Mind Moves: The past weeks have been an emotional time for many families with the Leaving Cert results and CAO offers.
Parents are delighted when their children achieve the points in the Leaving Cert that allow them to pursue the courses of their choice. And, for many young people, this is the beginning of the best time of their lives: their student days, the culmination of the school process and the privilege of education as young adults.
But college is not school and the delight of this year can change into the disappointment of next year for students who do not have the skills to survive in third level, whose expectations are unrealistic, who chose courses based on skimpy information in abstract college brochure descriptions or simply because the required points seemed to be within their grasp. This applies particularly to students who may not have got their first choices on CAO who may 'settle' for a later and much less desired option. Making a selection mistake can further erode a student's confidence.
Students who are going into college need to be clear about what they want to do, exactly what the course they have signed up for entails and have a genuine interest in the course. They need precise information on how many lectures, for how many hours, on how many days they must attend; the exact areas they will be studying; the number of assignments that will be required of them; how those assignments will be evaluated; and each and every demand of the course. Disappointment and student 'drop-out' can be avoided with good preparation. Now is the time to ensure you have all the information you require.
There has been extensive research on third level with a particular focus on patterns of non-completion among first-year students. One of the most important and meticulous studies (Healy, Carpenter and Lynch, 1999) revealed how ill-prepared many students were for college and how ill-equipped many colleges were to help them. Based on CAO records and a survey of 1,526 first-year students, the study compared the experiences of those who did not complete with those who did.
In this study, the most significant social and personal factors that emerged were unclear career aspirations, lack of guidance when making career choices, level of prior academic achievement, difficulty with the academic demands of the course, financial difficulties, working part-time and lack of preparation for third level.
High among the college casualties were those who started courses only to find that they had neither the interest nor the aptitude for them or that what they expected to learn was not what was being provided.
Leaving home adds a further dimension. College calls on a range of coping skills, particularly for those leaving home for the first time. Adjustments have to be made to a new location, undertaking a new course of study, organising shopping, cooking, self-care, managing finances, making new friends and integrating into the system.
Any student who has had academic struggles in the past needs to be alert to the academic demands of third level and to the possibility of difficulty and be prepared to get whatever academic support they require very early in the college year before the course overwhelms them. Students who are away from home are particularly vulnerable. Students need to ask themselves the following questions: why did I choose this course? Who thought it was a good choice for me and who didn't and why? What do I know about it? What am I looking forward to? What am I worried about? Do I know anyone who has done the course and what advice could they give me?
Finances are also important, and parents and students may need to work out in advance the degree of financial strain the course will impose on the student and on the family. In the light of the research showing that those students who were financially burdened were less likely to complete first year, this is an important consideration.
Practical and psychological factors are significant. For example, what is the experience for the student and the family if the student is the first family member to attend college? Students can sometimes feel cut off from their family if they are away from home, and families may feel that their child has little time for them in the activities of college life. These potential emotions need to be worked out in advance of college attendance.
In considering how ready a student is for college, the past Leaving Cert year will have provided parents with some insight into the capacity of students to manage their time, their money, their study and their level of maturity. Students who were dependent on parental help in many aspects of self-care from budgeting money to budgeting time will need to consider the demands of total self-management that arise in student life away from home.
Preparation is everything entering third level. That done, let us hope our young folk have all the joy that only these years can bring. They deserve their chance, and all the emotional and psychological support we can give them at this important time in their lives.
Marie Murray is director of psychology at St Vincent's Hospital, Fairview and author of Surviving the Leaving Cert: Points for Parents