I don't exactly have a solution, but thought you'd want to know about this

[Alicia64]

Hi Everyone,

My two are 18 and in college. They're wonderful, I'm not complaining.

For various reasons, the last year has been really red tape-y. I handled it, but it was a lot of stress.

Last week a bunch of red tape came at us re: their college, scholarship money etc.

I delegated one piece of dealing with red tape to my son and touched bases w/ him a couple of times.

Boring story, short: I wish I had known to teach my kids how to deal with annoying bureaucracy and red tape.

In retrospect I would teach them:

• how to put the phone on speaker while they're on-hold. (In other words, don't just hang up and forget the whole thing.)
• how to "dog" a detail until it's completely managed.
• How important it is to get a confirmation that important info. has been received.
• How important it is to memorize your social security number.
• How essential it is to know key calendar dates.
• How vital it is to track down all of the requirements a college might need.

Okay, I'll leave it at that, but you get the idea.

I'm not saying that we should create Bureaucracy 101, but I am wishing that I'd sprinkled in these lessons as I worked w/ my high schoolers.

Like I did one day: out of the blue we were driving and I pointed out where to find the VIN number on the car. I just mentioned it in passing. I kept it short and I could tell they were listening.

I'm trying to share stuff I wished I'd done, before I get any older and start forgetting what I forgot!!

Wendy                 p.s. I wrote another post about what I wished I'd instilled re: cleaning the house and cooking. I put that in the elementary age forum.

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Alicia64
their vs. they're

[Slache]

What do you mean by essential calendar dates? Like the upcoming important dates for college events like the last day of registration?

[Alicia64]

9 hours ago, Slache said:

What do you mean by essential calendar dates? Like the upcoming important dates for college events like the last day of registration?

Right! Or. date like when to drop without a problem kind of thing.

Some of what I wrote above is tongue-in-cheek, but I do wish I'd taught them more about getting through the obstacle course of bureaucracy! 😊

[teachermom2834]

My 18 yo ds about to start college is super mature and independent and has handled all sorts of details on his own. Way ahead of the what I perceive the curve to be on adulting. 

And yet…he had a $700 outside scholarship check he had to take to his college. We were passing by on the way to a family trip so stopped to drop off the check before the rush of students on campus for move in. He ran inside to the  main administrative building to drop it off. He comes out and says “they said they would send it to the bursar”. That’s it. No receipt, nothing. He didn’t ask when it would post or what the process was or when he should follow up or anything. He just walked into the office and handed them a check and walked out. This is our flagship U with a ton of students and known for its administrative challenges.

So. He got to spend some time this week on the phone tracking it down and figuring out the process and hopefully it will post by tomorrow. So lessons learned. For him and for me not to forget he is still learning the ropes.