The years we spend at university are oftentimes some of the best years of our lives. Preparing students for this experience can be an exciting, yet somewhat exhausting experience for their parents. Students require parental guidance during this period as they begin to discover a new level of independence and responsibility, but can also rely on the support and guidance offered to them by their schools.
The schools at Best Schools in Spain have teams of specialists whose job it is to focus primarily on giving advice and guidance to students and their families, as students prepare for their university career. This advisory service can include a variety of aspects, from advising about a university’s location and admission processes, to helping students choose a major, all the while focusing specifically on the individual needs of each student. In the following passage, we will explain the three areas in which our schools can help your child prepare for the next stage of his or her life in college.
Academic preparation
In Spain, university studies usually last four years. During the final years of high school, teachers focus mainly on preparing students for the next stage in their lives, and work hard to ensure that students obtain the necessary marks to be admitted into their first-choice university option. Our schools have teams and/or departments whose main objective is to prepare students for their exams and support them during their final high school years, ensuring all the while that they are happy and motivated to achieve their goals.
In Spain, students who meet the Spanish high school baccalaureate requirements will graduate and receive a diploma before choosing to continue on to university. To attend a Spanish university, students must take an entrance exam (PAU) and the result of this exam is then combined with a student’s academic record. These qualifications are used to determine which universities students will be able to attend as well as which degrees they will be able to study. The academic staff at our schools is available throughout the university exam and selection processes, offering support for students and their educational needs.
Preparation of skills
The four key skills that are most useful for students preparing for college are: time management, independence, responsibility and confidence. At the schools at Best Schools in Spain, students are taught the importance of these concepts in relation to their university entrance exams as well as their future university life. Our students are taught the importance of self-motivation as a tool to use during the endless hours of studying and hard work they will have to face. Students also taught that successful academic results depend on time they invest in their studies. During the final years of high school, students are encouraged to develop their time management skills in a natural way. By balancing their schedules, hours for studying, homework and extracurricular activities, students are motivated to develop an organized routine.
Responsibility and trust are other fundamental aspects that schools should encourage their pre-university students to develop. In many schools, there are specially assigned teachers who are there to help students prepare for their exams and university studies. These teachers are dedicated to helping guide their students through the admission process and are there to support and motivate them, as they are about to embark on their next adventure in life. These teachers help to alleviate the stress and anxiety that students may suffer regarding university admission and selection, and can help clear up any doubts they may have. Teachers also offer information about universities in different cities and as well as abroad, helping them make the right decision when choosing the university that’s the best fit for each student and where they will feel most at home.
Emotional preparation
Emotionally preparing a young person for college is often the most difficult task of them all, since college is a completely new world that students have never experienced before. Students’ emotional development tends to evolve more and more as they become more independent and settle into university life. Emotional adjustment is a great step in a student’s higher education, as students strive to fit into a social scene, forge new friendships and live with a new group of diverse people.
Throughout their elementary and high school years, children learn how to make new friends and adapt to different social situations. For this reason, continuing to do so will oftentimes be natural for most students when they start college. It’s important for students to remember that everyone is in the same situation as they are.
The biggest change for most students will be living alone. For this reason, schools encourage and help students take on more responsibility for themselves and their own actions. Students may be surprised when they realize that nobody is there to help them with bureaucratic tasks, such as washing their own sheets and cooking their own meals, but they will learn!
If a young person feels anxious about moving and starting this new chapter in life, the schools at Best Schools in Spain have support teams available to meet individually with students to figure out what’s worrying them and help them find a solution to their problems. In the end, what students must remember is that they are never alone.
