<p>Dear Parents, I'm wondering if any of you have experience with a high-schooler like mine and can offer your "two cents." Any opinions are appreciated!</p>
<p>Here's the background: High school sophomore girl, very happy, very social, excellent student but very...casual about it (I don't know exactly how to put this. Not scholarly but bright and secure and witty, straight A student in advanced classes), voracious reader, year-round athlete (will be able to play at most schools and may help her get into some).</p>
<p>Best quality: a real "people person", gets along with most everyone but not afraid to speak her mind. Likes every college she's ever been to, large and small. No inkling as to major. Not stronger in one subject area than another.</p>
<p>We're trying to plan our summer to get some college trips in. I have no idea how to narrow down from so many choices, especially with someone who sees the good in all places and sees most majors/careers as possibilities.</p>
<p>If you can't narrow down the college selections based on your daughter's criteria, maybe you should consider your own criteria.</p>
<p>Will your family's financial situation place any limitations on your daughter's college choices? If it might, you might want to emphasize visiting colleges that are "sure things" -- that is, those that your daughter could afford to attend no matter what, rather than those where the decision would depend on the financial aid package.</p>
<p>She is only a sophomore - I wouldn't expect her to have a good idea of which college (or type of college) she hopes to attend right now. My kids didn't start to hone in on colleges until the second part of their junior year, and that is when we did targeted visits with them. At this point, the point of the trips might be to show her different types of colleges (large, small, urban, rural, etc.) so she can have a better idea of what these are like.</p>
<p>I agree w/ motheroftwo. It's good to get an idea of some of the schools out there--and the differences between big/small urban/rural, it will help your D in her search. It's not important that she decide what she wants to major in--even until she's a sophomore in college. Our D had a list of about 12 schools by the time she was a junior; narrowed down to 5 by the time she actually started the application process senior year. Having had several experiences on college campuses from 7th grade on helped her know the kind of campus she was interested in, though....I would not advise against college trips for a sophomore, but using them as a weed-out process is good.</p>
<p>For the stage you're at MotherofTwo is right. I'd stay reasonably close to home, no need for traveling across country to get a good sample. By the way you didn't mention region or weather. In the absense of other preferences these could matter.</p>
<p>She's been to a fair amount of colleges already and likes them all, that's the problem. The big ones and the urban ones seem exciting to her, the small ones seem comfy and beautiful. Are there some kids who could be happy anywhere?</p>
<p>This trip will be the summer before junior year. With our schedules during the school year, the next trip will likely be the summer After junior year, and that seems so late. </p>
<p>Yes, finances matter. I hate to say it, but sending her anywhere seems scary. We were planning on having her pick a bunch of schools to apply to, and then seeing how the aid comes in. She'll apply to state U also. </p>
<p>We live on the east coast. We have a lot of colleges within reach at least geographically. Maybe not so much financially! She loves to travel. She wouldn't mind that. But we'd have to add the travel to the college costs, so it's sort of hard to know if it would be worth it without seeing what aid would be offered. I'd rather have her on the eastern half of the country, anticipating how much I'd miss her, but I don't want to clip her wings too much either.</p>
<p>I just feel there are so many possibilities that my head is spinning, or aching.</p>
<p>Based on your description of your daughter, it may be a mistake to "weed out" at this point. If she loves sports and wants to play in college, but isn't a DI-level all-star, then it's going to be relevant to her which coaches at which schools want her. Since they're not allowed to talk to her yet (and she's only a sophomore), there's not much you can do right now to get a bead on that, except maybe to talk to other athletes who have gone through the process, their parents, and coaches.</p>
<p>Welcome, Madeline'sMom - you're in the right place, and with plenty of time to get the information you need to help your d find some wonderful choices. Since you mention that finances matter, I suggest reading through the "schools known for good merit aid" thread at the top of the Parents Forum page. You might also want to do do a search on the collegeboard website and plug in different criteria, to see what schools come up for someone with your d's excellent academics.</p>
<p>Would you be willing to say what state you live in?</p>
<p>Sometimes, there are interesting state-supported options available other than the gigantic state university. For example, in Maryland, where I live, there's a tiny place in the middle of nowhere called St. Mary's College, funded by the state, that is about as different from the gigantic University of Maryland at College Park as a college could possibly get. It appeals to a very different population than UMCP does.</p>
<p>Whatever the options are in your state, you can be sure that there are parents on this board who know about them.</p>
<p>Welcome MM,
You DO have plenty of time, so take a deep breathe, let it out and relax a little. Don't wrap all family trips around college visits quite yet, or she might be so sick of looking at colleges that by her Sr year that she doesn't want to visit the ones she should look at. You will be able to narrow down her choices once she has taken her SAT's/ACT. If she is taking or will be taking any AP or Honors courses you should start planning when she should take corresponding SAT subject tests in May or June, while the material is still fresh. For instance, students taking APUSH can take the US History SAT II subject test. Did her school have sophomores take the PSAT last Oct? That test, which students take for real in Oct of their JR year, is key for qualifying for merit $ at many colleges, so it might be worth her while to do some prep for that test this summer.</p>
<p>When my D was a sophomore she had no idea either. By the time she was a 2nd semester junior, she was certain where she wanted to go. Applied ED in October of her senior year, got in, was done with the whole college-application thing by early January of her senior year. </p>
<p>In other words - give your D time. In a year she may be a whole different person with very definite ideas about her future. They grow up: it does happen ;)</p>
<p>Right away, if money is a scary issue, I would recommend she looks at schools that give the best merit money--and aim for the honors colleges and university professors programs (WUSTL, UMiami, Tulane, USC, BU, Smith, Barnard etc). There are some amazing full rides out there. Most of the schools allow students to apply their awards to junior year abroad--so she should get travel opportunities wherever she goes. Focus on SAT prep in order to make sure she scores 1500+ for SAT I Math and Verbal combined.</p>
<p>Throw in a Top 25 school if the scattergrams at her school indicate she is a good candidate--and do your homework on CC to find out what Fin Aid she could expect. Choose the Early application very very carefully.</p>
<p>A 15 year old voracious reader is a scholar by definition. Don't undersell the importance of top notch academic opportunities. A voracous reader will be looking for those when she is a junior in college.</p>
<p>I'd agree that casual visits to any school near you or near where you might be vacationing can be helpful. If you know of a student now in college, maybe your daughter could shadow to see what different class sizes feel like, lecture vs discussion-based format, etc.</p>
<p>My son still has no idea, as a hs senior, of a major, so I helped him find schools that fit his personal style--less preppy, more unconventional--less sports-oriented, more arts oriented--small, discussion-based classes--no fraternities or sororities. That was very helpful in narrowing the search. The Fiske and Insiders Guides were useful in describing these aspects of a campus experience.</p>
<p>You have a lot of good responses, but I just wanted to add that my sister liked all the schools she visited, too. There were a couple she didn't like quite as much, but overall she was easy to please. She applied to Catholic schools and secular schools on the east coast and the west coast in cities and in small towns. I think she applied to four or five in the end. She's now a junior at a school she didn't even consider and never looked at until October of her senior year in high school, and she absolutely loves it (this one is secular, east coast, small town). There is no problem with not having specific requirements! </p>
<p>She's only a sophmore, too, so she will probably change a bit before her college years. Like Cheers, I was a little confused by her being a reader but not a scholar--your opinion of this may change in the next year or two. Are you sure you won't be able to visit colleges except in the summers? On the east coast, you can easily see schools on the weekends or even on a day off from school. Your daughter may even be able to tag along on a friend's visit if you really can't take her for some reason, and she doesn't want to go alone. I saw a couple of schools on weekend visits and then took one trip in junior year to see schools in New York and in the mid-atlantic area. She has a lot of time. I would be very careful with getting so far into this process so early. Give her time, and she'll probably start thinking about what she wants in a college more once it's a little closer. I think she's probably too young right now to narrow down her college choices in an intelligent way.</p>
<p>You don't HAVE to visit colleges, you know.</p>
<p>Neither of my kids were interested in early visits.... so we just didn't do it. </p>
<p>Your kid sounds like the type who would get along well just about anywhere -- so you probably don't have to worry so much about finding the right "fit" -- down the line she will be able to rely more on information available online and through books about each college's offerings. </p>
<p>I think sometimes college visits are more of a rite of passage for the parents than for the kids. (I remember my own parents dragging me off and insisting we had to see Stanford when I was about 15 and had absolutely no interest whatsoever in the place.)</p>
<p>Also -- with a kid who sees a lot of possibilities for a major, is outgoing, assertive, and gets along with everyone: a large public university might be the perfect place. Lots going on, many different people from all walks of life, and extensive offerings in just about any major she could choose. So if you are in a state with good public universities - you may just be the parent of a kid who will happily head off to the state U. and do great there. No searching around needed.</p>
<p>Her kids didn't need to see campuses. Maybe yours won't also. We visited 20 campuses and my kid felt like he knew very little if there were no students to hang with. Different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>Cheers - I am sure you didn't mean it this way, but you can't just tell someone to "make sure that they (or their kid) scores 1500+ on SAT Math and Verbal combined." Some kids are able to do this, while others, who may also be top students in their high schools, could not do this if their life depended on it, no matter how much they study and practice. Putting an expectation of earning a certain score on a student can lead to extreme stress in both the student and the parents. I have quite a bit of experience with SATs and SAT prep with my two (very different but both highly motivated) kids. My observation on this issue is that students can raise their score by quite a bit above their "baseline" (my term for the score the would get without preparation), and that they should prepare and practice in order to earn the highest score they are capable of. That is quite different than expecting that every good student is capable of a score of 1500. The top 1% for all students (seniors) begins at 1480 and for girls, at 1460, according the College Board's data tables.</p>
<p>Re Cheers' post#14:
[quote]
recommend she looks at schools that give the best merit money--and aim for the honors colleges and university professors programs (...., Barnard etc). There are some amazing full rides out there. .... Focus on SAT prep in order to make sure she scores 1500+ for SAT I Math and Verbal combined.
[/quote]
My daughter is at Barnard. Barnard offers need based aid ONLY -- no "honors" program, no "full ride" unless you NEED it. (My daughter has an almost full-tuition grant this year, but its based on need, not merit). </p>
<p>My d's SAT scores were 1200/1930. Needless to say she did not submit them, but Barnard had them on record anyway (probably off of her high school transcript). She had a 28 ACT. </p>
<p>The biggest surprise for my d. when she arrived at Barnard and enrolled in advanced level classes at Columbia is that she was NOT in the "bottom half" of the class -- despite her test scores, she feels she is quite comfortable on the upper end of the spectrum, though definitely no where near the relatively small percentage of absolutely brilliant students. But the point is, the elite college is full of students who are bright but not exceptional. Test scores really don't tell the whole story. </p>
<p>In hindsight, I think that the writing ability is the only thing really important -- she has had a couple of college profs compliment her on the quality of her writing and she certainly has no trouble keeping up with assignments. (I am talking about courses in the humanities/social sciences --math/science is probably another story, but my d isn't headed in that direction). </p>
<p>So basically what I am saying is that while great test scores help to get into a top college, they aren't absolutely necessary. I certainly wouldn't freak out about them. They are not the most important part of the package -- and you get an extremely skewed view here in on the CC boards. </p>
<p>As far as narrowing down choices -- I simply bought the Princeton Review college guide for each of my kids and let them leaf through it at will. It's not the best quality information of all the college guides, but I think it may be the most user-friendly and least intimidating for students who are just beginning the selection process.</p>