Planning a party requires lots of work. You decide on the place, the food,

the decorations, and the entertainment. But what if the decorations include

candles and the place doesn't allow an open flame? What if you serve tacos

and hamburgers but the entertainment is a formal big band?

Sometimes all the parts of a party don't come together quite like you hoped,

partly because the whole plan wasn't made first and partly because all the

people involved didn't get the same information.

Planning for college is much like planning a party...no college is not a

party, it is a place to get an education. But you can have fun at college

too; just don't major in social skills, dating, and parties. The similarity

occurs in laying out the full "Welcome to College Happiness Plan" early

enough that all parties involved work together to achieve the same goal.

The first step for creating your plan is to decide where your student wants

to be in ten years. Most students won't have a concrete idea what they want

as a career. But your student can tell you if they like math, history,

English, or science. That helps you limit the career areas. Don't be the

student that insisted forensic science was his goal but hated math and was

failing the introductory biology class.

Look for your student's strengths; this will help you find a career area that

will allow your student to shine. Ten years from now your student should be

living on their own, be supporting themselves, and be happy with their job

opportunities.

The next step is to be sure your classes match your goals. A bio-chemistry

major should be taking the hardest biology and chemistry classes available in

high school. A prospective actor needs lots of experience both in and out of

high school. A journalism major should enjoy reading, researching, and

writing and be using these skills in a newspaper, yearbook, or blogging

position. Don't be the actor that discovers stage fright in college.

Now be sure your class list will allow you to graduate on time. Lots of music

and art classes are great but if you are missing that required Government

class, even a 4.4 GPA won't allow you to graduate on time. You can find the

list of required classes in the guidance department, in school publications,

and at state educational websites. Be sure you know the required grades in

each class as well.

If attending a four year college or university is your goal, be sure you

challenge yourself academically. This gets a little tricky... When asked

"What is more important, grades or hard classes?" most admissions

officers answer: Both. Take the hardest classes you can while maintaining at

least a B plus average. Every "Passed with a B plus or better" Advanced

Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Dual Enrollment (DE)

class adds luster to your college application.

When planning your high school classes, first look at what your chosen

colleges accept and use for college credit. Then decide if the curriculum

suits your student's abilities. Not all students are ready for college level

work in high school. This doesn't mean your student isn't smart, it just

means your student matures at their own, unique pace. Using that unique pace

to help your student be successful will bring that "Welcome to College

Happiness Plan" into reality.