<p>The college application required three student essays and FOUR parent essays. I was part of the process whether I liked it or not!</p>
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<p>Ain’t that the truth! I was admitted to four colleges as a young man, and the application process was so simple that I honestly don’t even remember applying, only that I was accepted. By comparison, the application process today is a veritable obstacle-course marathon, especially if you want to be considered for scholarships. The deadlines are earlier, too. It wears one out.</p>
<p>College is an important next step after high school for most students. So as a parent I want to know as much as I can about the process and be as informed. Isn’t that a good enough reason?</p>
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<p>Which school requires parent essays?</p>
<p>S1: It was neither Harvard nor Dartmouth (there are other great colleges out there).
S2: It was Harvard or… but not Dartmouth (there are other great colleges out there. Harvey Mudd would have been a much likelier choice).</p>
<p>We always knew that neither S was going to go for the highest paying jobs available, so “recouping our investment” never entered our decisions.</p>
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I’d budget for a comfortable pair of shoes . 
There is sure to be some walking if you are talking about merit money from those colleges themselves.</p>
<p>"I’ve heard of those… why do you ask? I’m looking for info about CSU’s and Div II soccer for a kid with average (3.0 GPA and 160 PSAT’s) stats… anybody? "</p>
<p>What is wrong with Sonoma State?</p>
<p>Great soccer program. Good school.</p>
<p><a href=“http://sonomaseawolves.com/news/2009/12/8/MSOC_1208090013.aspx?path=msoc[/url]”>Taufer, Johnson Are NSCAA All-Region Selections - Sonoma State University Athletics;
<p>I like JHS’ post #23. Honest post.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for that post 47. Made me go back to one of my own, and to see that I blew it. (I had meant post 23, not 21.)</p>
<p>I think this is a great question. I am concerned about my children’s college admissions for 2 reasons. </p>
<p>1) When I was applying to colleges, I had almost no help in terms of where I should go or what I should do to prepare for the admissions process. So, I had to struggle doing it myself. That was mostly due to the fact that my parent’s did not themselves go to college.</p>
<p>2) It is unbelievable how competitive college admissions has gotten since I went. I want to make sure that my kids have a good shot at attending the University that best suits their needs.</p>
<p>Also, I would be lying if I said I didn’t care where they went. To a certain extent, I do. I would love for any of my kids to go to Stanford or an Ivy League school. That would make me a proud father. However, if they don’t get into one or don’t choose to go to one, I will be equally proud as long as they do their best and work hard.</p>
<p>“What is wrong with Sonoma State?”</p>
<p>Not a thing! It’s number one on the list and we are in the “local area” too. Alas, it’s the only one that hasn’t responded to son’s emails…he needs more choices.</p>
<p>I think your son will get into the school.</p>
<p>Thank you! But will he get to play soccer? That’s HIS goal (pun!) right now…He’s going to an “ID” camp at Chico this weekend.</p>
<p>SSU has a lot of great players, but you probably know that.</p>
<p>I like the pun. :)</p>
<p>Good luck to your son this weekend.</p>
<p>I’ll pass it on! </p>
<p>There ARE two kids from his club on the SSU team, so who knows. Sobering thought that “good” players might still ride the bench.</p>
<p>Concerned because:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The college search/application process is long and confusing. Even though I have smart, organized kids, I don’t think they were capable of handling it, at the ages of 16-17, without my help.</p></li>
<li><p>I wanted them to be happy with the end results.</p></li>
<li><p>College costs a lot of money. And it’s our money.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>(P.S. Harvard vs. Dartmouth is a nice problem to have. I imagine most of the grads from either school turn out all right.)</p>
<p>I thank those who answered my questions sincerely instead of resorting to juvenile insults.</p>
<p>As for the Harvard or Dartmouth point, that was simply an example meant to illuminate the fact that to some people the decision is more about prestige than financial success.</p>
<p>My sister-in-law once told me how she chose her college without parental input. She was reviewing brochures for schools far from home (her main criteria). She found one that highlighted the school’s large swimming pool and horseback riding stable. That looked great! She was accepted, and when she showed up on campus freshman year … where’s the pool? … she had inadvertantly picked up the wrong brochure when she did her application! She apparently had no idea what she’d gotten into, discovering it wasn’t accredited for her major. </p>
<p>The story has a good ending - the college got the accreditation, and my SIL loved it there, graduating in 4 years. </p>
<p>But would you take that kind of chance with $50,000/year?</p>
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<p>But why must the decision come down to prestige vs. financial success? Why can’t if be about something else?</p>
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<p>OP: There are so many things different between Harvard and Dartmouth that it is ridiculous to cite ‘prestige’ or ‘future income’ as meaningful when comparing the two. Frankly, it appears to me that you have not done too much investigating of your own about these colleges. Assuming you are a high school student and not a parent, you yourself need to be more concerned about college, and failing that, your parents might need to guide you in this process.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the whole thread and my 3 are already in school, but the bottom line is that in spite of all the lame protests here on CC, where a student attends college, in most cases, has great impact on their future opportunities.</p>
<p>I’ll get flames and folks citing the bogus Dale study, but it’s just fact.</p>