Almost Grown: Launching Your Child from High School to College

The college admission process in the US today is THE rite of passage for young people from the comfort and nurture of family, school and friends into the world beyond. Unfortunately, it has all too often become a cruel one, not one that is helpful to the child's growth. All too often parents, grasping for the "brass ring" of a designer label college become overzealous and overly ambitious, beginning the college process way too early and pushing their children so hard that it harms their child and their relationship with their child. As someone who has spent 20 years in college admission and now 4 in college counseling in a highly compeitive school, this book has become the most powerful tool I've found in prodding parents of the need to stay sane and use a more balanced approach in working with their children. I hope to do a reading group with parents in my school using it as the text next year.

A heart felt book for anyone whose child is going off to college. I teach at a University and would suggest this book along with "Major in Success", by Patrick Combs. It offers insight to what college students go through as they identify and persue their dream job.

This book describes the stages that a stable loving middle class family goes through in letting go of their college-bound children. Compared to poor or disadvantaged families, focussing on the emotional transitions necessary to let go of a child heading for college is a privileged position, but if you are a middle-class boomer... I experienced this book as if I were the mother (therapist) who wrote it. I happen to be a therapist and I have three kids 7, 15 and 17. I am devastated, thrilled, overjoyed, proud and overwhelmed by this transition with my firstborn. We are in the thick of it, and I'll be reading and rereading these chapters for the next year, using it for a lifeline when I can't control my emotions. I want to scream for joy that I successfully raised a wonderful person and I want to sob at the cruel pace of time. I am very grateful for the preparation this book is giving me. Lots of practical tips too for the work load around the planning, decision-making, moving, ongoing contact, etc. I highly, highly recommend it.