I was asked recently how to prepare for college. I was also asked how to pay for it. Well, what might surprise you is that paying for college and preparing are actually closely related. The better prepared for college your children are, the easier it will be for them to pay for college with scholarships and other financial support. So, rather than spending money on new Air Jordans for your child, spend that money to help them to find a tutor.

Here are four things about getting higher SAT scores and preparing for college that you should keep in mind when dealing with your kids.

1) Good ACT and SAT scores don't come naturally, you have to prepare. Some people think that you are going to magically end up in college just by saying that you want to go. Some think that you should take the ACT and SAT cold, and that natural intelligence will carry you through. That's not the case. Your child should prepare for college like it's a part-time job: studying 2 - 3 hours each day, for several months straight. Yes, that sounds like a lot of work, but is it really very much when compared to the fact that most of our kids are fine with working at McDonald's for four or five hours a day, or going to football practice for three hours a day after school? Education MUST be the number one priority in your household if you want your children to have a bright future.

2) Make sure your child is taking classes that will truly prepare him/her for college. With the horrific state of the American educational system, the truth is that we can't trust the system with our children. Making good grades is not enough when it comes to ensuring that your kids are prepared. Make sure that they are taking classes that meet the standards of attending college, and this will reflect itself in higher SAT scores. Check with the university of your choice to ensure that your child is enrolled in the classes necessary to get into that school.

3) Apply to at least 12 universities. The more irons you have in the fire, the more likely it is that one of them is going to get hot. Have your child do one college application every two days for one month. that will give him/her roughly 15 applications to various colleges. You can then find out which schools have needs that match the things your child has to offer, and you should make sure that your ACT and SAT scores are high enough to get into the places you apply. You'll never know what opportunities are out there unless you apply for them.

4) There should be no use of the word "if" when preparing for college. I hate the fact that there are so many people who are afraid of college or think that it only works for someone else. I teach at a university that charges over $30,000 per year, and I argue that any 10th grader of average intelligence could get a good grade in my class, if they study each day consistently. I don't care what your SAT scores happen to be, college is not nearly as difficult as some might lead you to believe, and the truth is that it can change your life forever. It certainly changed mine, and I was told that I wasn't smart enough for college in the first place.



Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about College." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered directly to your email, please click here.