[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”23825847″] Every year thousands of parents and their college-bound children hit the road to tour college campuses in hopes of finding that perfect school. After thousands of miles flown or driven to tour numerous colleges, instead of walking away with a clear favorite or even a short list, many students are more disengaged from the process than ever.

After college tours some students may show signs of disinterest in selecting the right school. Alternatively, some students may shown extreme interest in every college toured making it impossible to choose just one. Some students may like or dislike a college based on insignificant reasons such as the college tour guide or the campus cafe. All scenarios are likely to be frustrating for parents. Some tips to help parents in engaging their children with positive discussion regarding their college tours include the following:

1. Let your child have some time to digest the information versus bombarding them with questions as soon as you have returned.
2. Refrain from immediately offering your personal opinions and ask your child open-ended questions to get their honest perspective on the schools in question
3. Test out some possible options by making statements to your child regarding potential majors or career paths that certain schools specialize in.
4. Encourage your child to discuss options with their friends, or offer to organize a get-together for a fun night with friends, discussing toured colleges
5. If your child is not responding to the above mentioned then it would be a good idea to schedule an appointment with your child’s college counselor to discuss the tours.
6. Lastly, make sure to discuss items about the schools that your child did not like to help give them an even clearer picture of the positive and negative aspects of each school.

Learn more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willarddix/2016/04/26/post-college-trip-review-now-what/#b4927077bde8