(MONEY Magazine) – THE PURPOSE of this magazine is to encourage the children you are raising to get an education that will open doors to the best life you could imagine for them. But the real key to opening those doors lies in your hands. Today, college graduates earn an average of almost $20,000 more a year than high school dropouts do. And the unemployment rate of dropouts is three times higher than that of college graduates. By the time your children begin job hunting, the gap is likely to be even greater. Regardless of how little money you have, your child can attend college. Grants and scholarships are available from state and federal government sources and from colleges themselves. Federally sponsored low-interest loans can also help. Your child's school guidance counselor can tell you more about what is available. It is what you do to encourage your children's interest in school, say experts, that is the key factor in helping them to succeed. Here are some important ways you can make a difference: -- TELL YOUR CHILDREN THEY CAN GO TO COLLEGE. From elementary school on, talk to your children about your plans for them to attend college. When your children enter fifth grade, encourage them to make a list of jobs they think sound interesting. Then go to the library together to get more information on how much education is needed for those jobs. -- ASK YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT WHAT THEY LEARN IN SCHOOL. CELEBRATE THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. If you just ask how school was, you won't get much of an answer. Ask your children to tell you what they learned in science or to read you something they have written. -- GET TO KNOW YOUR CHILD'S TEACHERS. Schedule parent-teacher conferences early in the school year. Write down your questions in advance. If your child needs to improve in certain areas, do what you can to help your child, then check back with the teacher in a few weeks to see how things are going. -- ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO DO HOMEWORK. Create a quiet space for each child to study, with a table, a comfortable chair and good lighting. Help children develop a written schedule for themselves, with their afterschool time divided into half-hour segments. Decide which segments are to be spent watching television, doing schoolwork and completing chores. For the names of groups that provide tutoring and other help, see page 80. -- MAKE SURE YOUR CHILDREN'S COURSES WILL PREPARE THEM FOR COLLEGE. Some schools steer children into courses that prepare them for vocational training, not college. Ask a guidance counselor what classes your child needs to get ready for college. How much difference can you make? Consider the parents at Franklin High School in Los Angeles. Most of them come from Asia, Central America and South America, and didn't go to school beyond sixth grade. But in recent years, the parents have worked with the teachers to encourage their children to do well and have met regularly with the guidance counselor for help in applying to college. Mainly as a result of these efforts, 91% of the class of '92 went on to college.

Your children may surpass you in their level of education, but they will respect you all the more for helping them make the most of their lives.