<p>I've been on CC for about two years now, so I guess that makes me an old-timer. I've learned so much from this forum that I can't tell you how much it's helped. Also, I've learned a lot from the entire process of applications with my kid, who is off to college in the Fall. Plus, since I'm older in age than most of you (or at least my hair is grayer), I have permission to act like a crusty advisor. Of course you can take my advice or disagree with it, but here it is:</p>
<p>[ul]
[li] Research alternatives to the "name brands." There are many suggestions for alternatives on this board (especially knowledgeable in this way: carolyn). Investigate these alternatives and be pleasantly surprised when you find yourself in a buyer's market vs. a seller's one.</p>[/li]
<p>.
[li] You (and especially your S/D) do not have to go into deep debt. There is another thread open that warns of student loans. Heed that advice and try to avoid large loans at all costs. If your EFC is low, then take advantage of it; if not, search out schools that give merit aid and/or that have lower costs to begin with.</p>[/li]
<p>.
[li] Do not care what Aunt Gladys or Uncle Sol or your neighbors think of your child's college choice. This is harder than you think. We all want to gloat a little and would like to throw out a brand name when asked. We need some license plate frames to help us get over this, like: "My other car has a Princeton decal."</p>[/li]
<p>.
[li] Discuss your concerns (financial and otherwise) with your kid. I see no problem with letting your student know the realities of your situation. You may again be pleasantly surprised at how sensitive your kid is to those concerns.</p>[/li]
<p>.
[li] Do not take over the process from your kid. I saw a friend a while back and asked her how her son's college search was going. "Don't even ask!" she said. "I have been up to MY EARS filling out college applications for ____." Wrong. This is something that is ultimately the responsibility of your S/D, and having youself TOO involved is dangerous in a variety of ways. Learn. Research. Offer some suggestions for schools. Take them to visit. Check that they are adhering to deadlines. But it's their road to travel.</p>[/li]
<p>.
[li] Apply to at least one college choice that has rolling admissions. It's amazing how much pressure is relieved with at least one admission in hand early. I'm not being naive; of course, there's tremendous anticipation when you're waiting for word from schools higher up the list. But believe me on this one.</p>[/li]
<p>.
[li] In the process, think about changes of major and extracurricular activities that your S/D would enjoy. What happens when, after the first semester, the interests suddenly change from Classic Greek Literature to Journalism? Is the school large enough and/or diverse enough to accomodate these changes in majors? What ECs do your kids like? If they're into community involvement, is the surrounding town/city/cornfield going to provide opportunities for this? Research these kinds of things in addition to academics.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>I'm sure there are lots more of these I could come up with. Especially check out the "one-liners" of advice thread that's still recent. But I wanted to get these off my chest. </p>
<p>Excellent advice. In fact, I'm printing it out to save. I especially appreciated the "Aunt Gladys" advice - now that the college search is underway for my daughter's class, she is noticing that lots of people in her school are turning up their noses when she mentions the schools she is interested in. This doesn't bother her in the sense that she's going to change what she's looking for, but it does bother her in the sense that many of the kids are adding "Well, I'M going to UC Berkeley or Princeton or Yale!" I warned her that it is only going to get worse before this time next year.</p>
<p>I fully agree with you. My favorite one is to apply very early to a Rolling Admissions school. It gets you going early in the process, and once that one app. is in the mail, sydents realize that this is actually doable</p>
<p>We didn't do a rolling admissions school, but did get an early write admit at a LAC before Christmas. It has helped the tension level a lot, and as mentioned with rolling admissions, produces a completed application early on in the process.</p>
<p>Yes parentry, I believe that's allowed. In fact, if you send in your Rolling App. in September, you will probably hear back before you send out your SCEA or ED.</p>
<p>I have to agree that there are plenty of non "name brand" schools. I did however want to get my son a shirt with the map of PA on it and a little dot where his school is located. Texas folks don't do well with non-Texas geography.</p>
<p>ED ----- Early Decision ---- Hravard or yale
SCEA ----- Single Choice Early Action ----- UPenn or Princeton
Rolling - Anytime till class is full ---- Non elites</p>
<p>rolling admission is for school slike michigan where you can apply as early as october and ur de cison will usually arrive in approx. 3 months or less and it gives priority to those who apply earlier ed is binding u have to go but gives advcantage not sure bout scea</p>
<p>Apply to at least one college choice that has rolling admissions. It's amazing how much pressure is relieved with at least one admission in hand early. I'm not being naive; of course, there's tremendous anticipation when you're waiting for word from schools higher up the list. But believe me on this one.</p>
<p>YESYESYESYESYES</p>
<p>This needs one addition- make it a school that, while not perfect, you would be content to actually attend. My DD had 4 schools, one rolling with merit aid admitted in the early fall, 2 state publics on one app, then 1 EA-denied, very nice when you get that denial to have an admission already.</p>
<p>After the denial, we added 3 more schools- all her schools, but one are very very tough admissions and chosen for her sport, one more is a safety for her sport, since the rolling admit school is not great in her sport. She is a great candidate- I've seen her letters, and her school really expected her to get in EA,so I cannot reinforce enough how nice it is to have an admission already in our pockets. If she is denied from all other schools, she knows she has that first one & with merit aid, she knows they want her. Plus, in this stressful time, whilst awaiting the answers from other schools, we get perky little emails from teh rolling admit scholl tellig her about their programs and other little tidbits that allow her to learn more about them and also make her feel wanted.</p>
<p>My older DD would not do a rolling safety & was also denied ED, so comparing the two time periods- this is so much better.</p>
<p>When you get to March & April and other students begin to receive their notifications, especially the ones who find out they are in at a school to which you applied, but have not heard from, those can be some tough days waiting and wondering- did admissions send out the packets alphbetcally, is it admits first & then denied! Will I be admitted anywhere? This days will be so much more pleasant with this admit in hand.</p>
<p>I also am a firm believer in a Safety app with early rolling admissions. </p>
<p>One other sub-point to add to Bob's excellent list is that at some RA schools, money rolls out the door with the early apps. For example, I've heard (but not confirmed), that UAz provides a merit award to most early kids from OOS (to offset OOS tuition). They start taking apps in Sept, but once the funds run out....</p>
<p>Clarifying the terms for TutuTaxi (love that posting name and have thought of myself as a taxi mom for years until a week ago when my youngest got her license and btw, she also takes ballet)...</p>
<p>ED = Early Decision: An early application process whereby the applicant submits his/her application usually by early Nov. and receives notification of acceptance, deferral, or rejection by mid-December. This process is binding (unlike Early Action), as the student signs an agreement to enroll if accepted early. If the applicant is deferred to the regular decision pool, the the pledge to enroll is nullified. With most colleges, if the applicant applies ED, the applicant is prohibitted from applying early elsewhere.</p>
<p>EA = Early Action: An early application process whereby the applicant submits his or her application by early Nov. and receives notification of acceptance, deferral, or rejection by mid-December. These applications are non-binding (unlike ED). The applicant may choose to accept or reject the EA acceptance offer. Usually applicants have until May 1 to let the colleges know of their decision to enroll. Applicants may apply to more than one EA school (usually). But if an applicant applies ED to a school, he usually cannot apply EA elsewhere. </p>
<p>SCEA = Single Choice Early Action: Works similarly to EA except the colleges have you sign an agreement that says you can only apply EA (or ED) to ONE school, similarly to ED but it is still non-binding like EA. </p>
<p>Rolling Admissions = Applications are evaluated as they arrive and decisions are given out usually within two months. </p>
<p>The examples that ParentNY gave are a mistake. Yale is SCEA. I believe Harvard went to SCEA this year as well. Penn and Princeton are ED. Examples of Rolling Admissions are Penn State and UMichigan. </p>
<p>I believe that we established on another thread that I am even older than Dig. Who has grayer hair (or less hair) is open to question. However, I fully support my fellow hoary-headed one's comments. As an alternative to applying to a school with rolling admissions (California schools don't follow that practice), apply to one or more of the best in-state public universities/colleges that you should qualify for.</p>
<p>JMmom. Be my guest, but I think that you will be running behind. Referring to a thread last year in the regular cafe, I was born during the presidency of one of the Roosevelts, but I forget now whether it was Teddy or FDR.</p>
<p>Also, based on some comments in another thread, I think that there are some parents not much younger than us who have kids still in elementary or middle school; when they make their later apperances on CC they may be older than both of us are now.</p>
<p>Super list Dig, we are yet another happy customer for rolling admits. DD's rolling admit schools were not what you would call "true safeties", they were financial safeties, and as she eloquently put - "some place I know can I go to school, even if something really bad happens to you or Dad" - I'm watching out for that runaway Mack truck. Even though she would have been disappointed to go to a school that she did not think was a good fit, getting thse admissions was a psychological boost that held her in good strad right up until that last week before the ED results went up - nothing would have made that a good week.</p>
<p>Your point about discussing finances with the offspring is a very important one as well. Not only do we to some extent want to impress Aunt Gladys, we also want to tell our kids - go wherever you want to go, money doesn't matter. But that does them a disservice, and is insulting in a way. We all want to keep some things private, but this is not the time to be too closelipped with our almost adults, they need to know the true picture. Just wait until later this spring when kids start posting wondering if it is OK to go 100K in debt for undergrad, it braks your heart, and it is scary too.</p>
<p>Susan, thank you. I have started a college admissions process word document, which has copies of informative posts like yours. I am so grateful to CC and members like you. Your kindness and generosity is overwhelming.</p>
<p>
[quote]
originally posted by carolyn:... but it does bother her in the sense that many of the kids are adding "Well, I'M going to UC Berkeley or Princeton or Yale!" I warned her that it is only going to get worse before this time next year.
[/quote]
I think D knows the feeling. What is becoming increasingly unfortunate is that a few "helpful" people "think" they know the schools she mentions because of some similarity in the name or otherwise -Cornell College in Iowa (-oooh. Little Miss Ivy League.), Southwestern in Georgetown,Tx. (-"Well, I've heard of Georgetown"). Rhodes College ( "You're going to England on a scholarship? Awesome!" ). Jiminy. </p>
<p>Of course I told a "basketball friend" of mine that D was still looking at Grinnell in Iowa and he said "I'm becoming a real Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I just love that LeBron." (Iowa,Ohio,Idaho-whatever)</p>