001. The Secret Weapon to College Admissions & Transitions: Self-Acceptance

Welcome to the first episode of Self Accepted: Guiding Families Through College Admissions & Transitions! 

Secret Weapon to College Admissions

Secret Weapon to College Admissions

Dr. Beth Dennard encourages parents to accept their college-bound teenager for who they are and help their teenager navigate adolescence to find themselves. What does self-acceptance look like? It includes being vulnerable, surrendering yourself, and understanding what you’re capable of. She warns parents of the 5 pitfalls of self-acceptance and how their teenager can harness their secret weapon in college admissions – themselves.

Listen to the episode here.

For the blog version of this episode, click here

[04:35] Self-Acceptance in College Admissions & Transitions

[04:51] Accepting Their Brand

[08:56] What Self-Acceptance Actually Looks Like

[11:40] The 2 Types of Encouragements

[13:53] The 5 Pitfalls of Self-Acceptance

[22:14] Your Student’s Secret Weapon to College Admissions

Self-Accepted Homework

We can’t talk about college admissions and transitions without giving you homework. In this episode, Dr. Beth Dennard gave you 3 tasks:

  1. Give your teenager a piece of paper, and have them use their non-dominant hand to draw a picture of what their future looks like. Suspend any judgement. This process taps into their subconscious – where their dreams lie. If they are embarrassed, allow them to try it in a safe place – like their bedroom. Sit back for a minute once it’s done. Something will stand out in that picture because it’s a treasure map pointing to their soul purpose.
  2. Here are some phrases you can use to help your teenager accept themselves:
    • Are you okay?
    • You seem really stressed today… Can we talk?
    • What I like about you most is…
    • You did extremely well in…
    • I love seeing you when you do…
  3. Schedule a one-on-one date with your teenager.

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