<p>How does any student ever navigate their way through the college application process? This is nuts...</p>
<p>I’ve never understood what was so difficult about it.
I imagine it is FAR easier for my generation that any previous… you have college matching sites for free and can find out just about anything with an email. </p>
<p>What are you finding nuts in particular?</p>
<p>It’s sooo much easier: you fill out the common app and that’s pretty much it. We had to type out essays into actual spaces on forms that you got, sometimes from writing to the school for an application.</p>
<p>^ And you didn’t have those convenient college websites… lol</p>
<p>I am sympathetic to the OP. When we parents applied, we had a PAPER application. We could fill it out by hand (no need to type). I don’t recall essays, even. And we all applied to one or two colleges. The cost wasn’t so large that it cost the same for a house as it does for a college education today. </p>
<p>OP, you spend a lot of time out here… and start early so you have time to get the unexpected stuff done, and stay organized (spreadsheets are great).</p>
<p>I thought it was easier for my kids. We had to type (or hand write) our applications. We had to typewrite our essay (in original for each college application). We had to make envelopes for the high school, get stamps, bring them to the office so they could mail a recommendation and transcript and we had to cross our fingers and hope they did it. We had to ask a teacher to do a recommendation and give them stamped envelopes and again pray they mailed them. We had to fill out forms and mail the form to get our test scores sent…and again, we had to hope and pray it happened. Now they bang out the essay, use spell check, save it, check the boxes for the colleges they want to appy to, add the recommedners e-mail. The high school sends the recommendation and transcript electronically AND the recommenders get e-mail reminders and submit electronically. Out kids can track the progress. They go online and order their test scores and voila done. Heavens…it’s MUCH easier now than it was in the early 70s. Kids… if it wasn’t SO EASY now none of them would be applying to more than a handful of colleges.</p>
<p>If a student is having trouble with the application process it does not bode well for their college career IMO. It’s not difficult.</p>
<p>I meant all the pre stuff that goes into choosing which college to apply to…the app process is very easy…I’m talking about SAT’s, ACT’s, prep classes, audition coaches, Unifieds, college visits, Honors vs. AP’s, Weighted and Unweighted GPA’s…it was never like this when I went to college…</p>
<p>The actual application isn’t that difficult. But deciding where to apply, deciphering the financial aid & merit aid options, parsing odds of admission, understanding where you fit in “holistic admissions”, taking the tests multiple times (I think I knew one person who took the SAT more than once when I was in college, the rest of us took it only once), the addition of subject tests to the mix, and figuring out ED vs EA vs RD options are all more complicated than when current parents applied. Plus, you are assuming the recommendations and transcripts all flow smoothly into the common app – they did not from our school last year, we had to keep an eye on it and work with our GC’s office when there was some technical hiccup in the process. My kid applying last year also had to write something like 14 essays (every college she applied to had one or two supplemental essays). College course transcripts (from summer programs) in addition to high school transcripts had to be sent. And financial aid… don’t get me started. FAFSA, CSS/Profile, NPC forms, college specific financial aid forms. And every college had different due dates and even different tax forms they wanted to receive in the FA process – and they don’t even want them all in the same format! Some wanted paper copies mailed directly to them, some insisted that the forms be faxed, some wanted them sent through the cumbersome paper-based IDOC process. Add to that getting the non-custodial parent to get all their paperwork in on time. Then you can add parsing the types of loans offered and the different paperwork involved in all of those. Oh, and asking colleges to review FA packages to see if they could lower the cost of attendance to match comparable school COA.</p>
<p>If you didn’t think it was complicated – then your kid probably applied to a few in-state schools (or schools that had no supplements) and you didn’t apply for need based financial aid (or just at FAFSA only schools). Or you are the kid and didn’t have to do the FA work…</p>
<p>Thanks @intparent…that’s exactly what I meant LOL</p>
<p>Eons ago I took the ACT and the PSAT, SAT, SAT subject tests to apply for scholarships. My poor older sister had to take some tests et al she wasn’t interested in she later told me so my parents could have a practice run for my turn (I was the NMS et al). No prep classes for me or son. No coaches either. Had to request info (and receive it) by snail mail. Son just took the appropriate HS classes, got the gpa given by school (unweighted). No common app then or now for schools chosen. So much easier to research schools online, do apps and get responses. I see no difference then and now except I ignored colleges since the concept of need blind admissions didn’t exist. For us there were none of the antics too many wannabe’s go through then? and now.</p>
<p>I think it was easier for son.</p>
<p>My thought is that you need to decide whether your best bet is chasing merit based scholarships or need-based FA (financial aid). The answer varies by family. It depends on financial situation (for example we didn’t qualify for FA unless two in college) and student stats. </p>
<p>There are lots of NPC (net price calculators) at college sites and CC threads that can help on that.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: these are all for neurotypical students… especially for those aiming for top colleges.
I still don’t think it’s that difficult. No one needs coaches, prep classes, etc. ACT and SAT aren’t difficult to figure out. Unweighted vs weighted GPA can be a LITTLE difficult if your school is really, really complicated. On the other hand, most everything can be submitted electronically. Most schools have a checklist that you can follow online and track your progress. You can submit modified essays to each school rather than retyping or rewriting each one. </p>
<p>Financial aid forms can be difficult if you’re from a difficult financial situation. I only did the FAFSA (I think I had to fill out PROFILE for a school that I didn’t attend and I don’t remember that being difficult). However, I qualified for auto-0 EFC each year except my senior year so I didn’t have to deal with a lot of that.</p>
<p>Sorry, given everything, I just don’t think it’s that difficult- especially not compared to the past. I’ve gone through both UG and Grad applications and other than being time-consuming, it wasn’t bad.</p>
<p>It <em>can</em> be difficult to find financial safeties, especially if you have blinders on and can’t look past a certain tier of school.</p>
<p>Come on. Applying to college today is complicated. When I went to college I applied to one, got in and went there. I only took the SAT once (had no idea if anyone else took it more times)</p>
<p>The way to make it less complicated is to set up some boundaries that automatically limit your selection. </p>
<p>A big one for many is how far away from home. Once you decide that you do not need to look at college across the entire U.S. you automatically have a smaller pool to plod through.</p>
<p>You are then either looking for a school that had a particular major or if your student does not lean in one direction, you want a school that is more rounded.</p>
<p>For us,LAC were just too small so my son was not interested in any.</p>
<p>You can make it less overwhelming by coming up with these broad categories first.</p>
<p>And momofthree boys, we had to do that below for my son who graduated in 2012. Your HS must be more advanced than ours. </p>
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<p>And romanigypsyeyes, the common app was not a piece a cake to figure out. That is why cc has an entire busy forum just for the common app.</p>
<p>The OP mentions Unifieds, so I am guessing he/she is the parent of a musical theater kid. Having to do separate applications and auditions–many of which must be done in person at each campus–IS daunting and adds an extra level of complexity and stress. I will be facing a similar scenario when my class of '15 daughter starts applying to dance programs. Most performing-arts kids have this extra layer of worry, since they have to be admitted academically to the school AND get into the desired MT/music/dance program too.</p>
<p>bisouu, no comment regarding your post, but just a thumbs up on your name!</p>