Today’s college-bound teens are constantly asked some version of these three questions:

Where do you want to go to college?

What do you want to major in?

What do you want to do for a career?

Those are loaded questions for a 17-year-old who’s still trying to learn to parallel park. It must feel like being tested. Better give good answers or your future will show no promise at all.

Is it any surprise that so many of them end up naming highly selective colleges and majors that tie to careers, all in an attempt to draw a straight, logical line from today to adulthood?

Talk about pressure.

What if we just changed that to, “What are you most looking forward to about college?”

Now that’s a nice conversation to have.

P.S.: If your student needs suggestions, here’s a good conversation starter.