage them to follow that path at university. There may be several courses that they need to study to reach their final destination. Talk through their options with them in case they are unsure or need a supportive listening ear.
If they are having trouble choosing a course but have a little knowledge of where they want to study, you could always arrange for them to speak to the university course advisor. These amazing people are available for any prospective student to chat to and go through options with them.
University
Once your child has decided what they want to do and which route to follow they need to decide on the university. They may already know which university they want to attend so it’s just a matter of applying and seeing what happens. If they don’t know or aren’t aware of which universities offer the course they need you could help them. Take a look online, research the course and a bunch of universities will come up. You could arrange a tour of the unis on offer and see where they feel the most comfortable.
It is a good idea to keep their options open and not put all their eggs into one basket. When applying for universities, apply for more than one and then they don’t have to worry about being rejected. Unfortunately, this does happen and if they have a plan B or even plan C then it won’t phase them too much.
Accommodation
After everything else has been decided your child will need to decide what they want to do in terms of accommodation. There are lots of options available here: they can stay at home and commute each day, they could stay in university dorm rooms, or they can find student accommodation elsewhere in the city. They will need to apply for dorms if that is where they want to stay. There is limited availability with each new admission that takes place.
If they want to stay near the university but not on-site then they could take a look at different student accommodation options. This could be in the form of a house share. They will get their own bedroom but may have to share the kitchen and bathroom. The other option is renting an apartment all for themselves, with no sharing involved.
We hope this helps you understand what needs to be thought about and arranged before your child leaves for university.
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