By . Associated Press . President Barack Obama is practically weepy at the thought of his daughter Malia going off to college, a milestone many months away that is already on his mind. Malia barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother. At 16, she stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm. She has been seen touring the University of California at Berkeley and the Palo Alto, California, campus of Stanford, where another president's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, attended college. All grown up: At 16, Malia stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm . In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years. 'So I'm trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her. So this is sort of my trial run here.' Obama said during a . question-and-answer session with the chief executive of Tumblr, a social . media site, that his daughter, like young people in general, should . shop around for a college. Warm reminder: In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years as he hugged and congratulated school leavers . 'We tell her, "Don't assume that there . are 10 schools that you have to go to, and if you didn't go to those . 10, that somehow things are going to be terrible,'' he said. 'There are a . lot of schools out there.' Malia . goes into the 11th grade this fall at the private Sidwell Friends . School in Washington. The Sidwell parent's guide to college counseling . suggests that juniors take the PSAT test in October, visit colleges as . time allows, take the SAT exam in March and set up a family meeting with . a college counselor in late spring, among other steps. Michelle . Obama is also thinking about her daughter's departure. In a . commencement-eve address to Topeka, Kansas, high school seniors, the . first lady said: 'Days like this make me think of my own daughters, so . forgive me if I get a little teary.' Chelsea . Clinton and her mother, Hillary Rodham Clinton, toured some colleges . together, at times attracting a horde and at other times going . unnoticed. Then-President Bill Clinton never joined them, mainly because . of the disruption that would have been caused by the large entourage . that follows a president in public. The prevalence of social media and . cellphone cameras practically guarantees that Malia's college search . will be even more documented than Chelsea Clinton's 17 years ago. In . September 1997, more than 200 journalists showed up to cover her first . day at Stanford. Bill Clinton and his wife, who was Obama's first secretary of state, were shocked when their only child chose to attend college some 3,000 miles away. Her parents were educated at East Coast universities - Georgetown for him and Wellesley for her - before they met at Yale Law School. And they thought Chelsea would follow their path. In her syndicated newspaper column, Hillary Clinton wrote about her dread at having to say goodbye to Chelsea. Trial run: In his speech, he said he was 'trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her', adding, 'So this is sort of my trial run here' Memories: Of course, Malia (in red) barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother . Malia's journey into the next phase of her life will be a similarly emotional time for Obama, who grew up without his dad. He talks about his desire to be a 'present' father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before. Close: Obama talks about his desire to be a 'present' father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before . The Obamas lived in Chicago when the girls were born, but he was often away in Springfield, Illinois, when he was a state senator, or in Washington representing Illinois as a U.S. senator. Children already seem to grow up too fast, but it 'happens more suddenly for a president and a president can feel cheated,' said Doug Wead, who interviewed 19 children of presidents for his book, 'All the Presidents' Children.' 'The president is feeling some angst over this, and rightly so.' Already this summer, Malia has worked in Los Angeles as a production assistant on the set of 'Extant,' a new CBS sci-fi thriller starring Halle Berry and produced by Democratic Party donor Steven Spielberg. She's also learning how to drive. Perhaps compounding emotions for the Obamas is that they, too, will follow Malia out of the White House shortly after she starts college. It comes amid reports Obama has reportedly already ‘checked out’ of his job even though there are more than two years left until he leaves office in January 2017, a few months after Malia departs. The US President is said to have played 81 rounds of golf since re-election – as many as he played in his entire first term – and has holed himself up in Washington where he attends fundraisers and dinners with celebrities rather than tackling the day-to-day business of congressional politics. He is already all but a lame duck due to deadlock on Capitol Hill and has been forced to use executive powers to enact reforms. But come the mid-term elections in November, he could lose power entirely if the Republicans take the Senate. In the meantime, commentators claim he believes that his time in office is effectively over – and has begun enjoying himself. US reports say he has been house hunting and has looked at a £2.5million mansion in Rancho Mirage, California – dubbed the ‘playground of the presidents’.
He made remarks at high-school graduation ceremony in Worcester, MA .
He said the event was a 'trial run' for him as he hugged graduates .
Malia, 16, has started looking at colleges including Berkeley and Stanford .
He also told graduates he tells Malia to 'shop around' for the right college .
By . Associated Press . President Barack Obama is practically weepy at the thought of his daughter Malia going off to college, a milestone many months away that is already on his mind. Malia barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother. At 16, she stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm. She has been seen touring the University of California at Berkeley and the Palo Alto, California, campus of Stanford, where another president's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, attended college. All grown up: At 16, Malia stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm . In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years. 'So I'm trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her. So this is sort of my trial run here.' Obama said during a . question-and-answer session with the chief executive of Tumblr, a social . media site, that his daughter, like young people in general, should . shop around for a college. Warm reminder: In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years as he hugged and congratulated school leavers . 'We tell her, "Don't assume that there . are 10 schools that you have to go to, and if you didn't go to those . 10, that somehow things are going to be terrible,'' he said. 'There are a . lot of schools out there.' Malia . goes into the 11th grade this fall at the private Sidwell Friends . School in Washington. The Sidwell parent's guide to college counseling . suggests that juniors take the PSAT test in October, visit colleges as . time allows, take the SAT exam in March and set up a family meeting with . a college counselor in late spring, among other steps. Michelle . Obama is also thinking about her daughter's departure. In a . commencement-eve address to Topeka, Kansas, high school seniors, the . first lady said: 'Days like this make me think of my own daughters, so . forgive me if I get a little teary.' Chelsea . Clinton and her mother, Hillary Rodham Clinton, toured some colleges . together, at times attracting a horde and at other times going . unnoticed. Then-President Bill Clinton never joined them, mainly because . of the disruption that would have been caused by the large entourage . that follows a president in public. The prevalence of social media and . cellphone cameras practically guarantees that Malia's college search . will be even more documented than Chelsea Clinton's 17 years ago. In . September 1997, more than 200 journalists showed up to cover her first . day at Stanford. Bill Clinton and his wife, who was Obama's first secretary of state, were shocked when their only child chose to attend college some 3,000 miles away. Her parents were educated at East Coast universities - Georgetown for him and Wellesley for her - before they met at Yale Law School. And they thought Chelsea would follow their path. In her syndicated newspaper column, Hillary Clinton wrote about her dread at having to say goodbye to Chelsea. Trial run: In his speech, he said he was 'trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her', adding, 'So this is sort of my trial run here' Memories: Of course, Malia (in red) barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother . Malia's journey into the next phase of her life will be a similarly emotional time for Obama, who grew up without his dad. He talks about his desire to be a 'present' father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before. Close: Obama talks about his desire to be a 'present' father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before . The Obamas lived in Chicago when the girls were born, but he was often away in Springfield, Illinois, when he was a state senator, or in Washington representing Illinois as a U.S. senator. Children already seem to grow up too fast, but it 'happens more suddenly for a president and a president can feel cheated,' said Doug Wead, who interviewed 19 children of presidents for his book, 'All the Presidents' Children.' 'The president is feeling some angst over this, and rightly so.' Already this summer, Malia has worked in Los Angeles as a production assistant on the set of 'Extant,' a new CBS sci-fi thriller starring Halle Berry and produced by Democratic Party donor Steven Spielberg. She's also learning how to drive. Perhaps compounding emotions for the Obamas is that they, too, will follow Malia out of the White House shortly after she starts college. It comes amid reports Obama has reportedly already ‘checked out’ of his job even though there are more than two years left until he leaves office in January 2017, a few months after Malia departs. The US President is said to have played 81 rounds of golf since re-election – as many as he played in his entire first term – and has holed himself up in Washington where he attends fundraisers and dinners with celebrities rather than tackling the day-to-day business of congressional politics. He is already all but a lame duck due to deadlock on Capitol Hill and has been forced to use executive powers to enact reforms. But come the mid-term elections in November, he could lose power entirely if the Republicans take the Senate. In the meantime, commentators claim he believes that his time in office is effectively over – and has begun enjoying himself. US reports say he has been house hunting and has looked at a £2.5million mansion in Rancho Mirage, California – dubbed the ‘playground of the presidents’.
University of California at Berkeley and the Palo my trial run here.' Obama said during a . should . shop around for a college. Warm school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, two years as he hugged and congratulated school at East Coast universities - Georgetown for him in Springfield, Illinois, when he was a state