Spring is the time of year when high school juniors are learning about different colleges and high school seniors are receiving their acceptance letters. Yes, and a great many high school seniors will receive those other kinds of letters as well: You’ve been waitlisted, or even worse, the rejection letter. But sometimes a rejection letter means a college is just saving a student from himself or herself.

We are all so wrapped up in the process, in the filling out applications, visiting campuses, talking about roommates, getting professional help on the college essays that we forget to ask ourselves one critical question: Is my child ready for college?

Fifty percent of the parents get this question wrong! They send their brood off to college holding a high school diploma, a computer and a FACA loan without ever really considering if college - right now - is the right choice. I’ve spoken to thousands of high school students, I’ve written a number of books on college preparation, and I know this year almost half of the incoming freshman class will fail to graduate. This statistic cuts across race, ethnic, religious and demographic lines. So, is your student really ready for college or ready to crash mid semester? Sit down with your student and ask these questions.