As the college application season draws to a close for aspiring graduates, high school juniors are just beginning the college search. The new federal “Scorecard” website, ranking colleges according to graduation rates and the estimated salary of graduates, is just one of the many places to start.

After guiding her three children through the college application process, Terry Greene Clark wrote a book, Demystifying College Admissions, to help parents lead a conversation about college. In an interview with The Reporter, Clark explained how she encouraged her oldest daughter into the search.

“February of junior year she didn’t even want to go look at colleges,” Clark said. “She just was not prepared to do it, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this girl is going to need a gap year.’”

Sitting down to discuss college options, Clark encouraged her daughter’s interests and sense of purpose.

“We ended up focusing on liberal arts schools that had a women’s rowing team that was division three, and had a suburban campus,” she said.

Starting with a discussion of the attributes, size, location and atmosphere, of the college her daughter would want to attend, Clark buried herself in research.

“It became somewhat of a part time job to figure out how I was going to get this child, who was reluctant to even think about college, to land on something that was going to make her a happy healthy adult in the future. That is where it started, with gathering all of this information.”

“The learning curve is huge at the beginning because there is so much vernacular, and vocabulary and nuance to the college process.”

Growing up in Savin Hill with five siblings and a single mom, Clark was the first in her family to graduate from college. Remembering her own difficulties finding a college, and enrolling, she decided to write a guide book for parents.

“The best thing that parents can do is help kids understand who they are,” she said. “Understand where your child is in the process and help them grow from there.”

Demystifying College Admissions reads like a conversation. It outlines the resources, references and research that every teen will need for his or her college search, and it also includes stories from a family who has been down the path a few times.

“The first step that every parent should do is just take a deep breath, and take a step back,” Clark said. “The college process is a marathon, not a sprint. It is something that will change over the course of the next year and a half to two years. Your teen will not be the same person a year and a half from now, even if you don’t believe it.”

“They do not need to be at the finish line right now. They just have to be willing to be open, and learn and get through the process. Parents need to know that it’s a process, and that there is a bigger picture.”

Clark’s book began with a series of letters that she wrote to her oldest daughter in college, to keep in touch and share stories and wisdom.

“I discovered that she loved the letters I sent, and savored them, and would reread them, and it awoke in me this desire. I really enjoyed writing, and as that progressed it spurred on this process.”

Immediately after her daughter matriculated, Clark’s son began his college search. It was a completely different experience, but a little easier since she had already done the research. While he applied to colleges, she began visualizing her book from start to finish.

“I felt strongly about providing people with a real flavor of what our lives were like. My children were the ones who gave me permission to share their stories, because it is really their stories that I’m sharing, and what was important for me was just to be honest.”

Two years later, when she began the college search with her third child, Clark started writing in earnest. Now Demystifying College is available on Amazon and in book stores around Massachusetts. Fifty percent of profits will go to charities designed to enrich education.

“My intent is to help people along in their journey,” Clark said. “It’s ok to be overwhelmed. It’s ok to know that your child changed their mind ten times even after they applied early decision, because it’s normal. It’s a process for your teen as well. They are not just being defiant or lazy. They’re not sure, and may be afraid to make a move and choose the wrong path. My hope is to help parents understand the situations that they’re facing.”

To find out more about Clark’s work illuminating the path to college for teens and their parents, visit terrygreeneclark.com.