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Advice. Everyone gives it. Most of us don’t ask for it. Sometimes we need it.

The nature of the college beast is that we all need advice. Advice from other parents. Advice from college experts. Advice from the colleges. Advice from the high school counselor. For some it’s freely given, for others it’s withheld until asked. But there’s one underlying truth—everyone needs help and direction now and then, especially when navigating the college maze. But before you set out on this adventure to find the best college advice, beware-it’s a jungle out there!

Books

I gravitate towards books; probably because I’m old fashioned. I assimilate information easier if I can read it and stew on it for a bit. Books are excellent resources for information about college. There are the “big” books that many parents use which contain all the colleges in the United States and extensive lists of scholarships. But the books that seem to help parents the most are ones written to guide them through the college process and answer all of their questions.

My advice? Check out these 10 books that I believe will help you navigate the college maze with confidence and ease.

Blogs

There are websites and there are blogs. You can’t beat blogs for some good parent to parent advice and support. Subscribe to their blog or RSS feed so you will receive an email every time they post. This is the easiest way to stay on top of recent posts.

My advice? Subscribe to these: Dr. Strange College, PocsMom, The College Solution, Smart College Visit, More than a Test Score, Perfect Score Project and Best College Fit. There are hundreds more, but these are my fav picks. I find them to be filled with information and encouragement.

Social media

Believe it or not, you can get advice on social media. With social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+ it’s easy to have information overload.

My advice? Follow me on Twitter and you will see I’ve made some lists of the accounts with good college advice: collegeinfo, tutoring, and scholarship info. Facebook is a good way to connect with colleges, other students and parents. Do a little research and find experts like me, University Parent, The College Solution, How to Win Scholarships and more. Pinterest is also quickly becoming another social media source for college advice. Follow me on Pinterest and you can follow my boards: college prep and scholarships. Look for colleges and follow their parent boards as well.

Websites

The world wide web is cluttered with college-related websites. Navigating them can be just a bit overwhelming. You can do Google searches and hope you find good advice and information, or you can trust the experts to steer you in the right direction.

My advice? Narrowing down the field should help a bit and keep you from pulling out your hair over hundreds of search results. Focus on a handful of websites that you consider to be most helpful.

It truly is a jungle out there, littered with all kinds of advice and opinions. Pick the ones who come recommended with an extensive network of experts who endorse them. The best way to find the best is to ask the best—it works every time.

Jane Kulow (@CvlKulow)

Jane is a parent of college-bound teens and the owner/author of a blog that has chronicled her admissions journey with her kids (Dr. Strange College-or how I learned to stop worrying and love the journey). Her blog is jam-packed with great information, parenting encouragement and tips to help you sift through all the information you are bombarded with during the college admissions process.

Nancy Berk (@NancyBerk)

Nancy is also a parent who has survived the journey and written about it in her “hit” book, College Bound and Gagged. Nancy gives parents a comedic break by helping you laugh at yourself and your kids during this stressful time. There’s nothing better than a little laughter to ease the stress and help you see the bigger picture.

Z. Kelly Queijo (@collegevisit)

Kelly is the mastermind behind Smart College Visit, a website providing you with information and resources to help make the college visit a success. Her tools to help you plan your college visits provide parents with all the resources they need in one place. Her cool “mobile app” for Virginia Tech is the first of it’s kind!

Monica Matthews (@AidScholarship)

Monica is a parent herself and she is the scholarship guru, finding scholarships for her sons and teaching parents to do the same. Her simple ebook, How to Win College Scholarships, walks you through the process step by step.  She also blogs, giving parents tips and scholarship updates on a regular basis.

Paul Hemphill (@vcollegeadvisor)

Paul learned the hard way that colleges aren’t necessarily a parent’s friend. His frustration with the admissions process during his sons’ journey, prompted him to help other parents and students learn the secrets to take charge during the journey and “win” in this highly competitive process. His video series is second to none and every parent needs to arm themselves with his arsenal of sage advice.

This is just a short list of parents out there offering you help along your journey. Be an informed parent and tap into their advice and wise counsel. Parents helping parents–what better way to survive the journey?

Last week I did a radio interview with Power Women Magazine about the college prep process and my Parents Countdown to College Toolkit. In it, I discussed the steps necessary to prepare for the admissions process, how to stay organized, and the 10 mistakes parents and students often make when applying to college.

Click the link below and you can listen to the interview.

Power Women Magazine Radio Interview

If you’ve visited my site lately, you’ll notice the banner at the top about the College Prep Formula. Since I take our relationship (parent-to-parent) seriously and I ALWAYS support ANY product I promote here, I want to tell you a little bit about Paul Hemphill, the guy behind the College Prep Formula.

I first came in contact with Paul on Twitter. I started reading his blog and watching some of his videos. I realized that he and I were cut from the same cloth–1)he lives in Boston (my favorite city) and loves Texas (my favorite state) and 2)we are both approaching this college admissions game from the parent’s perspective. We like to call ourselves Parent Advocates! We’ve done a few webinars together and the more I learn about him, the more I respect him. Paul is the kind of guy that doesn’t mince words and comes right to the point–you are the customer; buyer BEWARE!

As you can imagine, it’s not a very popular opinion in the college admissions arena; but it’s one that I completely agree with and one that speaks the truth. Paul and I exchanged products (my toolkit and his videos) and I realized that we were on the same wave length. Why? Because we were both clueless about the college process and made some of the very same mistakes with our kids. Because of the mistakes we made, we are EXTREMELY committed to helping parents reduce the college stress and arm themselves with the tools they need to make it through this process on top!

The College Prep Formula will give every parent of college-bound teens (and that means even middle school students) the ability to enter the college admissions process as informed consumers. This is a MAJOR purchase and you need to approach it as such. Imagine if you will, (in Rod Serling’s Twilight zone voice) being able to save thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars on college. It’s possible, if you follow Paul’s formula.

Trust me…you don’t want to miss out on this GREAT parent resource. I’ve seen the videos and they are going to help you stress less AND save money. And as Paul likes to say…they will knock your socks off!

SUBSCRIBE NOW—>The College Prep Formula

Last night, I watched a new popular sitcom called, “The Middle”. This show, while being extreme, personifies the trials and tribulations of parenting (especially teenagers). The teenage son is under-motivated and the teenage daughter is over-motivated. The parents are frustrated and at times complacent. These two teenage extremes pose a parenting dilemma: How do you find the balance?

I’ve written often about Helicopter Parents and even had a guest blogger, Chip Timmons, an Assistant Admissions Director,  give his Top 5 Helicopter Parent Stories . Even though perfect parenting does not exist, it is possible to take the BEST and the WORST examples of parenting a college-bound teen and learn from them.

On that note, I’ve come up with my TOP 10 Do’s and Don’ts of parenting a college-bound teen:

1. Do encourage them. This is #1 because it is the most important tip of all. Teenagers who are headed to college need to know you believe in them and in their dreams. They need to feel your love and support. They need to know that you will always be there cheering for them, even if at times they don’t believe they can succeed.
2. Don’t nag. Nagging never helps motivate a teenager. My rule was to tell my teenagers what was expected of them and allow them to own their own actions. There are so many tasks and deadlines related to the college admissions process. You can remind them without constantly nagging them. Helping them to stay organized will go a long way in helping you to avoid becoming a nag.
3. Do step in when they ask for help. The college admissions process can be overwhelming. It’s unfair to expect them to handle everything alone. There are times when they will need your help and you will have to step in and parent.
4. Don’t plow them down in an effort to help. Parents who take over are not helping their teens. They only hinder their success and enable them to become more dependent instead of independent. (That means: don’t do it for them, but it’s ok to offer your help.)
5. Do listen. Pay attention to what your college-bound teen wants and needs. In order to do this, you must listen to them talk. It doesn’t have to be a regular sit-down either. Just listen during normal conversation to and from school, while they are getting ready for a date, or during family dinner time.
6. Don’t speak for them. Believe it or not, they have an opinion. Many times, it’s an intelligent one and one that others want to hear. When your teen is asked a question of a counselor, tour guide, admissions officer, teacher or a college representative PLEASE let your teen answer for themselves.
7. Do offer your advice. Advice is different from nagging. Advice helps your teen learn from your experience. Giving advice comes easily for parents, and it’s something our college-bound teens need to hear.
8. Don’t expect them to make choices based on your likes and dislikes. When you give advice or opinions, many times your teen won’t choose or act as you expected. But that’s ok. Not all of their choices will be the best ones. And some of their choices, while not yours, will be what’s best for your teen.
9. Do be a “present” parent. Parents tend to become less involved as their kids get older. If there was ever a time to be MORE involved, it’s during the teen years and the college admissions process.
10. Don’t disappear from their lives just because they are in high school. Go to parent conferences. Attend high school events. Get involved in parent booster clubs. Participate in their lives. Travel with them to college visits and college fairs.

If you like this article, you might also like:

Being a Parent College Coach-The 3 C’s

Preparing your teen for college: It’s all about guiding, not doing

10 Concepts your teen should learn BEFORE college

Christie Garton says, “I wanted to create a place where college women could ocme together to find support and advice during one of the most important times of a girl’s life…contributors with a diverse range of experience.” Tracy Won Briggs, former coordinator of USA Today’s All-USA Acacemic and Teacher Teams says, “From the sisterhood of girlfriends who’ve been there, U Chic answers everything a college girl really wants to know.”

I found this book more than helpful: it was inspiring. The women who contributed (from different colleges throughout the country) did so to exhort, encourage, instruct and inspire those who would come after them; thus leaving a legacy for future generations. It is a collection of advice from women about college life and the struggles and victories along the way.

Your college-bound daughter will find information related to arriving on campus, dealing with her fashionista wardrobe, Greek life, surviving temptation, love life, getting involved, budgeting, taking advantage of the college perks, and what to do after graduation. I especially enjoyed the chapter on healthy and happy living because I felt it addressed some sensitive issues related to eating disorders and weight. The contributors also adequately addressed questions regarding Greek life as it relates to girls and temptations they will face while in college. On a lighter note, there is a chapter entitled Blirting 101: socializing via Blackberry.

After reading this book (and happily reminiscing about my daughter’s college experiences), I wished she would have had this to read the summer before she headed off to college. If your daughter is in this category, get her a copy to read and take with her next fall. If you know a girl who is graduating next month, this would make an excellent graduation gift.

After reading this book, I would have to agree with Christie when she says, “there has not been a generation of college women hungrier for success, yet also more generous with their time and energy to assist those less fortunate. They are not just students at their respective schools, but students of the world–open-minded, openhearted, and open to what the future holds for them.”

• Meet hundreds of colleges live & pick the perfect university
• Get admissions questions answered in real time
• Hear expert advice on test prep and application essays
• Discover new ways to pay for college
• Video Chat With Students on 75+ College Campuses

If your schedule doesn’t permit you to attend, you can still log on and view the archived videos at your convenience. Make sure you and your student sign up and mark your calendars for two days of comprehensive college information gathering virtual events.

Preparing Your Student for the Future
If your child is just starting high school, you’re probably not thinking about college yet…but should you be?

It’s Test Time!
The SATs and ACTs… Are these standardized tests striking fear and dread in your home? Suzanne Shaffer of Parents Countdown to College says the key to success is practice and she shows you where to find FREE help!

Searching for Scholarships

The best advice I can give any parent of a college-bound teen is to start the scholarship process EARLY. Don’t wait until senior year and scramble around trying to find scholarships. Here are 10 tips on searching for scholarships.

Visit these sites and gather some valuable information. Sign up and join GalTime for even more valuable parenting advice. Encourage your teen to enter Diploframe’s scholarship.