College Prep Stress doesn’t wait til junior year.
Neither should your college prep planning…
If you’re the parent of an 8th, 9th, or 10th grader, you may already feel the stress?
Are we doing enough?
Are we missing something?
Should we be preparing now so things don’t get overwhelming later?
Most families are told that preparing early means doing more, achieving faster, and raising the stakes. But real preparation isn’t about competition—it’s about empowerment. When teens learn how to manage stress, trust themselves, and understand their strengths early on, they’re better equipped to handle the pressures that naturally come later.
Why does the college prep process feel like it’s breaking our kids?
By high school, even high-achieving students often feel anxious and burned out. In fact, 40% of U.S. high school students meet clinical criteria for a depressive episode (CDC, 2023). This isn’t because families didn’t do enough—it’s because too many teens were never taught how to make sense of this pressure in healthy ways.
Parents, we need to shake things up! But, we have to start early and do things differently if we want teens to do more than just survive high school.
If we want teens to feel differently, we have to do things differently.
Sure…applying to college is, literally, years away, but the years are flying by!
If you’ve ever wondered: “Is there something we can do now to avoid the chaos of 11th and 12th grade?” you’re onto something…
What parts of college prep can wait until 11th grade? And, what parts of college prep need to happen now? If you aren’t sure when, how, or what to start with, you’re not alone!
Family University helps parents and teens cultivate the skills that make high school feel empowering, not exhausting.
College prep is stressful because we’re doing it backwards. We push 11-12th graders to have the answers, instead of giving 8th, 9th, and 10th graders time to explore the questions.
Prep for College Prep
Imagine handing a kindergartener a calculator and calling it “math readiness.” The calculator isn’t the problem, but you need some basic arithmetic skills before a calculator makes sense!
The same is true for college readiness skills.
College prep usually refers to taking AP exams, studying for the SAT/ACT, picking out majors, finalizing the college list and getting through the tasks of applying to college: but that’s just a list of tasks. These tasks should wait until 11th grade.
But, developing the skills needed to make these decisions — that self-exploration should start early!
After spending years helping juniors and seniors move through the tasks of completing their college applications, I realized that their stress wasn’t about the work itself, but the missing self-knowledge (skills and experiences) that teens need in order to complete the college application with confidence.
The right type of college prep that needs to start earlier and is what I call “prep for the prep” – helping 8th, 9th, and 10th graders learn about themselves in ways high schools cannot support. This self-awareness is what teens need in order to make sense of the college application process.
College Prep That is Rooted in Passion
Working in higher education admissions for years, the applicants who stood out were the always the teens who could connect their experiences with their passions and their goals with purpose.
Traditional college prep throws 11th and 12th graders into chaos—asking BIG questions about college and their future without teaching teens how to explore their answers. Anyone can come up with AN answer. But, a CONFIDENT answer comes from demonstrated experience and self-reflection; and that applicant will absolutely stand out from the crowd.
Teens need specific life experiences that build their self-awareness, passions, and purpose to be able to complete their college applications with confidence. But, these experiences aren’t typically found in the high school classroom.
> It’s not just about good grades and keeping busy.
> It’s not about starting the tasks earlier!
> It’s about fostering meaningful skills and experiences earlier.
College Prep That is Rooted in Science
Developmental college prep helps 8th, 9th, and 10th graders grow (develop) their self-awareness and self-efficacy by engaging in exciting, hands-on experiences that spark their passions while building the confidence to succeed socially, academically, and beyond.
When teens feel overwhelmed, they tend to avoid/procrastinate, make choices quickly to avoid anxiety, or defer to the opinions of others. You can protect your teen from unnecessary stress and overwhelm by providing the right college prep guidance at the right time. Thankfully, teens thrive when we align college prep with what science knows about the teenage brain:
Neuroscience: Helps teens manage overwhelm, tackle complex tasks, and focus.
Psychology: Builds self-awareness, motivation, and resilience.
Sociology: Make confident, informed decisions within the context of social influences.
Don’t Wait Until Junior Year to Go from Confused to Confident
With the right type of college prep, you might just find yourself saying:
“We’re having so much fun!”
“We have a plan and now high school doesn’t feel so overwhelming anymore.”
“My teen is so motivated - I don’t have to nag them!”
“I know my teen will be ready for college, they are becoming so independent!”
“I barely had to do anything and they finished their applications early!”
Join Family University to say “FU” to the stress and chaos of traditional college prep. It’s possible. But, don’t just take my word for it…
Family University is a 3-phase coaching program for families who want high school to be empowering, not exhausting.
Family University supports parents and their teens in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades.
College Prep Coaching for Parents & Teens
Family University is a joint teen-and-parent coaching program that is rooted in adolescent development and neuroscience to help families “prep for college prep.”
The result: Your teen will be motivated by their passions, not pressure, and by 12th grade, they’ll have the clarity to navigate applications with confidence— creating standout submissions without stress. Meanwhile, you’ll know exactly how and when to support your teen, with a clear roadmap that removes uncertainty.
College prep becomes a journey of self-discovery rather than a stressful series of tasks.
No pressure.
No panic.
Just passion, clarity, and strategies.
An Investment That Pays Off
With an emphasis on self-discovery and self-reflection, I help teens submit powerful applications that capture why they will thrive at each college they apply. When I work with teens one-on-one, from the start of their college prep journey to negotiating financial aid awards, their hard work literally pays off*
Over 90% of students admitted into their top (1st or 2nd) choice school
Over 90% of students received merit scholarships from their college of enrollment
$1,500-$55,000: Range of Annual Scholarships - per student, per college, per year
100% of students reported increased self-knowledge & confidence
100% of parents observed positive growth in their teen
*While these numbers are a reflection of the skills I help teens develop, these numbers equally reflect the hard work, flexibility, and dedication that each teen put into their admission process. Because college admissions and financial aid awards are based on so many variables that shift year to year, I cannot guarantee outcomes for any of my clients.
What’s Included in Family University (2026)
Family University is a 3-phase coaching program for parents and teens in 8th, 9th and 10th grade.
~ Two (3) One Hour Teen Coaching Sessions to help identify passions and meaningful experiences
~ One (1) One Hour Parent Coaching Session to develop supportive expectations & accountability strategies
~ Step-by-step guidance to answer questions any time about the college prep process
~ Tools and resources to help empower, not overwhelm your family
~ Access to Google Chat for voice and text support between January 2026 and July 31, 2026
Hi there. I’m Rachel (she/her/hers) and I’ve spent the past 18 years supporting more than one thousand teens on their journey to, through, and beyond college. I began my career in higher education, working with a prestigious national scholarship program where I was immersed in college admissions and student support at multiple top tier colleges and universities.
From small liberal arts colleges to large universities, I discovered that applicants who demonstrated insight and self-awareness consistently stood out among stellar résumés!
While working in student support and retention, I also learned that getting into college is actually the easiest part of college! College students continued to go through the same stressful process all over again of trying to do well in order to launch their careers.
Again, college students who mastered self-reflection, insight, and self-advocacy thrived while students who lacked clarity and confidence struggled. After my years in higher education, I grew much more impressed by teens who could learn from mistakes than a teen who never made mistakes.
Wanting to foster the self-awareness that promotes success, I became a school counselor and therapist. But, the world of school counseling is stretched too thin to provide the proactive support that teens need. Remember those recommendations to wait until 11th grade to think about college? That usually has more to do with how many seniors the school counselor is working with than what is best for your teen!
Meet Rachel Fusco
Trust your instinct…don’t wait to do college prep the “traditional” way! Instead, join Family University and make college prep an empowering journey for your teen!
Will your teen be on board? You bet! Take a look at what TEENS have said about working together: