Is Your Homeschooler Emotionally Prepared for College?

A majority of college freshmen said they were emotionally unprepared for living on their own, according to a recently published national survey.

More than 1,500 students took the First Year College Experience survey. Of the 60 percent who said they would have preferred more emotional preparation, nearly 1 out of every 4 described their rookie campaign on campus as terrible or poor. They also reported lower GPAs.

“We put so much intensity, energy and focus into ‘prepping’ for college by preparing for SATs, taking AP classes and visiting schools,” Dr. Victor Schwartz told NBC News correspondent Lisa Heffernan, “but many of us miss a central part of the preparation project — namely, doing what you can to try to prepare developmentally for life away at college.”

College students in the survey said that time management and independent living skills were the biggest areas that required improvement. In fact, 50% said they were stressed most or all of the time.

“High school parents need to provide their kids with opportunities to manage their responsibilities with increasing independence,” said Marisa Giarnella-Porco, whose foundation co-conducted the survey. “Resiliency, problem solving, self-advocacy, and time management are only a few of the skills they will need as they move forward past graduation.”

To better prepare young adults for the college experience, Dr. Schwartz encouraged parents of high school students to offer more independence when it comes to managing critical life skills like managing money, nutrition, and sleep.