Thanks everyone who has posted about their college selection process and how the results went in the last few years. This will be our first time through this process so good to hear how things went.
The plan is for us to identify the college list by June. We have asked S24 to some research on some colleges and so far he has only quick online search about 2 or 3 colleges. He seems to know couple of things that are important to him beyond that he is not sure. We are yet to schedule/plan any college visits.
He got into one of the summer programs he was interested in UCSB and waiting to hear back from Cosmos and we are planning to visit UCâs and USC and other colleges when we go to drop him or pick him up after the summer program. Would also like to visit some schools outside california and need to figure out when to do it. A friend suggested taking a day or two off and visiting at end of may after all AP tests are done.
Second semester is in full swing and cant believe Feb is almost over. Before long we will be doing AP prep in April.
Go in, dig around, get comfortable.
But donât fill out anything because CommonApp resets on 8/1, so you may lose a bunch of info.
Research each college:
some colleges have a preference of a STEM teacher and a non-STEM teacher LoR (MIT).
Cornell requires a Math teacher LoR if you apply to engineering college.
Dartmouth expects a LoR from a ?peer/friend/family?
Brown says 2minute video is optional, that doesnât show up until AFTER youâve submitted your application.
Princeton requires a graded paper (yes, Princeton has guidelines on what kind of paper).
URochester: must apply by ?12/1 to qualify for merit/aid, even if youâre applying RD
Learn and be prepared for as many things as possible, so that you donât get hit with: oh, no we donât have that and the HS is closed/that teacher is away, etc.
I hate that RD deadlines are around 1/1-1/5 (some are 1/15), but that means youâre working on your RD applications over Christmas break, when the HS guidance office and teachers and the colleges are CLOSED so if you have questions during that time, youâre screwed.
DS had a few graded papers in mind, but some were too long, some were to analytical, so too short, so that only left 1 or 2 papers, BUT neither one showed the grade nor teacher remarks ONLINE portal, so we were scrambling on 12/29 or something/freaking out.
Point is: donât be like us.
Run the NPCs.
Read read read and gather all different nuggets. They may or may not apply to your child.
Read from Parents of 2023class, FB PayingforCollege101, etc.
If at all possible, try to visit when school is in session. USC, Berkeley, Merced and most CSUs are on the semester system. The rest of the UCs and SLO are on the quarter system. They donât start school until late September.
At our HS they make the kids ask teachers for recs at the end of junior year. That allows teachers plenty of time to write them and itâs one less thing to do senior year.
I think I shared it before, but some HS/teachers have different timing for LoR requests.
My DD2024 almost missed getting her favorite APUSH teacher for a LoR when he opened his list in November of their Junior year. You have ?2 weeks to get on the list before he closes it.
DS2022 did miss his APCalc teacher for LoR request because she closed out her list in ?February of Junior year. But he was her favorite student, so she held a spot for him (he asked in April).
Point: donât wait too late to ask.
My friendâs DS2023 almost didnât get his math teacher LoR because he didnât know about Cornellâs math LoR requirement for engineering until he was applying in November of his Senior year.
Adding to these excellent recommendations (having survived two new-era application years so far, D21&23):
-Wake, WashU, Chicago also have âoptionalâ videos
-Figure out which require demonstrated interest and have your kid do it. Even for those that donât âconsider DIâ on their CDS, every single school they applied to, in the app or the interview or both asked, Why ___, and between my Ds we covered the vast majority of T25+ as well as some top LACS. All schools look for fit. Many peers mistakenly have thought top schools donât pay attention to knowledge of the institution. They do.
-Interviews: well in advance, look up who has them and who doesnât, and how to sign up/how they work. Some schools have âslotsâ that fill up before Dec even for RD kids, other schools bury the âoptionalâ interview sign up on their website for only the really interested kids to find, others have âpriorityâ deadlines to be considered for an interview, etc etc.
-Some schools have extra essays that pop-up in the portal after applying.
-Many arts supplements have âsurpriseâ essays not visible until one starts submitting: both Ds experienced this so D23 was slightly less caught off guard. IF you leave an arts supplement until the end you may not have the time to write your best essays.
-If an AO visits your HS, attend.
-Attend any virtual sessions available; take notes: very often, hints on what they look for or the culture of the school are evident: these help you figure out whether you should apply, but also help for Why US essays and Interviews. Ditto with in-person info sessions, maybe even more with the in-person sessions.
Most importantly: It should be the kid leading all of this, not the parent. The parent is a good backup, but the kids are the ones writing essays and interviewing: they need to be fully invested in the list because it is a long and daunting process. And mine still has 14 more decisions pending.
Importantly, the quarter system schools are still in the full swing of classes the first and maybe second week of June. Since HS for us is done by Memorial day, that gives two weeks of visits while campus is full and not during their finals.
This was the one that caught us off guard. By the time we realized that in many cases interviews were initiated by the applicant, it was too late. If that happens to you, keep checking. Every once in a while a spot would open up. Particularly around ED/ED2 results time.
It will probably depend. Princeton prefers History or English. If I remember correctly she asked the teacher for an email with the grade and the comments which she then attached to the paper. We can look up the requirements here.
There were others that asked for a paper but no grading necessary.
This year the common app did not wipe out everything that was put in before 8/1. S23 set up an account in July to figure things out and get familiar with it. When he logged in after 8/1 it said something like âDo you want to keep the information that you have entered previously?â
But I would not want to count on that being the case!
So I took a look at the parent questionnaire on Naviance that the senior counselor mentioned yesterday. Here are the questions on it:
What are the first adjectives that come to your mind to describe your son/daughter? Are there any stories that you can share when your student demonstrated these qualities?
How has your student changed over the past four years of high school?
Are there any challenges that your student has faced either at school or at home that have helped them grow?
If you were to compare your student to a well-known character from fiction, television, or film, or to a well-known historical or current public figure, who would you choose and why?
Is there any other information that you feel it would be helpful for me to know about your family or student?
Ha! Sheâs basically asking you to do the guidance counselor recommendation for her. But, that is great, because you probably know your kid better than she does and any info you can give her that will help her write a good recommendation is helpful.
(Since I homeschool my kids, I fill out the guidance counselor portion if the Common App. It has a standalone question about the adjectives. And I have read a lot of materials about how to write a good guidance counselor letter, since I have to do that. All of those questions that she asks are the things recommended for guidance counselors to think about, and put into a good letter.)
There is already a lot of good advice, but I would addâŠ
Work on a CV, resume, or brag sheet for your kid and use it to help guided LOR writers. Donât be a pushy jerk about it, but we found most writers were excited to have the info.
If your kid has big dreams a targeted ED and then shotgunning is the way to go imho. Be sure to visit the ED school, but the rest can wait until acceptance.
Itâs easy to fall in love with a school that costs $80k a year and a 10% acceptance rate, so put your time into finding a solid safety they would love to attend.
Take a hard look at every schoolâs career services program. Everyone talks a good game, but the difference in help finding internships and jobs can be huge.
Such good information here! I wish I had known more of this going into this 2 years ago. Our counselors donât give much information at all and donât meet with parents it seems. This year, all of them are new, so Iâm sure itâs been a tough year for the seniors.
You can create a parent account on Common App as well. I made one and I can see things like the supplemental questions. I found it helpful to be able to see things without bugging my son about it.
[quote=â2Devils, post:2612, topic:2101201â]
-Some schools have extra essays that pop-up in the portal after applying.
[/quote]. THIS!!!
My D18 was so frustrated with a few schools that kept popping up with more essays. It was stressful.
All the comments above are great. NPC and budget talks are a must but I would not get so focused on it or cancel a school for money alone. My D18 high stat got merit money that made private schools cost less than local state flagship. So,if the child wants to apply, I say let them but make sure they understand the âlimitâ on your financial help might not make it a possibility. You just never know.
D24 had 2 mock/practice AP exams at school today - 1 for french, 1 for music theory. She was pooped afterwards! 7 1/2 hours of testing with a small break in between. APUSH teacher recommended she take the actual AP exam in May, so I need to sign something saying that we agree to that. Next practice test is for calculusâŠI think that one is next weekend? I canât remember, have to look at the calendar.
All of the 11th graders take the ACT at school next Wed.