The Better Letter

The school counselor mentioned a "gap year." What is a gap year? Would it be good for your young adult? Make It Better offers comprehensive articles and resources about this practice:

By now, most high school seniors have decided what college they will attend next year.

It will make your life easier!

Sticky situations at school? Check out the second segment in a 3-part series in which a veteran teacher answers parent questions.

Scary as it may be, it is possible to survive the fearsome transition from 8th grade to high school.

Why taking a year off, during or before college, might offer the greatest life lessons.

Ethan Steinberg is traveling and serving others during his gap year between high school graduation and starting college at Miami University.

It’s becoming increasingly popular for students to take a year off between high school and college. But is a gap year right for your child?

When I told my Mom I was writing an article about efficient college packing, she laughed at me. I'm not surprised or hurt by my mother's skepticism. After all, I was the college freshman whose parents had to rent a Ford Excursion in order to attempt to bring all my stuff to school.

“Look at my nose.” The eyes of 25 15-year-old girls looked up and blinked in disbelief. There she stood—a petite, demure, older (much older to our teenage eyes) woman with stunningly beautiful, perfectly coiffed white hair, and piercing yet kind brown eyes. She leaned lightly on her black cane.

How much homework is too much? What is a parent's most appropriate role? These were two of the questions that lead the Glencoe PTO to invite Duke University professor, Dr. Harris Cooper.

Was that SAT or ACT prep course a life-saver, or a total waste of time? If the latter was your child's experience, then a recent study by the National Association of College Admissions Counselors seems to say: "I told you so."

From allowances and curfew times to who gets the car this weekend, the unresolved debates between parents and high schoolers are plentiful. One particularly hot issue involving parents and teens is whether or not the drinking age should be lowered.