<p>Well, as we are looking at only HBCU’s in the south, doing so without a trip would be foolish, IMO, since nothing remotely close exists in the Pacific NW. D has been on campus for school events at both our huge state flagship and a small private here in Seattle, as well as a week-long summer program at one of the directionals. On our next visit to mu hometown, we’ll drive into Boston and she can take a look at some of the options there. DD’s district has all freshmen (and juniors) take the PSAT, so she’s aware of where she stands and what has to improve, and her grades are quite consistent. I agree that not everyone needs to take on college tours after 9th grade but for us it’s important.</p>
<p>Agree . . . plus we are soooo far from anywhere up here in the NW corner that it is much harder to do those giant road trip sweeps like I read about. Flying takes time and $$$ so when you are looking at schools across the country starting early can be a really good thing.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine squeezing in all of the schools in junior/senior year. Classes, work ECs during the school year & then summer programs take up so much time. DD actually had all 6 of her interviews last August. Had she waited, she would not have been able to know enough to schedule them! We heard from so many parents that they were annoyed that they had started so late and were in the “visiting” stages while DD was in the “interviewing” stages last August. This whole process DOES take planning if you don’t want the hassle of running around during the overwhelming junior & senior years. But that’s just our experience. It worked for us. </p>
<p>Exactly, NewHaven! Our D is so busy I can’t imagine even finding the time to do it all in the last two years of HS. As it is this summer we can only do it because she is cutting short her regular all-summer EC. We also don’t have the money to do many trips in a short time. They have to be planned and saved for.</p>
<p>Yes, money was another factor for us as well! Those flights and hotel rooms were not in our budget!</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your comments! My dd is not a straight A student (she can be if she chooses to :)) It really drove the point home talking with Admissions and students of the colleges, (rather than hearing it from mom and dad), what they are looking for academically. She now knows what they expect first hand and can fix that GPA in plenty of time rather than playing catch up late junior year/senior year. We shall see where this journey takes us! But right now she is saying Montana! :)</p>
<p>Your trip was an excellent idea. She may have been overloaded with new information and experiences but that means when she does the serious college shopping later she will not be overwhelmed with the whole concept. She’ll have the concepts about what is the same and different. Also more motivation to get the grades for a school she really wants. I would expose her to other colleges and universities closer to home over the next couple of years just so she realizes there are equally nice places to go to college. I’m curious about the Montana fascination- I can think of many places with better weather and great natural features. Perhaps the family vacations can incorporate some trips to places that she would enjoy just as much.</p>
<p>It is good to look at various colleges when opportunities present themselves. An hour spent going through a campus when on a family vacation to see what it looks like over the years helps in getting the concept of what they are like. You can only do so much online. </p>
<p>Personally I’m not a big fan of starting early. Every situation and every student is different but in general it doesn’t seem like a great idea to me. From 14 to 17 a person or their preferences can change a lot … especially when you consider the adult version of a person starts developing around 13 … the 17 year old self is A LOT further down the road than the 14 year old version and likely had changed quite a bit.</p>
<p>SecondToGo was exposed to colleges when FirstToGo was going through her search. His thoughts at 14 centered around D3 schools to be recruited for a specific sport. The 17 year old version of him was not interested in playing sports in college and did not even play that specific sport anymore.</p>
<p>Checking out local schools or dropping by for a quick look if you happen to be there make a lot of sense to me … making college specific trips (and spending bucks) … in general, not so much. To me at that age discussions about what in high school keeps options open for the college search coming in a couple years is all that is needed for most kids to keep them on track and not bring the college thing on them sooner than needed.</p>
<p>One thing about advance planning that I don’t think anyone has mentioned is the testing calendar. I don’t think students should take standardized tests before junior year, except possibly a SAT subject test (if needed) when they just finished a specific subject AND have had some time to study for the test. And if the school offers PSAT to 10th graders, that is great. I think there is a certain amount of learning and maturity that takes place by junior year that is important, so not a good idea to test earlier.</p>
<p>But once they get to junior year, it is easy to run out of calendar in the spring. And I am a big fan of having all testing done by end up junior year so you can really focus on making the final list of schools and start moving on applications – if you are still hoping for a higher test score in the fall, I think that is stressful, and your list of colleges is then fluid because of it. Both of my kids ended up with only the desire to retake one SAT subject test in the fall, which was quite manageable. We laid out the testing calendar fall of junior year, looking at the previous year’s calendar to try to anticipate major conflicts with EC activities, etc. We included 2 sittings for the SAT with a good space between, an ACT (just to see, neither ended up using that score, they were really comparable to their SATs), and subject tests. And my kids studied before they took the SAT and Subject Tests the first time, didn’t take them “just to see how they did”. We also registered well ahead of time to get their preferred testing site.</p>
<p>Freshman year is more than fine to start the college process. It could start in baby steps; looking at the local colleges; community colleges, state university, private colleges. </p>
<p>If are near a college you can do short trips while you are on vacation, it is good for kids to see the differences between an urban, suburban and rural campus. They can see the difference between a large, mid size and LAC. You can talk about the differences between research universities, comprehensive colleges and LACs. Your child will find out what they want in a school as much as what they don’t want in a school.</p>
<p>It is also the time you begin to talk about the importance of building their academic foundation. It is not the time to batter your kids over the head to say that if you are not taking quantum physics or getting an A- freshman year is going to relegate you to community college.</p>
<p>You as the parent can also start running your numbers through the net price calculator now. This way if your financial situation remains stable you have an idea of what it is going to cost to send your child to college and plan accordingly. If you know that you are going to be full freight payers and you don’t want to spend 60-65k to send kid to (inset school here), don’t hype these schools as the be and end all for your kid. </p>
<p>You can talk to your child about the financial parameters especially if you are depending on merit $$ to defray the cost. Talk about the benefits of attending the local state U (in the event that that may be the last school standing). If you know that your child may have to start at CC, let your child know that there are multiple paths to take you from point A to point B and start looking at the various articulation agreements. Let them know that there is no shame in starting at CC as this is the financially feasible option for many families.</p>
<p>If you are a low income family, start investigating Questbridge, Posse and the various opportunity programs not only where you live but at other universities. </p>
<p>Whoa- I’ve been reading through some posts (guiltily, for hours last night…) and felt I was getting way too caught up in this forum. When romanigypsieyes posted that they have posts going back to 2008- I looked at the number of all your posts- now I don’t feel so guilty! </p>
<p>Wow- this college search and selection process is definitely a very, very emotional thing for people to experience. So many on here are parents, like myself, just trying to figure it all out. I don’t think this thread needs to be judged “right” or “wrong.” Don’t get defensive if you started in 9th grade- who cares? As said, do what is best for your family and your child. It is a big process- and potentially very expensive. Especially if you have more than one child. </p>
<p>My S (OH- would someone PLEASE tell me what DD and DS are? At first I though "Designated Son…and Daughter- but now I’m thinking Dear Son…and Daughter? I wish someone would make a “key” post at the top of the Forums! Took me awhile to figure out OOS, too!) Anyway- my Son is interested in tech fields- most likely Mechanical Engineering, so I paid to have him attend summer camps at tech specific schools in between 10th and 11th grades. He always said he would not want to go to a big school. He was accepted at several tech specific schools- highly ranked and with scholarships & honors. However, he applied to a couple Big 10 schools because of “safety” mixed with “rankings” and just last week we visited the biggest one- where he was given the MOST opportunities. Low and behold- he’s attending a huge, “lesser ranked” school. He’s my last kid- and we were prepared to pay- but it also has the best financial benefit. </p>
<p>So for us, all the travel and prep didn’t really work out after all. My others kids had visited, prepared and had hearts set- on schools they did not get into. This son is by far the smartest of my kids- so we felt the pressure to have him attend a top ranked school! Several of which he was accepted into, with honors programs and scholarships, but they don’t feel “right” after all. Accepted Students Days are BY FAR- the best way to visit a college. So many of my friends with younger kids didn’t even know they have these. But the students really look at the school with different eyes. There is no longer the fear they will not be wanted- and the schools pull out the stops to show them all the reasons why they should now want to go there! Trust me- moms of 9th graders- it is different. </p>
<p>After such a visit, I think my son’s decision is the right one for him. I think he’ll be very happy at this school- “only” in the 40’s for his major. Many, many of the perks he received due to his GPA and ACT were “invitation only” and not advertised on the colleges website- so all the research in the world wouldn’t have helped, anyway. </p>
<p>Best advice: Tell the kids to do their best, get a good GPA and do the best they can on the standardized tests. Do lots of community work, hopefully in something they enjoy, if possible, along with any EC’s (see- I’m getting the lingo!) that they really enjoy. Trying to force a fit into a school they will be overwhelmed at is a mistake. And a “lesser” school may be the perfect place, after all. </p>
<p>Advice for parents: look deeply into the Career Services available at the school. How will they help your child prepare for a job? Do recruiters come? Is their real-world experiences like internships, Co-ops, etc. available? Where are these located? Only nearby?If your child wants to Study Abroad- is that part of the tuition, extra during breaks, do they get full college credit for the semester, if a state school and you are OOS do you pay in-state tuition for that semester? (saving some $$)? </p>
<p>Well- have fun- and good luck! To all those long-term posters- you all must be like family by now!?!</p>
<p>I think it depends on the kid.</p>
<p>My DD is headstrong to begin with, and after watching the whole Gilmore Girls series 3-4 times, by 9th grade she could see nothing in her future but HYP. It took at least a year of talking to get her to find more “realistic” alternatives like Williams and Amherst. Getting her to consider more mid-level schools was a project in itself. Getting her to visit one of these schools early in her junior year required a stealth mission in which a family trip took a small, unannounced detour, and before she had time to object, we were already getting out of the car. I was STILL bringing alternatives to her attention in February and March! (She’s a senior this year.)</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong. I WISH we had started sooner, and I have nothing but kudos for those who are able to do so. We simply had to take a different path. If I’d known then what I know now, I would have started the reality checking as far back as fifth grade (but I’m not sure even that would have worked).</p>
<p>^^ How is Williams and Amherst going to be easier?</p>
<p>They are not going to be easier. (hopefully this was just tongue in cheek 
)</p>
<p>This was her part of the process, not mine, but it did not quite go in the direction I intended. That is why I put “realistic” in scare quotes.</p>
<p>I understand now. The scare quotes is the correct term.</p>
<p>The amount of cross admits between HYP and AWS seems to be high, if only because the number of admits at the liberal arts schools are fewer. There are almost no weak candidates in the AWS pools; tons of weaker ones looking for the lottery ticket in the HYP pools.</p>
<p>P really tells applicants where the game is. They purposely list out the number of candidates who have 2100+ in the SAT, which was 13,477 this year. I think H started doing that breakout too. I do not believe they used to be as granular as P, but now they are. </p>
<p>It is a tough process and anxiety-filled, especially for the student. I recommend planning cool-down and take-a-break lunches or dinners out, just to avoid getting too hyped in the situation. Always remind the student he / she may only get into just one, so every school on their list needs to be one that fits and makes them happy to go. </p>
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<p>@InfoIsPower, you are not alone. The second sticky thread (currently) in Parents Forum has what you seek.<br>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52585-abbreviation-thread-p1.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52585-abbreviation-thread-p1.html</a></p>
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<p>Oh, my little internet noobies ;D
Before there were forums such as these, there was the Usenet groups. Today they can be found as Google Groups. Instead of each topic (e.g., college searching) having its own site, there was a central place on the internet (even before the world wide web was a concept and there was no internet browswers) that you could go to discuss various topics. Those abbreviations were used back then (you can see them back as far as 2000 if you search but I am sure they go back even farther, but maybe google only took over the groups then.)</p>
<p>It means Dear (Dangity, Darn) Daughter or Son.</p>