How did you begin your college search?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So, I go to a big high school where the guidance counselors don't have time to give each student individual attention. Basically, I had an assembly for sophomores saying "You're going to have individual appointments with your guidance counselor, but the only way for you to really get assistance with scheduling is if you know where you want to go to college and what you want for a career." </p>

<p>Now I'm totally stressed out because I have NO clue what I want to do or where I want to go. If I had it my way I'd go to an Ivy, but I'm pretty sure my guidance counselor would laugh in my face since that's not the most realistic approach, even though I am a good student.</p>

<p>How did you begin your college search?</p>

2

<p>My parents started taking me to visit colleges near vacation spots around 7th grade. Not official visits, just walking around campuses. </p>

<p>My local state U was my academic safety. Rhodes was a must-visit because my mom worked there and it was free. Vanderbilt was a place I visited and liked. Duke sent me stuff since I was in TIP so I visited there. University of Missouri Rolla sent me more mail than every other college combined, so I went and visited there. Not very scientific, but that’s how I approached it back in the day.</p>

3

<p>@Lee
My school basically does the same thing. A good place to start would be to post what you’re interested in (not career-wise), what sort of weather, student body, academics, sports etc. you think you might like in a thread on this website.</p>

<p>In the meantime, read reviews on “students review”. Almost every college is represented.</p>

4

<p>Go to the library and look for some books on college admissions or college guides. There are quite a few fun ones that tell you something about what students think about various schools. There is one with the 373 Best Colleges that we liked - nice clear descriptions. You can get an idea from those of what sounds good or not. Then, if you have a chance visit a few near where you are or on vacation.</p>

<p>There are a few really good books on college admissions I found. Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know About Getting into College by Sally P. Springer, Jon Reider and Marion R. Franck and The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education You Want for the Price You Can Afford. I really liked the second one for giving honest information about how to think about which colleges you should apply to based on what you should pay.</p>

<p>Good luck. It’s a good idea to get an overall plan going before Junior Year.</p>

5

<p>Thanks guys! I’m on break right now so I’ll definitely try to check out some of those books.</p>

6

<p>Someone has to say it so let it be me…have the ‘money talk’ with your parents right now. How much can they afford to pay each year? How much debt are they/you willing to graduate with? How much do they expect you to contribute? If you plan to attend graduate school, you may have to consider taking on additional debt. </p>

<p>The other good starting point is with your local State U: For many, it’s the first, best or only choice. For others, it’s their safety. Research the various campuses and programs so you know what they have to offer.</p>

7

<p>I went to Princeton for a summer program in 10th grade, and I visited Johns Hopkins in that same summer. My parents just drove me there and we checked out the campus.</p>

8

<p>M’sMom is right…start with the Money Talk from your parents…tell them:</p>

<p>1) Private universities are costing about $55k per year these days. Some give good financial aid to those who QUALIFY…and some don’t give much aid at all…</p>

<p>Instate publics can cost up to $35k+ per year if you’re not going to commute from home. Most kids commute from home for college, since most can’t afford room and board costs. </p>

<p>out of state publics can cost up to $50k per year…and they rarely give good financial aid…some do give merit scholarships for stats.</p>

<p>2) Schools often expect parents to pay at least 25% of their income for college…sometimes as much as 33% or more! A family earning - say 120k per year - can be expected to pay about $35k towards college (these are estimates). While these expectations may seem very high, they’re made with the idea that parents should have been saving for college all along. Schools also assume that the primary payers for college should be the parents…not the school.</p>

<p>3) Ask your parents how much do they think they can contribute each year. If they can’t contribute as much as schools will expect them to pay, then you need a well-thought-out strategy.</p>

<p>4) If your parents tell you that they can pay $55k per year, then good…you’ll have lots of choices!</p>

<p>5) If your parents tell you that they can’t pay much, then you need to look into schools that will give you merit scholarships or won’t cost much to attend (like commuting to a local public)</p>

<p>6) YOU can’t borrow much…YOU can only borrow the following amounts:
frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>

<p>7) Practice for the SAT and ACT, getting the best scores you can is a help.</p>

<p>8) Then, after you have your info…financial and scores, you can start assembling an appropriate list. Since you don’t know your choice of major/career, then a full university is best…flexibility.</p>

<p>9) Also consider what kind of college experience do you want…a spirited campus with big games to watch? a quiet small campus? A campus is a rural out of the way area? A campus in a city?</p>

9

<p>Probably the first screening criteria will be:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Can you and your parents afford the school? Have the money talk with your parents as described in #6 and #8. You can try the “net price calculators” on college web sites to get an idea of financial aid offers they may give.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have any idea of what you are interested in studying, consider whether each school has a good bachelor’s degree program in that subject. If you are very undecided, then you will probably want to find a school that is good in a wide range of subjects (this probably means a larger school).</p></li>
</ol>

10

<p>Besides the money issue stated by others start going to local college visit days even if you don’t think you’re interested in them specifically. And check out if there are any organizations that let you “shadow” people in their jobs so that you can get an idea of what people actually do.</p>

11

<ul>
<li>Have the money talk for sure. That may or may not quickly narrow down your options.</li>
<li>Have the location talk as well. Some parents may set a limitation as to how far away they are willing to have you go for college. Again, that may narrow your options.
-Don’t worry about where you can’t go to school – just focus on the schools that you can attend.</li>
<li>Look honestly at your GPA/standardized testing/course load. Use this to project where you will be when you apply to college.</li>
<li>Only then should you begin to research specific schools. Start by looking at some of the guide books that describe the colleges. I like Princeton Review, Fiske, and Baarons (which is boring but has a lot of data). If a college looks good, go on the website and look further. If you know what you might want to study in college, make sure that is offered. Look for schools that can be considered reasonable reaches, targets, and safetys. If your school has a Naviance system available, that is a great tool as well. Put the information on a spreadsheet or something that you can keep referring back to.
-Try to visit some schools. That is by far the best way to get the feel of a place. As a start try to visit some different types of schools (large/mid-size/small, urban/suburban, private/state if you have that option) and see what feels comfortable. To some people size is a big factor, to others it may be the particular program they want etc.<br>
-Keep changing and narrowing down the list until you have one that works for you and your family.
Good luck.</li>
</ul>

12

<p>And when you have that money talk remember: </p>

<p>If a parent loses a job that school may not change your financial aid package during the school year, so ask ahead of time, before you enroll! Find out what a parent’s job loss during the school year will mean to that school’s Financial Aid Office…I am talking about need-based financial aid…</p>

<p>If you receive merit aid will you be able to maintain it for all 4 years? What if you get sick? Can your parents still afford the school if you lose your merit aid? </p>

<p>You must consider these types of things, ask questions before you commit to 4 years!</p>

13

<p>And yes, study for the SAT/ACTs.</p>

14

<p>I recommend starting with an online college search survey (you can find ones on CC, the Collegeboard website, and naivance IIRC). That’s what I did. The questions helped me narrow down what I was looking for and the results gave me a good batch of schools to start researching.</p>