<p>Got it now, and I agree that those full rides are pretty darn elusive. Your timeline seems reasonable to me for a rising junior with some caveats. For my youngest I’m going to buy a PSAT prep book, show it to him and let him decide where he takes it from there. He’s seen from his older brother what this experience is like and what role test scores play along with everything else. Telling him he has to study wouldn’t work at all for my kid. He has to make the choice and deal with the consequences. That’s how he is, and he knows it is up to him to make the kinds of schools he wants happen. Your kid may be quite different. I think the ECs really help, and don’t know what he has done thus far, but think they would play a role in developing the list. </p>
<p>Once he has a sense of what he wants I also think it helps to dig around in the Common Data Sets of the schools to find ones with fewer male applicants. And I’m sure you will be checking the schools’ FA websites to see if they break out how much is typically given at various income levels.</p>