Looking for Tips to help Organize the Application Process

Parents Forum
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<p>Ditto on writing out the essay prompts. D put them on index cards and took them with her while she was lifeguarding. Okay, so a few kids drowned - but she had essay ideas - it's all about priorities. </p>

<p>Anyway, the original goal was to write the essays in the summer - didn't happen - but she really had some ideas when it was time to get down to business. That's why she kept an essay folder - when she heard a quote or had an idea she wrote it down and kept it in the folder. </p>

<p>BTW - just kidding about the kids!</p>

22

<p>My son kept the essay prompts stuck to his wall with a piece of tape. He applied to 10 colleges and some had separate scholarship application essays, so he had a LOT of essays and short answer questions to do. It really did help to keep the topics in the front of his mind during the summer and fall, and it was very satisfying whenever he was able to scratch one off once it was completed! :)</p>

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<p>what ever you do, it needs to be one the student is comfortable with, where you can easily see, find something and update</p>

<p>to this date, I never saw an essay, nor a completed addlication, it was her process, I just gave her all the tools and she figured out what worked for her</p>

<p>as for the essays, most were esy for my D, but there were a few ones that need to stew a bit, one became easier after she visisted the campus, but that wasn't necessary really</p>

<p>sometimes just talking out the ideas, while we parents just listen, is helpful</p>

<p>one essay was to give a title to your life for your autobiography, that was tough, so we just talked about what she had done, and the idea popped into hre head</p>

<p>the one thing that really helped decrease stress was making sure we had all the supplies on hand and double checking each week- that way when she wanted to mail something, she had the stamps, or she could prepare the envelopes for her teachers, etc</p>

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<p>We had a big box with all the brochures and junk mail. For each college under serious consideration we had two folders: one for brochures and miscellaneous papers and another for important papers and correspondence. I tried a couple of times to use excel spreadsheets but there were just too many different entries for different colleges. The spreadsheet got too big to review easily on the computer or to printout. A big tagboard chart worked best. My D used colored ink to mark down the dates for completed items. The chart was reviewed pretty much daily during the application frenzy. As the process moved along, it was nice to see the colored areas grow. At least it felt like progress.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much to everyone for all the suggestions. </p>

<p>I appreciate all the effort, especially in remembering the categories – midyear report, FAFSA, etc.</p>

<p>I guess every family has to figure out what works best for them in terms of Excel/all hardcopy, student led/parent secretary roles. I am just looking for improvement over the last go around, which included mistakes of not making copies of everything that left the house, losing passwords.</p>

<p>Thank you for the collective wisdom. I am sure more than one family is benefiting from this info.</p>

26

<p>I found these old threads on lessons learned:</p>

<p>by Carolyn:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=56545%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=56545&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>by KirbusPrime:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=56545%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=56545&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

27

<p>I did the chart thing, too, but on a big poster board. Color coded.</p>

<p>Seemed very similar to the 2'x3' war board (and supplement) described in the very excellent book Accept My Kid, Please!</p>

28

<p>I used a binder with tabs for each school I applied to (initially 8 in all) and it worked out great. Had the school's name on the tab and had a checklist with deadlines in the front of each section, followed by copies of my essays, printouts of the completed applications (as they were through Common App), etc.</p>

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<p>Denise, a couple of schools S applied to asked for the first quarter grades only from senior year. I know that one was an EA school, but the other was regular decision. I think that some of your categories will be formulated depending upon specifics that each of the schools are asking for, ie: for some students a portfolio is required (depending upon major).</p>

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<p>don't make TOO many folders or too specific ones, ie, just put all HS records in one, etc</p>

31

<p>I too used a similar system to Patsmom. The folders help keep each school's stuff separate. I also did a "spreadsheet" using Word that summarized deadlines, financial aid info, who was doing the recs, etc. (D applied to 11 colleges, S to 6)</p>

<p>I usually wrote on the front of each folder in magic marker the dates things were sent so that we could see at a quick glance, without digging through the file, the key info. That was a big time saver.</p>

<p>FYI, I acted as my kids' administrative assistant which made their job (essays, getting the recs, completing materials) easier. They were like most seniors and very busy with school and ECs. </p>

<p>I love the idea of a white board. If I would have thought of it, I would have made up one of those. Having that big visual right in front of you would be terrific.</p>

<p>I think that the folder system, with some sort of summary chart, works pretty well for many people. (I was a volunteer at my kids' high school in their college advisement center and showed lots of kids this system.) I got good feedback from those who used it, typically a student who was applying to 4 or more schools.</p>

<p>I also think you'll find the process will be smoother with the 2nd one :)<br>
As some folks say, the first kid is the practice kid and with the second one, you finally figure things out!</p>

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<p>LOL </p>

<p>I HAVE referred to the oldest as our pratice child. I sure am hoping that it will be smoother the 2nd time. If that doesn't go well, there's still 3 and 4.</p>

33

<p>I posted this information a few weeks ago, but it's worth repeating here:</p>

<p>A friend gave us some valuable advice to help keep everything organized, and it was the best advice I got:</p>

<p>Get a plastic file box (the kind with a handle that you can carry around - also helpful if it has a lid where you can keep pens, clips, stapler, stamps, etc.) and a bunch of hanging and regular files.</p>

<p>Make the following files:
Timeline / checklist
Resume
Transcript
Testing
Biographical data
School Reports
Letters of Recommendation
Essays
E.C.'s / Service Hours
Certificates & Awards
Scholarships & Financial Aid
FAFSA / CCS
Common Application
Comparisons
Guides
And then one folder for each college you are seriously considering</p>

<p>Use this file box to store everything, including all correspondence with your key colleges. You will be glad that you have everything in one place. I bought both hanging and regular folders. The regular folders had little pockets in the back - this is where my son put the business cards he got from college visits.</p>

<p>Additionally, I recommend the following: Get an attractive two-pocket folder. Put copies in there of: transcript, senior year schedule, testing results, resume, critical awards. Put this folder in the front of your file box. Voila! You're ready to go to an interview or college night, and everything you might need to fill out forms is there.</p>

<p>In our family, we kept this box easily accessible in the kitchen, since that was where my son did a great deal of his college planning. The top of the box became his "in box" where I put the college mail he received. (by the way, he had another large box for all the junk mail from other colleges he wanted to keep, but was less serious about.)</p>

<p>Some additional organizational hints:
As mentioned, keep a spreadsheet with deadlines, etc.
A "comparison" spreadhsheet with the basic "facts", stats, and costs.
Another useful spreadsheet is one with all the basic biographical data (i.e ss#, parent college graduation dates, phone numbers, etc.) That way, the student does not have to bug the parent for the information.
Also a spreadsheet for essay topics/ideas and timeline can be helpful.
The most important spreadsheet is one with all the PASSWORDS you create and need to remember!</p>

<p>One other thing we did was to have a weekly dinner "date" - just my high school senior and me - his pick for food. This was to coordinate the timeline (college visits, etc.), talk through choices and just to check "are you on track with your applications?", and "Do you need any help from me?" Later on, after the aceptances were in, we talked through his options. This was also a great time to share "motherly" advice before he leaves the nest. We missed a week here and there, but I definitely plan to do the same thing with son#2.</p>

<p>Good luck to all!</p>