Insight - When is it too early to lookat colleges? By Michelle Libby

This past weekend, I took my sophomore to a college open house. Since telling people I was doing that and posting about being there, I have gotten mixed reviews. What kind of a parent takes her 16-year-old to a college open house? 

The kind that values education.

The kind that wants her son to have the motivation to make it through the next two years.

The kind that knows what she’s doing.

Taking a sophomore on a college tour might not be the ideal move for every student, but for a kiddo who knows what he wants to do in life, it made sense to see what he had to look forward to and to get some tips on how to schedule his last two years of high school. 

I am happy to report that my son is motivated. When we got to Southern New Hampshire University, he was skeptical, I think. He didn’t say much. We toured around, listened to a student life panel and then the pièce de résistance, the academic major talk. 

 

We had spoken with the head of the game design and programming majors at PAX East the weekend before, but this time we got to hear how SNHU can help students get the job they want in the field they want. And none of it was without a lot of hard work. The professor made that point many times. He offered Josh and the other students the opportunity to email him with questions about scheduling his high school classes or if he had any questions about SNHU and the major. 

President of SNHU at Open House

Needless to say, Josh was ready to get his GED and enroll for the fall semester. He is looking at his last two years of high school and planning to learn everything he can to be ahead of the curve when he gets to college. 

SNHU has set the bar really high. We are not done taking him on college tours to make sure that SNHU is the right fit and anything can change in the next two years, but I am confident that Josh’s passion for gaming and programming will only get stronger. 

Not everyone knows what they want to do when they are 16, but some do. 

I did.

College isn’t for everyone, but having a plan is a better way to go then to hit graduation and wonder “What’s next?”