Many high schoolers think senior year is a time to kick back and relax. Many may decide to coast until graduation thinking that all the hard work is behind them.

But that's a very dangerous attitude to have and as a parent, you'll want to keep your child focused and achieving for the next year.

Why? The higher the grades that your child receives in his or her last year at high school, the better the choice of college they’ll have. That’s clear. But they won’t just get offers from better schools; they’ll also get offers of better award packages from those schools.

All colleges want the best and brightest students they can find. A student who gets high grades and builds an outstanding career brings glory—and donations—to his or her alma mater. They encourage other smart students to apply and that helps the college meet its goals.

That’s why colleges are prepared to offer grants, scholarships, loans and all sorts of aid to the smartest applicants. If your child can earn high grades in his or her final year at school, you’ll be rewarded with better aid packages.

In fact, you could even find yourself with more than one college bidding to give your child a place.

Ian Welham helps students find the perfect fit college and helps parents pay for it. Over 5,000 families have benefited from seeing his college funding video, which is no charge to Patch readers.