We had 7D2’s college planning kickoff meeting (for all students & parents) at her current BS recently and were very impressed with how they charted a roadmap for the Class of 2018 — arguably better/more clearly than the other two schools we’ve been associated with. As an athletic recruit (see how I took “potential” out this time?), 7D2’s timetable is very different than the average applicant…but we appreciated the walk through this new school’s process nonetheless. I think part of the job of these sorts of sessions is to inspire confidence in the parents that School X “knows their sh*t” and in that regard, George School has that covered.
IMO, as a parent who’s gone through the process once for real, the “mock admissions panel” thing is goofy in hindsight. At a certain point with the lower-rate admission schools…it’s just a crapshoot. At least in my opinion.
On another note, having had heard Jacques Steinberg (author of “The Gatekeepers”) speak at 7D2’s previous school college kickoff (they started with sophomores), I think every other expert speaker (like the college AOs who spoke at the other schools) sort of pales in comparison.
@SevenDad have you posted, or do you know of any good threads regarding the timeline for recruited athletes? I’ve looked and searched out there on the main forum but haven’t been able to find anything very helpful.
^Also interested to hear from 7D. My daughter’s recruiting profile and attendance of college showcases and camps has created some traffic. I wonder if this needs to be coordinated with, or at least brought to the attention of, the college advising office.
The e-book written by the folks behind tier1athletics.org was pretty helpful. I think the main person posts under the screen name varska. Additionally, I’ve been lucky enough to get direct counsel by a few parents whose kids are in or through Div1/Ivy programs in my daughter’s sport.
If you look in the “Athletic Recruits” section of the forum (in “Specialty College Admissions Topics”), there are a bunch of threads, including a pretty comprehensive one on fencing that was deemed good enough to pin. Even if that’s not your kid’s sport…worth reading through to get a feel for the process/timeline. Shoot me a PM and I can tell you what our timeline has been so far…including sophomore year school tours/visits.
Well, you know, pushy SPS parent and all. Just trying to live up to the rep.
Seriously, though, it is a different time table for your daughter and the school is vested in a good outcome for her as well. Now is a good time because there is a bit of a quiet spot in the college advising office before results start to come out in about a month or so. I can’t imagine them being anything but receptive to a phone call or email.
I’d argue that if an athlete is getting attention from college coaches, better to have the conversation with college advising sooner than later even if committing is down the pike a bit. It’s better to get guidance and clarity on the process sooner than later and the BS coach and college advisors can help with that.They been through the hoops before with other students.
I have our tax numbers pretty much in place - had to get them done for financial aid forms - so I started running net price calculators. I suggest you all do so as soon as you can, especially those who are looking for some need-based aid; it is a VERY instructive exercise. And since most schools expect students to take out loans, and the amount they are expected to take varies, I made my own artificial but useful measure of “estimated net price” plus expected loan amount and sorted schools accordingly. There were some pleasant and unpleasant surprises.
And I would also add that it was instructive to look up the actual cost of tuition + fees + room and board for each college (as best that could be determined) and subtract estimated grant aid, to get an idea of what we would actually be billed.
Hey all…I’m slowing but surely working my way back. Started the college list and now I will take what @twinsmama said about the net calculator and start plugging in numbers. Where has time gone? We are looking at schools that offer a BFA in Animation (which isn’t as many as you’d think). I hear the art school route is difficult, so I’m crossing my fingers. I’m also going to be applying to BS for D2 at the same time as colleges 8-}
Just got DS February ACT scores back. He did well enough to not have to take any more standardized tests for applications. I am relieved that I have one less thing to nag him about (studying). Now if he would just start a good college list…
Probably for everything else, too.