Without the HAB, I Never Would Have Supported My Daughter’s Decision

My daughter Beth took the Highlands Ability Battery during her junior year of high school. She is very intelligent, but she couldn’t figure out what to do about college. She was panicked at the idea of even thinking about college. Beth and I both learned some very useful information.

What helped the most was learning that Beth’s natural time frame was very short. What I thought was stubbornness was her natural way of looking at the world. Later, I took the test myself and learned that my time frame was very long – no wonder we were always frustrated with each other!

Beth was relieved to hear the counselor explain that once she picked a major, she could focus on one semester at a time and I would no longer worry about her “short-sightedness.” We learned that Beth was a “specialist/introvert.” She liked working from a specialized perspective. This convinced us that a small school would be best. The counselor asked Beth if she had an interest in art. Beth has a deep love for horses, but she hadn’t thought about art. She decided to work on the school yearbook and took an art class her senior year, and loved it. That experience and a class visit from an illustrator helped Beth decide to look at a career in art. We heard about Savannah College of Art and Design. Beth liked what she saw and was accepted.

Beth is now a sophomore at SCAD where she enjoys the specialized, small classes and the personal attention of the professors. She has become interested in graphic design and is looking toward a career in that area. In addition, the school added an equestrian team, and she’s able to keep up with her love of horses! Without The Highlands Ability Battery, I never would have supported Beth’s decision to look at SCAD. The HAB gave me the objective, concrete information I needed to advise and guide my daughter. We both agree that if she had gone to the University of South Carolina as a business major, Beth would not have made it through the first year!

Now I feel confident that she will graduate in 4 years with a degree that will enable her to get a job and develop her interests. I found that the ability Battery is for the parents as much as for the child. As the one who is paying huge amounts of money for college, and who is in the best position to guide and influence the child, the parent needs this information. It helped me gain tremendous insight into my daughter.