Christmas Presents that Pay for College
December 2007
How
can that be? Christmas presents that pay for college? It's
possible! Colleges are looking for passion in students - the
interests that persist year after year. Our children are
looking
for Christmas presents that will help them pursue their
passion.
So when you buy your children Christmas presents that encourage their
unique area of gifting, you are helping them pursue the passion that is
so valuable to colleges!
My client Alyson was convinced that her son didn't have a passion for
anything. "He doesn't seem to have a real interest in any of
his
subjects!" she moaned. Later in our consultation, as we were
talking about scheduling school subjects, she started talking about the
difficulties she had convincing her son to focus on school
work.
"All he wants to do is play guitar! He spends hours and hours
on
the guitar each day, and I'm constantly telling him to put it down and
focus on school!" I gently suggested that perhaps this was
his
area of specialization, and then a light bulb went on! Her
son's
area of specialization was completely unexpected. As parents,
we're so close to our children that often their area of specialization
looks like an annoying activity or habit - while in reality it is that
spark that will ignite the passion that colleges love to see!
Christmas presents that pay for college are gifts that foster and
encourage the unique (and sometimes annoying) activities that your
child loves. Sure it was very annoying to me that my son
Kevin
was always studying chess when he should have been doing his
math. But I bought him chess books, chess clocks, tournament
boards, and triple-weighted chess pieces for Christmas, because that
was his passion. I couldn't keep Alex away from
books, but
no matter how obscure the author, I always tried to find the ones he
requested for Christmas. Specialization is the key that
unlocked
full tuition scholarships for both of my children.
Why do colleges value passion with their financial aid dollars?
Because there is "a growing belief among college admissions officials that commitment to an activity and the ability to do it well serve as strong predictors of success in all college endeavors." said Lee Bierer in the Charlotte Observer. In other words, students with passion in something (anything!) are more successful once they have started college. They do more, succeed more, and bring more prestige to the college - and that's what they find valuable. They make an objective business decision to invest their best scholarships in students with the biggest payout for them - the students that will succeed. By encouraging your student's interests, colleges will see their passion, and thereby see their value to the college.
Keep in mind that parents can have their own passion, and it can often be quite different than the passion of their child. The benefit of these gifts will only be realized when they support the student's interests. It doesn't count if we give them gifts that we are passionate about! My oldest son is living on campus, and his roommate Aaron has a unique area of specialization. In his public high school Aaron played "Halo" and "World of Warcraft" professionally, winning over $20,000 in one year. I wonder if his mother valued his chosen specialization. I know it would have been very difficult for me to encourage that for hours on end! Maybe she didn't, but she did provide what he needed to succeed, and he was given wonderful scholarships to college as well. Even if we don't understand their area of specialization, we can still help them progress in their field until they are truly accomplished. My youngest son has a friend named Eric who is a pianist. His parents sent him on a month-long summer experience to a piano camp, at great financial cost to the family. Through that experience, he was invited to college at age 16 on a full-tuition scholarship, because they needed an accompanist for their choir.
Months ago I met with a client named Sally. We were talking through college prep courses, and she mentioned that her son loved playing the fiddle. She said, "But of course, that's not REAL music." I explained to her that it WAS real music, and that a passion like that has real value to colleges. After meeting me again at the College Fair, she wrote:
Hi Lee,
We really enjoyed your presentation on Saturday. Your information and encouragement is sooo helpful! Clayton really enjoyed it too. He came out of the classroom with wide eyes and realizing just how important his good grades and hard work will be for obtaining scholarships.
An exciting
opportunity has opened up for Clayton and his
brothers. They were
invited to two
schools--one private and one public--to give a presentation on
Thank you again for your work in helping homeschoolers. I was telling my husband this morning that meeting you at the WHO conference last spring has made all the difference for me in doing high school homeschool. I think I would be feeling pretty overwhelmed right now if I hadn't spent that time with you in August!
Blessings,
Sally Hess in
Email: Lee@thehomescholar.com
Call Toll-Free: 1-888-LEE-2HELP
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the best organized and documented I have seen"
~ Bryan Jones, Associate Director of Admissions,
Seattle Pacific University
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