College Bound: What Christian Parents Need to Know about Helping Their Kids Choose a College

"The college search is as much an art as it is a science" (p. 13). "Your teen's foundation of faith should be a strong consideration when choosing a college. During those undergraduate years, he will learn not only what to think, but how to think. Your student will question many things during college, including his faith. And the questioning of faith is not necessarily a bad thing -- it's a normal part of development. Think of it as an unpacking of faith" (p. 19). "Many Christian parents naively send their student to a state school because of the affordable cost, without counting the cost of that experience on her spiritual well-being. In ten years, do you want to be asking yourself, "Was the cost really worth the price?" (p. 55). This slim book does not bash non-Christian schools, but it does send a warning message: your son or daughter will be exposed to other thoughts and beliefs. For me, that is one of the points in SENDING your kid to school. Enough said. The interesting thing is that Thomas Shaw really has a number of good insights into the college selection process, the admissions process, funding college, and "letting go." These insights are good for all parents helping their students go to college, Christian or not. If you are non-Christian, you will probably tire of the Biblical quotes sprinkled throughout the text (they are italicized and offset, and easy to skip over). If you are Christian, Shaw leads you through instructions from the Bible that are relevant. The college selection process is complicated! Whether you like this book or not, never depend on one source of information. Read as much as you can, and make sure you visit those potential colleges. College Bound is one step in this journey.

This is an outstanding book that begins with the philosophical considerations that parents need to help their students think through regarding the decision about life after high school and ends with very practical advice about options on how to pay for college. The intended audience for this book is the parent themselves, not the student; and the advice is solid, well-research and presented in a easy-to-understand manner that parents will appreciate. One caveat about the book, it ends when the student goes off to college - it is not a book about parenting through the challenges of college, only the decision-making process of selecting a college and the work necessary to get a student to that right next step. But, in what it does present, College Bound is really a very good read. Shaw begins with helping parents think about the various options for their soon-to-be-graduating student - including presenting the option of taking a year off of school to mature, work, travel, etc., which is excellent advice and needs to be presented as a viable option to parents today. However, if college is in the future for a student, Shaw makes sure that parents help think through the various options of community vs. four-year college, and Christian vs. secular. Not every school fits every student and sometimes the choice that parents made isn't going to be the same as their children - a good reminder that Shaw drives home early and often. College Bound is full of useful and practical wisdom for narrowing down the college choice as well as tips for admission, financing the college experience and the transition from high school to college. It's like having a college guidance counselor at your fingertips! Shaw ends with an encouragement to Christian students to make sure they plug into a good church home in their new community as soon as they settle down and then gives a few pages of valuable Internet resources as a final parting gift for those who still need more information. I found the book to be easy to read, very informative, and written with a sound Biblical foundation and would suggest this book to any Christian parent of high school-aged students.