Save money on college just by opening your email
A survival guide for parents of high school freshmen
Dear Mom and Dad,
Welcome to high school.
Welcome to the land of Friday night lights, homecoming mums, mysterious grading systems, driver’s permits, questionable fashion choices, and teenagers who can solve complicated math equations but cannot seem to locate the dishwasher.
Welcome to the years when your child will grow six inches, eat everything in your refrigerator, and begin speaking a language you are apparently no longer qualified to understand.
Welcome to the jungle.
You are about to embark on four of the most extraordinary, exhausting, hilarious, expensive, and beautiful years of parenthood.
And here’s the part nobody tells you.
These four years are not simply about getting your child ready for college. They are about getting your child ready for life.
Somewhere between freshman orientation and graduation, the little person who once held your hand to cross the street will begin learning how to navigate the world without holding it quite so tightly.
And you, dear parent, will be learning how to let them.
So, pour yourself another cup of coffee. We have some ground to cover.
Freshman Year: Finding Their Feet
Also known as: Where is my classroom, and why does everyone look so much older than me?
Freshman year is a year of firsts.
The first high school football game. The first homecoming. The first report card that suddenly feels like it matters a little more. The first time your child discovers that teachers may not remind them seventeen times about a missing assignment.
Your student is learning to navigate a bigger world.
New friendships. New expectations. New responsibilities.
And while college may seem impossibly far away, the foundation for that future is already being built.
This is the year to help your student develop good study habits, explore interests, and understand that their grades are beginning to tell an academic story.
But please don’t turn every dinner conversation into a discussion about GPA.
Your child is fourteen, not a college admissions project.
Let them try the theater club. Let them discover they love biology. Let them join a team, volunteer, or learn something simply because it sounds interesting.
Some of the most important discoveries of freshman year have absolutely nothing to do with a transcript.
Your freshman-year parent checklist:
- Meet the school counselor and understand graduation requirements.
- Learn how GPA, class rank, and course rigor work at your school.
- Help your student establish a study routine and learn to ask teachers for help.
- Explore clubs, sports, volunteer opportunities, and career interests.
- Begin learning about dual credit, AP courses, and other ways to earn college credit.
- Start a simple college savings and scholarship planning conversation.
- Create a place to keep awards, activities, volunteer hours, and accomplishments.
And one more thing.
Take pictures.
Even when they roll their eyes.
Especially when they roll their eyes.
Sophomore Year: The Plot Thickens
Also known as: Who gave this child permission to drive?
By sophomore year, your student is beginning to find their place.
They have favorite teachers, established friendships, and opinions about absolutely everything.
They may also be preparing to get behind the wheel of a car, which is a particularly effective way to discover whether you have fully developed your prayer life.
This is the year when high school begins to feel a little less overwhelming and the future starts coming into focus.
Your student may discover a passion for science, writing, business, art, technology, or a career they had never considered.
Encourage that exploration.
Visit a college campus when you’re nearby. Attend a career fair. Talk about different professions and what education they require.
This is also an excellent time to begin looking at the financial side of education.
Research dual enrollment opportunities. Learn about CLEP testing. Explore scholarship categories. Find out whether your employer offers education benefits.
You don’t need to apply to college yet.
You simply need to begin understanding the possibilities.
Your sophomore-year parent checklist:
- Review academic progress and course selections for junior year.
- Explore dual credit, AP, and career or technical education pathways.
- Discuss possible careers and the education required for them.
- Begin researching college affordability and financial aid.
- Learn about scholarships and start a regular search habit.
- Encourage meaningful involvement rather than collecting activities simply to fill a résumé.
- Begin discussing saving, earning, spending, and borrowing with your student.
And while you’re planning for the future, don’t forget to enjoy the present.
These are the years of learning to drive, late-night conversations, school dances, and watching your child become someone you genuinely enjoy spending time with.
Even if they occasionally communicate exclusively through grunts.
Junior Year: Things Just Got Real
Also known as: Wait. College applications are NEXT year?
Junior year arrives with a certain sense of urgency.
Suddenly, everyone is talking about SATs, ACTs, college visits, scholarships, class rank, and the terrifying realization that your child will be leaving home sooner than you thought.
This is often the year when college planning moves from a vague idea to an actual calendar.
Your student may begin researching colleges, attending information sessions, preparing for standardized tests, and considering possible majors.
You may find yourself visiting campuses and wondering how a dorm room the size of your laundry room could possibly cost that much money.
Welcome to college pricing.
This is also the year to have one of the most important conversations your family will ever have.
The money conversation.
How much have you saved?
How much can you realistically contribute?
What scholarships and grants might be available?
What are your expectations about student loans?
What happens if your student falls in love with a college that is financially out of reach?
These conversations may feel uncomfortable, but they are a gift.
Your student deserves to understand the financial picture before making decisions that could affect their life for years to come.
And you deserve to make those decisions without feeling pressured to promise more than you can afford.
Your junior-year parent checklist:
- Build a balanced college list that includes financially realistic options.
- Research admission requirements, costs, and institutional scholarships.
- Schedule campus visits when practical.
- Prepare for the SAT or ACT if relevant to your student’s college plans.
- Explore career paths, majors, and potential earnings.
- Research scholarship deadlines and begin applying for eligible opportunities.
- Review the family’s college savings and expected contribution.
- Learn how the FAFSA and other financial aid applications work.
- Ask colleges how dual credit and AP credits will apply toward a degree.
- Help your student develop an application timeline for senior year.
One more suggestion?
Take a little trip together.
It doesn’t have to be a grand vacation. Maybe it’s a college visit with a stop at a favorite restaurant or a weekend exploring a new city.
Some of the best conversations happen in the car when nobody has anywhere else to be.
Senior Year: The Last Firsts
Also known as: I’m fine. Everything is fine. Why am I crying in the grocery store?
And then, somehow, it happens.
Senior year.
The year you once thought was impossibly far away is suddenly here.
The last first day of school.
The last homecoming.
The last football game.
The last school picture.
The last time you’ll hear them come through the door after an ordinary school day and ask what’s for dinner.
There will be college applications, scholarship essays, financial aid forms, acceptance letters, and decisions.
There may be disappointment.
There will be celebration.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, you’ll be ordering graduation announcements and wondering how the child who once needed help tying their shoes is now discussing meal plans and roommate assignments.
Senior year is a beautiful contradiction.
You are preparing your child to leave while wishing time would slow down.
You are celebrating their independence while secretly hoping they still need you.
You are proud beyond words and perhaps a little heartbroken, all at once.
That’s parenthood.
Your senior-year parent checklist:
- Finalize college applications and track deadlines.
- Complete the FAFSA when available and any additional required financial aid forms.
- Submit scholarship applications throughout the year.
- Compare financial aid offers carefully, including the cost after grants and scholarships.
- Understand student loan options before borrowing.
- Review scholarship renewal requirements and four-year affordability.
- Track enrollment deposits, housing deadlines, orientation, and final transcripts.
- Help your student learn practical life skills such as budgeting, laundry, scheduling appointments, and managing deadlines.
- Celebrate the journey.
And please, Mom and Dad, don’t spend the entire year looking ahead.
Be there for the ordinary Tuesday nights.
The kitchen conversations.
The spontaneous ice cream runs.
The moments when your teenager wanders into your room at 10:47 p.m. and suddenly decides they have something important to tell you.
Those moments are gold.
Somewhere Along the Way, Your Job Changes
There is something else I want you to know about these four years.
Your role as a parent is going to change.
Freshman year, you may still be reminding your student to turn in assignments.
Sophomore year, you’ll be encouraging them to take more responsibility.
Junior year, you’ll be asking questions instead of providing every answer.
And senior year, you’ll begin stepping aside so they can make decisions about their own future.
It won’t always be graceful.
There may be slammed doors, missed deadlines, difficult conversations, and moments when you wonder whether anything you’ve taught them has actually registered.
It has.
More than you know.
Your student is learning to become an adult, and you’re learning to become the parent of one.
Neither transformation happens overnight.
Give each other a little grace.
And About Paying for All of This…
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
College can be expensive.
But the families who begin learning about affordability during freshman year give themselves more time to explore opportunities.
Dual credit and AP courses may reduce future college costs.
Scholarships can provide funding that doesn’t have to be repaid.
529 plans and savings can help families prepare.
Employer tuition benefits, work-study programs, grants, and thoughtful college choices can all become pieces of the financial puzzle.
And through Imagine Scholarships and our scholarship partner, Red Kite, families can explore scholarship opportunities and resources to help them navigate the journey.
You don’t have to figure everything out today.
But please don’t wait until senior year to begin asking questions.
The goal isn’t simply to get your child into college. It’s to help them find an affordable path through college and into the life they’re dreaming about.
One Day, You’ll Be Standing in a Dorm Room
I want you to imagine something.
Four years from now, you’re standing in a dorm room.
There are plastic storage bins on the floor, a mattress that needs a little more padding, and a collection of things your child insists they cannot possibly live without.
You’ll make the bed.
You’ll organize the closet.
You’ll probably offer seventeen pieces of unsolicited advice.
And then, at some point, it will be time to go.
You’ll hug your child.
You’ll tell them how proud you are.
You’ll remind them to call.
And you’ll walk back to the car carrying a heart that somehow feels both completely full and a little empty.
On the drive home, you may find yourself remembering that first day of high school.
The backpack.
The awkward smile.
The child who seemed so young.
And you’ll realize that the four years you thought would last forever passed in the blink of an eye.
But look what happened.
Your child grew.
They learned.
They stumbled.
They discovered.
They became.
And you were there for all of it.
Welcome to the jungle, Mom and Dad.
It’s loud.
It’s messy.
It’s expensive.
It’s emotional.
It’s absolutely wonderful.
And before you know it, you’ll be standing on the other side, wondering how you ever got so lucky to have a front-row seat to someone becoming who they were meant to be.
Enjoy the ride.
With you every step of the way,
Sherri
Imagine Scholarships
Four years. A thousand memories. A lifetime of possibilities.
At Imagine Scholarships, we help families navigate college admissions, scholarships, financial aid, career exploration, and the financial decisions that come with preparing for life after high school.
You don’t have to know everything about college today.
You just need to know where to begin.
Start your family’s journey at ImagineScholarships.com
Red Kite is our trusted partner for scholarships