<p>Hi Everyone,
I am new here and really need some advice. I want to be as informed as possible to assist my daughter in her college application process. She is a Junior and she will begin the process over the summer. There is so much information out there on how to fill out applications, to interview or not etc. Does any know of a program or book that has most important information in one place. We don't have a lot of extra money to spend but I want my daughter to have every bit of information possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>No need to be overwhelmed. Does your D have her list of schools pretty much set? Have you done any visits yet or are you planning visits? Regardless look at the website for each college on the list and see if they require an interview or recommend an interview. Most colleges do not and the few that do will often schedule an interview with a local alum or will schedule it when the admissions rep is in the area or if you are planning a visit you can schedule one during the visit. Remember most colleges do not “interview”…</p>
<p>As far as the application it’s pretty straightforward fill int he blank stuff and follow the directions stuff but there are several books that are recommended for students working on their essay (my kids liked the Bauld book “On Writing the College Essay.”</p>
<p>Keep reading and come back and ask any questions, but there’s really no need to stress out and all the information you need will generally be on the websites for the colleges or can be asked here. There is also a very valuable financial aid forum also on this site when you are ready to start thinking about costs. Just click on it in your left hand navigation and start reading.</p>
<p>To the OP: One good starting place might be the College Board’s Web site here: <a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/[/url]”>https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/</a> The College Board is the SAT test organization, but the information on the site should be helpful even if your daughter is using the ACT instead of SAT.</p>
<p>You might also try to schedule a college planning meeting for your daughter and yourself (and your spouse, if available) with your daughter’s guidance counselor some time during the summer. Guidance counselors are often available for at least part of the summer.</p>
<p>Our local library has a nice selection of books on college admission. You might want to check there first before you spend any $ on guides.</p>
<p>I can tell you that kids’ college application process/timing is as varied as the kids themselves. Anecdotally, this is how it went for my S1 and S2, who are at pretty opposite ends of the spectrum:</p>
<p>S1–focussed more on visits through fall of senior year than on getting the dang essay done, although he was also meeting with coaches at the colleges. I filled in all of the demographic information on the common app for him, and kept track of application deadlines. He didn’t really finish his essay + supplemental essays until Christmas break, and sent in applications in early January. After getting results (acceptances + merit aid), he narrowed it down to two schools, which he re-visited in early April, and he had a clear winner. (BTW–it all turned out pretty well. He graduated from there a few weeks ago.)</p>
<p>S2–much more of a get-it-done kid, so filled in all demographic info pretty much right after the common app opened on 8/1. Sent his first batch of applications off in mid-September, and a second batch off in early November. He did some visits very late August before senior year (after the schools were in session but before he started), and some more sprinkled through that fall. After results were in (mid-March), he visited a few more schools he hadn’t seen, plus re-visited the one he ended up attending. He just finished his freshman year and is looking forward to returning.</p>
<p>S3 is also a rising hs senior. We have a preliminary application list for him and will do a small trip right before school starts in August. My guess is he’ll get some applications in fairly early–gotta say I love those rolling admission/EA schools. S2 had several acceptances in hand before Christmas.</p>
<p>You might check with your school re: when kids typically ask for letters of recommendation. S1 and S2 did it early senior year; S3’s school has asked the '13s to ask <em>now</em>.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve posted often is to try not to let senior year be too stressful for your family. I get so sad when I read stories about kids and parents butting heads through this last year of being together. I always thought it was really fun and exciting. Things usually work out just fine. Really.</p>
<p>Jolbecca - if your D is a rising senior, and will graduate 2013, there is another thread called:</p>
<p>Parents of the HS Class of 2013/College Class of 2017</p>
<p>Not sure how to add a link, but check that out - great group of parents, great thread :)</p>
<p>Speak frankly with your daughter about the budget, early in the game. Decide how you feel, as a family, about loans. Cosigning is the same as signing. The cardinal rule is Love Your Safety. A safety is not a safety unless it’s both academically and financially a safety. Kids need to understand that getting admitted to a school is only the first step; the financial aid packages come later in the spring, and if the school doesn’t end up fitting within the budget, the admission doesn’t mean much. It’s important to think about a budget for the full degree – knowing that the degree may take more than 8 semesters. Going away isn’t always smarter than staying at home, and starting at a four-year school isn’t always smarter than starting at a community college.</p>
<p>Jolbecca - Like most things in life, “it depends.” If your D has decent grades and scores and will apply to state university then you’re probably early. If she wants to attend Georgetown on scholarship, well then you’re probably late to the party.</p>
<p>I agree that the first stop should be your D’s HS Guidance Counselor. After that, a spreadsheet with deadlines would be helpful. Good luck with it all.</p>
<p>1) Be frank about your D about how much you can spend each year. Let her know that any additional costs must come from scholarships, grants, and very small student loans. </p>
<p>2) If you won’t borrow/co-sign any loans, let her know that as well.</p>
<p>3) What is her intended major?</p>
<p>4) What state are you in?</p>
<p>5) What is her GPA?</p>
<p>6) What are her SAT and/or ACT scores?? (including SAT breakdown). </p>
<p>7) Be aware that most schools do NOT give much financial aid that is “free money”. Most aid consists of loans and work-study. Low income students qualify for small federal grants. The wealthier schools have some money to give as grants/scholarships, but it may not be enough or you may not qualify for much.</p>
<p>8) Run some Net Price Calculators on a few schools’ websites. Warning, don’t use Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford’s NPCs unless your child may go there, because those NPCs are extra, extra generous and will mislead you about other schools. </p>
<p>9) Most OOS publics expect you to pay for most/all costs unless your child qualifies for a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>I reiterate the advice of going to your public library and looking at a couple of general college guides. You could also buy one at a used book store–it won’t matter if it’s a couple of years old. Then, with that basic info, you can come back here to CC and find a wealth of specific information.</p>
<p>jolbecca: You are hardly ‘late to the party’. But newhope33 is correct about one thing, so much of where you and your D should concentrate your efforts depends on grades, ECs and test scores.
We’re sending youngest D off to college in August and we really didn’t start the process seriously until summer of her Jr year when we started doing college tours. It was a long, somewhat stressful process but we survived. I jokingly posted awhile back that if I knew what I knew today I would have started ‘planning’ when she was in 8th grade. But I didn’t, we didn’, she didn’t and she is off to her dream school in August. </p>
<p>There is no one simple place with all the answers. But there are a lot of good places with a lot of good answers.
The trick for me at least was just being organized.
I created a spreadsheet and listed all the colleges my D was interested in and for each college I listed tuition costs, all other costs, possible merit and FA, all important deadlines and document requirements.
This list started with about 20 colleges in our case and was pruned down to 7 at the end.
My D and I also created a TAB of all important tasks with deadlines on this spreadsheet.
It included dates like
SAT test dates
College Apps Due dates
Request HS References date
Submit Transcripts date
Start working on College Essay date
Tour dates
College Interview Dates
etc…
Breaking the whole process down by date and task made it tons more manageable for both my D and us. </p>
<p>My go to sites in the process were:
Collegeboard - I spent hours looking at colleges, especially the academics page where I could gauge my D against an average student at the college. By doing this I had a very good idea of safety schools, target schools and reach schools for my D
Princeton Review type books - yes, I did actually sit down with those huge catalog-type books and just read, read, read.
Cappex: Gives ‘chance’ charts that are informative
College Confidential: Right here - I read every forum about every school that my D expressed interested in. I learned a lot -am still learning today!</p>
<p>CC has some excellent articles that can help you through this process. Click on the Main Site and you’ll find all kinds of helpful info there.</p>
<p>The state of Colorado also sponsors a very helpful site. </p>
<p><a href=“https://secure.collegeincolorado.org/Home/_default.aspx[/url]”>https://secure.collegeincolorado.org/Home/_default.aspx</a></p>
<p>Click on the “High School Planning” and “College Planning” tabs for tons of tips on the college application process. Good luck and don’t worry. The whole process isn’t really that bad. (I’ve survived it twice.) ;)</p>
<p>(Hopefully it’s okay for me to share this link on CC as it doesn’t appear to be a competing site.)</p>
<p>I, too, have a “rising senior - class of 2013”. I have been reading these forums about 3 months. Two pieces of advise - don’t get overwhelmed by some of the 'stats" you see here - The typical CC kid is not the average kid - you will see people upset that their kid “only got a 2200 on the SAT”. Remember that this is no the norm 
</p>
<p>Second - there is a thing called the Common Data Set for every college - if you google “Common Data Set University of (fill in school name)” it will give you a long document about the university. For admissions purposes Section C is most important - it will give you GPA and test score ranges - I find this easier to find than looking for it on each website - it also has deadlines.</p>
<p>Goodluck - and take a look at the Parents of HS class of 2013 - we are all living the same thing right now - some are going through it the second or third time so they are a wealth of info!</p>
<p>My children make a notebook with a three ring binder. There is a section for transcripts, test scores, extracurriculars. Then a section for each school. They keep both typed copies of their essays and on the computer. For each school they have a list of deadlines and cross them off when they submit them. </p>
<p>The applications always ask for courses, grades, scores, so it is best to keep them handy.
Tell your daughter to write her essays on a word document and then copy and paste them onto the online application, not type directly on to the application. Have her make back up copies of everything.</p>
<p>This helps students stay organized.</p>
<p>Welcome Jolbecca! The link to the HS class of 2013 thread is: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/754591-parents-hs-class-2013-college-class-2017-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/754591-parents-hs-class-2013-college-class-2017-a.html</a></p>
<p>We’ve been going for a while, so you might not want to start at the beginning but jump in where you are.</p>
<p>As for help, you’ve gotten some good tips already:
- Have the money talk with your daughter after running one of the FAFSA (Federal financial aid) forecasters. Be prepared to either breath into a paper back or fall on the floor laughing after seeing what it thinks your EFC (expected family contribution) will be.
- Take a good look at your D’s test scores (if she has any) and gpa. By the end of junior year, what she’s done on the transcript is what colleges will see in the fall. Love the kid on the couch!
- Start talking with her about what she wants in college: location, distance from home, major, etc. </p>
<p>It will all turn out fine in the end. There’s a lot of kindhearted, knowledgeable folks here on CC who’ll help guide you through the process.</p>
<p>Just to chime in on your request for a book with most of the important information, I really enjoyed this one:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Accepted-Stress-Discover-Yourself/dp/1607141248[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Accepted-Stress-Discover-Yourself/dp/1607141248</a></p>
<p>I enjoyed it so much, the first paragraph of my college essay actually mentioned it (though not by name) and how much it helped me with my application. Your mileage may vary, but I actually did get into a few of my reach schools. So I definitely recommend it.</p>
<p>I have felt the same way. (((hugs)))</p>
<p>My favorite admissions overview book is “Admission Matters” by Sally Springer, Jon Reider and Marion Franck. It’s available in paperback on Amazon for $9.65.
I also love the “Writing the College Essay” book recommended by momofthreeboys.</p>
<p>If your high school college counseling office has Naviance, or a similar system, it can be very useful to compare results for your daughter’s high school against general data for the whole applicant pool at a specific college.</p>
<p>Jolbecca - I believe in having the “money talk” first thing in the process. Discuss how much money you are willing to contribute towards her college career and make sure she understands that any amount over that is her responsibility - through scholarships, grants, her income, her loans, etc.</p>
<p>Loren Pope’s books are helpful: “Beyond the Ivy League” and “Colleges that Change Lives.” Otherwise just a basic guide like the Princeton Guide or Fisk etc.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We kept it pretty simple and relaxed and our kids did fine with admissions.</p>