Parenting My Teen

The weight of a high SAT score might seem insignificant if pricey tuition isn’t a problem and your student can boast a transcript filled with As, a resume filled with part-time jobs, an active social life and a leadership position in high school. But SAT scores do more than award your teen with scholarship money and ensure he or she will get into a local university. According to a recent Forbes.com article, a higher SAT score can mean a higher salary in the future.

How Important Is Your SAT Score?

Though admissions offices are generally tight lipped about exactly how much SAT scores matter, we know high school grades and participation, ethnicity and family educational history play a large part in determining college admittance, along with standardized test scores and personal application essays.

But what if your student is like the younger-version of Bob Parsons? For those who are unaware, Parsons is the founder of the Internet hosting site GoDaddy.com. What if your student is focused, driven and gets decent grades, but doesn’t stand out on paper?

If your student fits into the all-American average student with a respectable GPA, reasonable amount of club activity and successful parents who attended college themselves, he or she is likely to be accepted to several universities of his or her choice. In this case, it isn’t first-generation education pursuits or family background that will set your child apart. Admittance is inevitable, but to which university is questionable; here lies the value of good SAT prep.

The Stats

Found on PayScale.com is median starting salary data and median mid-career salary data for bachelors degree graduates of most U.S. colleges and universities. Paired with the Chronicle of Higher Education, which has a searchable tuition database, and schools that provide the 25^th and 75^th percentiles (usually called the “middle 50 percent”) of their admitted students’ SAT scores, college hopefuls can easily narrow their university choices based on SAT scores, tuition price and future salary expectations.

Take for example the scenario in the Forbes’ article: a student’s SAT scores are 1700, which puts her in a good position for admission to Adelphi University where the middle percent SAT scores fall between 1480-1780. According to PayScale.com, the median salary for graduates right out of college is $46,000 and grows to $83,500 mid career.

But, with that SAT score, she might not make it into her preferred school, Stony Brook University, which has a middle percent of 1660-1970. PayScale lists Stony Brook graduates’ median pay to be $45,800 out of college and $91,000 mid career.

SAT Prep

In this situation, how much would it be worth to pay for SAT prep classes and what might be the value of a score increase? According to Forbes, more than $100,000 in future earnings.

With that data in hand, selecting a university to attend becomes much easier and SAT preparation has more purpose. This information can help students and families decide which is more suitable for them: a university that admits applicants with lower SAT scores but averages less pay for its graduates or a university that requires higher test scores but averages more pay. The two don’t always go hand in hand, but often the higher the SAT score the higher the chance of getting into a university that produces graduates earning higher median salaries.

“For almost everyone except test prep professionals, actual scores wont be worth a hill of beans once acceptance letters are sent out,” said Mike McClenathan from Forbes. “But where those acceptance letters come from might or might not be worth a great deal.”

Tips and Tools

To help teenagers stay motivated to study, encourage a variety of practice. Besides just taking tests online, students can download SAT practice apps on their mobile devices. Yourteacher.com’s SAT app focuses on math while Superkids.com offers SAT vocabulary flashcards and matching games to help students study and learn more than 1,000 words frequently found on the test. Another popular app that is said to be less fun but more helpful is the Princeton Review’s SAT Score Quest for iPad. Offering abbreviated practice tests for each of the SAT’s subjects math, writing and critical reading the app can help students realize possible areas of weakness. The app also lists the logic behind each correct answer and teaches strategy for answering questions.

(ARA) – Back-to-school shopping season means big sales for retailers selling pencils, backpacks, clothes and tech gadgets. Young parents know that as children get older, their back-to-school list grows with them. Eventually for many, that list will grow to include dorm necessities, textbooks and yes, college tuition.

Are you wondering if your teen should get a job for the summer? Maybe you are a teen and you aren’t sure you want to get into the job world just yet. You might want or need to work, but you aren’t sure if there’s really any benefit to it other than making some money.

Actually, there are some significant benefits for teens who work summer jobs. It’s not just making money – it’s learning to manage it, cultivating a healthy attitude toward wage-earning, learning responsibility, and other benefits. Here are some of the benefits of summer jobs for teens.

1. Learning Where it Comes From

Having a summer job (or any job!) can be very eye-opening. Being on the other side of the counter/cash register/window/etc. can really help teens gain empathy and understanding of just what goes into a job. You may develop a whole new viewpoint about the person who delivers your pizza, or about the people who work behind a register on Christmas Eve so consumers can do last-minute shopping.

2. Money Management

While teens do not typically have expenses such as a mortgage, groceries, and home maintenance and repairs, they do have things they want or need to spend money on. When you earn money yourself, you tend to appreciate it more, and teens may develop a sense of just how money works. If you spend it on one thing, you can’t spend it on another, and once it’s spent it’s gone. This is a basic concept that even some adults have never learned!

3. Keeping Out of Trouble

Not all teens get into trouble if they don’t have a job. But sources point out that teens who hold summer jobs are less likely to get into trouble or engage in risky activities and behaviors.

4. Skill Set

Developing a marketable set of skills is important for future success. Holding a job in the summer is something a teen can add to his or her resume, and it’s experience he or she can cite on job applications.

5. Time Management

Managing one’s time is like managing one’s money – it does not always come naturally. And mismanagement of time and/or money can wreak havoc in a person’s life. Holding a summer job may help teens learn this important life skill – they will need to juggle time with friends and time spent at their job.

6. Sense of Accomplishment

Holding a job in the summer helps a teen feel more confident. It gives him or her a sense of accomplishment and confidence that he or she can carry along to the next opportunity.

Click Here for More Ideas on How to keep your Teens productive during the summer months.

Our world, and America specifically, is becoming more and more bilingual. Today’s kids are going to have a major advantage in the job market and in social circles if they know a second language, and Spanish is one that will give them some of the most far-reaching opportunities. Learning the language at a young age, when the brain is wired to accept language learning, sets the stage for future success. As you work to teach your child another language, these websites can be of assistance.

Spanish Online

Spanish Online (www.spanish.bz) is a fun, interactive site that offers everything from audio lessons to free online games. Some of the products are available via instant download, while others are available for you to purchase. What will appeal specifically to kids on this site is the games page. Here they can practice spelling and vocabulary with online hangman and other word games, play crossword puzzles and put together sound puzzles that are not only fun, but also reinforce correct pronunciation.

Purpose Games

Purpose Games (www.purposegames.com/game/spanish-seasons-quiz/info) has a collection of virtual quizzes that kids can use to improve their Spanish vocabulary. The colorful images and point-and-click nature of the quizzes will appeal to kids, and you can choose from things like seasons, colors, family names and other popular categories. The format is simple and kid-friendly, yet provides a way for you to reinforce the vocabulary being taught in the classroom. Best of all, these quizzes are free!

Study Spanish

Study Spanish (www.studyspanish.com) is not a flashy, colorful site, but it offers a tremendous amount of information for free, as well as even more information for those who choose to purchase a membership. If you can entice your kids to interact with the site, they can learn basic grammar, pronunciation, verb tenses and vocabulary, all from one website. Should you choose to purchase a membership, there are several different levels available. The most expensive student membership s $175 a year. The site, however, offers plenty for free, so it is well worth checking out if your child is serious about learning the language.

123 Teach Me

The 123 Teach Me site (www.123teachme.com) offers games, lessons, songs and videos to teach kids Spanish, and all for free. The kids will love the videos and the games, while parents and teachers will appreciate the step-by-step lesson plans to help their kids build vocabulary and grammar skills. The list of games, which is likely the most appealing aspect for most kids, is quite extensive.

Spanish Town

Spanish Town (www.spanishtown.ca/index.html) offers access to Spanish learning materials for people of all ages. From vocabulary quizzes to grammar lessons to games, this site has many tools to get kids excited about learning. Kids will particularly like the interactive lessons that are filled with pictures to help solidify the vocabulary they are learning. The site does have a fair amount of advertising, but that is on purpose, as the advertising allows the site to remain free.

Each of these sites offers a wide range of educational and interactive activities to help your kids learn Spanish, whether they are beginners or already have some learning under their belts. Since most of the activities are free, you have little to lose by taking advantage of them, and much to gain!

About The Author

Elli likes to blog about family and work life, home security and safety, and general home improvement tips.  She works in content marketing for YourLocalSecurity.com  (read more about them here).  To learn more about Elli, follow her on  Google+ .