Determining Strengths and Weaknesses for College Bound Students

At some point in life, the successful person determines what his/her strengths are.  Anyone who makes the right business decisions generally has strengths that affect that outcome.  You may be lucky in some things that lead to success, but don't expect luck to be the factor that pulls you through consistently.

As much as we hate it, weaknesses have a great deal to do with success and happiness, too.  The individual who can balance their strengths and weaknesses has a better outlook on everything in life.

Course Grades and Aptitude Tests for College Bound Students

School counselors attempt to identify what students have the best aptitude for based on how they perform in their studies and on certain aptitude and personality tests.  Parents may have a good idea about this, also, based on the scores their children make in some courses, but some factors may exist that bear on why scores are what they are.

Analyzing Strengths and Weaknesses

Some reasons that black and white numbers can be misleading are:

* Some instructors are tougher than others are.  If the overall scores for a course show a large majority of the students don't perform well, it might be unfair to assume that it is a weak subject for your child.  The opposite can be true if the instructor is too easy on students.

* A teacher might not like your child personally and not grade him or her fairly.  This doesn't happen nearly as many times as students claim it does, but there are some instances when this occurs.

* Your teen might have personal issues that bear on performance.  This is a very common problem, especially when dating interests become important. Another reason, though it might sound silly, is that your child doesn't want to appear too smart or geeky.

* The course isn't challenging enough.  A student who isn't interested has a hard time doing well in any class.

It is much better to get more than one opinion on what strengths and weaknesses your child has.  When planning for college, you should research what the results of ACT or SAT scores indicate. High school transcripts are also important to evaluate if your student's GPA will meet college admissions requirements.  College entrance exams may be another source when applicable.

One element that can't be quantified or measured with a grading system is the desire your child has to accomplish goals.  You may find that he or she wants to enter a profession strongly enough to work twice as hard at some studies that aren't on their strengths side of the equation.

Communication is key between you and your child to help them make the best choices possible based on the known information and their specific goals and interests for the best college experience.