<p>The following is a cumulative list from another thread. Hope it is helpful to the Class of 2013!</p>
<p>Lessons Learned</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Visit schools before the senior year.</p></li>
<li><p>Have at least one Rolling Admission school that is applied to by late
September/early October.</p></li>
<li><p>Get the essays done over the summer. Your child will thank you for
nagging them about this later!</p></li>
<li><p>Understand the benefits of EA/ED as they apply to your child and each
school.</p></li>
<li><p>Prepare a "high school resume" with a brief description of your
college/career goals to give to the people doing your recommendations and
to attach with the applications (I kept a file in MS Word for each year in
high school, so that we wouldn't forget any activities.)</p></li>
<li><p>Have a financial safety that your child would be willing to attend.</p></li>
<li><p>If a school says something is recommended or optional treat it as
required if it's a school your child is really interested in.</p></li>
<li><p>If the first SAT scores aren't great, try the ACT (and vice versa).</p></li>
<li><p>Use the new net price calculator tool that all colleges are now
required to offer on their websites. This will give use a realistic
ballpark of what FA you might receive. Better to know this info upfront -
than to apply to colleges that simply will not work out financially.</p></li>
<li><p>Look at the Common Data Set for each college - simply Google "XYZ
University Common Data Set" and you will generally find it. A wealth of
information on acceptance rates, admissions criteria and test scores.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply to one or more schools where your child's stats are at or above
the mid-range. (You will know this after checking out the CDS). This will
provide both an admissions safety school and a great chance at merit aid.</p></li>
<li><p>Start applications in August - particularly for any rolling admission
schools. The Common Application becomes available August 1 each year and
most other applications are available by mid-August. Anything you can
accomplish in August will be a blessing in September/October.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are applying for need-based financial aid - check each
college's website very carefully. Deadlines and requirements vary
considerably. Familiarize yourself ahead of time with FAFSA and CSS
Profile. Don't be intimidated by all of the acronyms - these are fairly
straight forward forms.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't pay for SAT/ACT tutoring prematurely. Just as you would not head
in for surgery without the proper diagnostic tests - don't get sucked into
an expensive test prep program before you know what your child needs. Have
them take both an ACT and a SAT junior year. Decide which test suits them
better. Decide which sections of that particular test need work. Then -
you can do some paid test prep to focus on that specific area.</p></li>
<li><p>The most important lesson of all - and the one that many wise posters
taught me last year - is to love your child unconditionally - despite the
occasional bad grade - despite their lack of interest in their college
process - despite their innate ability to push buttons. No college
admissions process is worth damaging the relationship you have with your
teenager. If you find yourself veering towards the deep end with stress
over the college process - take a deep breath and step back. The nest will
be empty soon enough.</p></li>
<li><p>Have your child pick a theme. This theme is their story. It should be
what makes them unique. The theme should play out in interviews, resumes,
and essays. It can be an after school activity, a charity, a learning
difference, or anything. It may sound odd, but it makes sense. You want a
story conveyed, that might resonate with admissions.</p></li>
<li><p>Pick two or three schools and market your child to these schools. It
is important to set your applicant apart. If these schools are a reach,
you need to put a name and story to your child. Don't rely solely on SAT
and GPA numbers to sell your child. Demonstrated interest can be very
important. Colleges want to admit kids who are going to enroll. They want
high yields. We selected two schools that were reaches for my daughters.
We visited, met with admissions, followed up, and set our kids apart. The
results so far have been great. In one instance, my D1 personally
delivered her application and materials. She told the admissions rep she
flew there to hand it to her, because she wanted her to know how much she
wanted that school. It worked. Now we hope for one more good result for
D2.</p></li>
<li><p>ignore those around you who give you 'the look' or question, why that
school or comment I have never heard of it. be proud of the school. it
doesn't have to be ivy league.</p></li>
<li><p>fit, fit, fit</p></li>
<li><p>Don't second guess yourselves. No woulda, coulda, shoulda. Do your
research - make your decisions and choices - and live with the results.</p></li>
<li><p>Start taking the ACT early in your kid's Junior year and take it
OFTEN! Many schools use a "superscore" which takes the highest score in
each category. Our kids did better each time they took it, confidence
comes with practicing a little every day (30 minutes) and focusing on one
subject each day. Most problems kids have is getting the section completed
in the time allotted and practicing with a kitchen/cell phone timer each
day teaches them to speed up the process.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure it's their voice that comes through in the essay. It's fine
to have other people look it over to make sure it reads well and is
grammatically correct and without typos. But it has to be their essay and
don't let anyone polish it too much.</p></li>
</ol>