<p>Look at what your student thinks s/he is interested in, and build an admissions strategy around it. This provides focus, engages you in a process that benefits you in many areas and in many ways, and helps to decide which schools might be best for you. Regardless of whether you decide to stay in the subject, this can also make your application stand out by its specificity.</p>
<p>it’s my smartest thing that I’ve done. But definitely it’s the one that I don’t feel regretted the most. Well, as for others, processing through online applications and the like were just a snap of a finger. But I used an online site like admission-service.com and other related sites. They have some counselors to help every youngsters about academes.</p>
<p>A lot of great advice here.
I’d like to reiterate a couple - from #16 - help student keep track of those activities/awards/community service through high school so s/he’s not struggling to remember them when completing the apps.</p>
<p>Also #52 - that final call to FinAid office just to inquire. We actually didn’t make that call, but waited until fairly close to the May 1 deadline and the school my D had chosen contacted her to increase her scholarship award. That was a real WOW! Our thought was that by that late date the school knew of scholarships they had awarded that were not going to be used (students chose other schools) so they were able to reallocate some for a final enticement to students who had not yet made a decision. Would she have been given that extra award if she had already enrolled? - we don’t know…!</p>
<p>If a school of interest offers Early Action - strongly encourage student to meet that deadline. Schools begin to allocate scholarship money (and in many cases have similar deadlines for merit scholarship consideration) and at some point they have no more to offer. Know those deadlines. (Example: Application deadline Feb 1, but for merit scholarship consideration, app must be in by Dec 1…!!) The earlier the better. Even if school doesn’t offer EA, get the apps in EARLY.</p>
<p>Wow, some great advice here, I wish I’d had these tips starting out. Hope I’m not duplicating too much:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Visit and attend all accepted student days once admitted unless a final decision has been made- there is no substitute for seeing first-hand what the college “feels” like and meeting people there. At an accepted student event, make sure to stop at the building that houses your department (if you know what you intend to major in) and talk to people there. Often “your” department won’t be represented well at a general admissions event but you can some great info and even an impromptu tour if you show up and ask.</p></li>
<li><p>Realize that college will be what the student makes of it with his/her own initiative and attitude. Where one “gets in” in less important than what what makes of one’s opportunities. So relax a bit knowing that you can be happy wherever you wind up… any decent college will have more opportunities than you could possibly take advantage of.</p></li>
<li><p>Have financial “safe” schools as well as admissions “safe” schools and choose the “safer” schools as carefully as the others… and remember there are always colleges with rolling admissions, so don’t panic.</p></li>
<li><p>Enjoy the experience. If you/ your kids are lucky enough to attend college and have a choice in which college to attend, enjoy that experience as a privilege! You/ your kids can be happy at any number of colleges, there is not just one perfect fit.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some schools will match your scholarship offers at other similar schools. So have your student apply to some schools where a scholarship offer is likely. The schools need to have similar ranks, overall or at least in your student’s major, for this to be most effective. You can’t effectively negotiate a scholarship package if your student has no other comparable options! We know an amazing young woman who only applied to one college then was bitter she didn’t get any scholarships. On the app, it asked where else she had applied. She was a guaranteed admit, and thought it would help her if the school knew she really wanted to attend only there. Instead, I think the school thought “why offer any scholarship to her? She’s coming here anyway.” For my kids who wanted to attend Texas A&M, I made sure they applied to LSU and UH (great schools anyway, but they got nice scholarship packages from each and A&M increased one of my kid’s scholarship to match his LSU offer! It helped that A&M and LSU have nearly equal ranks in my son’s major, so that A&M knew LSU was a viable option).</p>
<p>So I had a 7 point discussion and tried to post, but obviously it didn’t post. Next time, save on a word document…sigh…</p>
<p>Take advantage of regional college admissions visits at your school your junior year, and again senior year. Show the love! The student should not be afraid to email or call the regional person with their questions. They will, after all, be the first person to read your application and can potentially be your advocate.</p>
<p>Make sure your kid understands that grades do count as early as freshman year. It’s much tougher to pull up a GPA if you messed around your freshman year.</p>
<p>Although there is little empirical evidence, there is a boatload of anecdotal evidence that indicates that your chances of admission are improved if you get your applications in early. Applying early isn’t easy - it’s a lot of work, some of which should be done during the summer - and some students will inevitably resist any attempt by their parents to push them to get applications on file. If you can afford it, involve a college counselor in the process - teenagers, and people in general, are naturally more receptive to deadlines imposed by a relative stranger, and it will relieve a lot of stress that this process can cause.</p>
<p>Applying early decision. There are schools out there that take about 20-25% of their class early; it is statistically easier to get in because you are up against fewer applicants for more spots than what you would face RD. If your top choice school is one of these schools, no reason to wait for RD. And for all those who say – I don’t know what my top choice is – you had all of junior yr and junior yr summer to decide, just pick one that is a realistic reach and you could be happy at; if you haven’t decided in the last 12 months, dragging the process out for a few more months until RD decisions come out won’t make any school stand out as the clear winner anyway.</p>
<p>S-1 - when the dream school deferred ED on Dec 1, I cancelled all family December holiday/travel/hosting plans to reduce distraction and stress in the house. YMMV. For us, being Jewish, no Christmas was no loss, since we celebrate different holidays other parts of the year. Still, it’s American vacation time, so our extended family travels from relative to relative, sleeping over and eating throughout the last 2 weeks of December. I phoned and asked them to skip us this year. </p>
<p>At that point, with the house quiet, he wrote the other 7 apps that he hadn’t been able to even begin seriously, and met all deadlines (just barely). He laid them out on his bed, and figured out where he could double up on some of the short answers. He decided what he needed to say to represent himself in total. Then he figured out where to squeeze each of his merits into their differently-worded questions (essay and short answer) until each app told his whole story. It was efficient. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>middle D - visited the legacy school last, after 6 others. By then, she had her own honest points of comparison. At the legacy school only, I made myself disappear for 2 days, lest I indulge non-stop in nostalgia. She slept in dorms while I took a hotel. I had confidence in her ability to tour a campus, as this was last. We met at the end of her entire stay to head homeward.</p></li>
<li><p>S-2 - When i saw his application process included creative arts portfolios or supplements (at 7 film colleges), I accurately declared this would be twice as much work as his older sibs. We all gave him the unified message to budget his time with earlier self-imposed deadlines. He believed his sibs more than me, which was just fine.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Don’t feel pressured to hire a private college adviser/counselor. If your child (or you or your spouse if you get involved) is organized and a good researcher, you can tackle this process on your own with good results. </p>
<p>Start researching schools early. Make a spreadsheet or even a simple list on paper with basic facts that are important to you/your child, i.e. size of school, interested majors, location, retention rate, etc. Keep track of schools you initially cross off your list and the reasons why. It will save you time later as you revise and review the list.</p>
<p>Make sure to have a well researched list with at least 2 safety schools that are affordable and your child could be happy at as well as several target schools and perhaps 2 or more reach schools. </p>
<p>Throw out what you think you may know about schools. The well known “party schools” of the days of yore may now be looking for the kids with 4.0 GPAs or with extensive records of community service. Times have changed. Competition for acceptance at schools has become fierce as record numbers of students are applying to colleges.</p>
<p>Oh hai there! ^^^</p>
<p>Agree re: the private college advisor. There are so many resources available that are free that I don’t see the need for them. If your school has Naviance, it’s a wonderful tool. You can use it to narrow down schools using different criteria - i.e. region, size of school, etc. It’s handy once you’ve narrowed down some schools to see where your test scores and grades fall as compared to other students in your school.</p>
<p>As others have said, keep an open mind. Particularly with my older son, we truly had no clue so visited big schools, small schools, mid-sized schools. My older son initially thought he’d like a large college in an urban area. He ended up at a small LAC in a wonderful college town where he can attend classes at the four other colleges in the area. If we’d focused only on large schools in urban areas, we would never have looked at his LAC. He’s very, very happy to be there - he’s now a junior.</p>
<p>If your school offers overnight stays after acceptance, have your son or daughter take advantage of that opportunity. For both my boys, the overnight stay sealed the deal for them. It was a great opportunity to stay in the dorm, eat the food, and hang out with students and also attend a class or two - very different from the choreographed accepted student days (which I did find valuable nonetheless). </p>
<p>If your student has any sort of special need, get in touch with the disabilities office early on - even before they’ve been accepted - just to be certain their needs can be met. Our boys both are deaf and were on 504 plans in high school. We had both re-evaluated by a neuropsychologist who specializes in evaluating deaf/hard of hearing kids who did a full day evaluation for both boys and who then generated a comprehensive report complete with recommended accommodations. Having that document made it very simple for both boys to receive accommodations they needed at their colleges.</p>
<p>For selective schools, there is an advantage to applying ED but only if financial aid isn’t a consideration. Since early decision is binding, you basically have to take what the school offers for financial aid. Boy 1 did not apply ED anywhere for many reasons but did do EA to a few. Boy 2 did apply ED (he applied early primarily because he’s an athlete) and much to our surprise, he was deferred to the RD pool. The happy end of story is that he did get in that school RD but it was much nicer for us being able to compare financial aid offers and to barter a bit with financial aid offices because he had other offers that were more competitive. So? If your family is financial-aid “aware”, applying ED may not be the best way to go. EA on the other hand is a good deal.</p>
<p>We learned early on to meet with the financial aid offices after sending a letter requesting that they reconsider our sons’ packages given packages from other colleges. And almost all increased FA - so it’s worth asking!</p>
<p>We also found our state flagship to be much more expensive vs. any college anywhere else - including a top 20 LAC and other state flagships - so it’s worth investigating and running their net price calculators. </p>
<p>What a journey it’s been! I really thought the visits were a lot of fun - I enjoyed the time with each boy - but am happy they both are settled in schools that are nice matches for them both (and are financial matches for US).</p>
<p>Study the online Undergraduate Catalog, really study it. Learn about majors, entry requirements, academic policies. It’s not flashy -like fancy tours, glossy brochures, slick presentations, but it’s the most important thing.</p>
<p>I would also add – don’t get overly attached to any one school or any one program within a school esp. if your child’s stats are middle of the pack for that school. I know a few people this yr who have decided that bioengineering is the goal; that is wonderful but they can’t seem to see past Johns Hopkins’ program which is the toughest in the nation. Every conversation necessarily comes back to JHU’s program and how if they HAVE to go to any other school for BE, they will transfer to JHU. I feel like it’s a recipe for disappointment for parents and child if this does not work out; if that child does not end up at JHU, he will forever feel that he “disappointed” everyone, which is crazy given the number of other great programs out there which will get him the same degree, jobs etc.</p>
<p>Know what your major is; real talk don’t waste the application month making decisions</p>
<p>1) Know what your bottom line is financially and stick to it. Use those net price calculators and be realistic about whether your child qualifies for top merit aid. Find the schools that your kid has a chance with, academically and financially.
2) Visit and also go to local events for the colleges your kid is most interested in
3) Interview, even if school says it is optional - this also shows interest. Arrange an alumni interview if you can’t get to the school.
4) In writing essays that ask student to ask why they chose the school, make sure they get specific and mention things about the school that they liked from a visit; also what they like that is unique about the location. My son wrote a very long and specific essay for a prompt like this for Tulane - I noticed from CC posts that some kids with higher stats than him were deferred. Did it help that he mentioned how much he loved chili omelettes from the Camelia Grill? I can’t say it hurt. Schools want students who want to be there, and that is why they include prompts like this.
5) Read admissions blogs if available. They can be helpful guides into getting admitted. Tulane has a great admissions blog and my son took their advice to heart.
6) Expensive prep courses aren’t necessary, but working practice tests and studying vocab books for SAT and ACT are. Make sure that your student plans on testing at least twice, in spring of junior year and fall of senior year.
7) Start visits early. I wish I had with my son at start of junior year, when life was less hectic.
8) In hindsight, get the essays done before start of senior year - one can always tweak them if need be, but they take a lot of time.
9) Make sure your kid’s voice comes through in his/her essays - resist the temptation to edit them into oblivion. English teachers are sometimes better at this.</p>
<p>Best thing we did was break up D’s list by application due date so they could be worked on and submitted in stages. Stage 1 was 3 EA schools with Nov 1 deadlines, which she worked on during Oct. (No binding ED schools since she had no realistic first choice option.) Stage 2 was UC’s/U-Dub (5 schools, but really only 2 apps) with Nov 30 deadlines, which she finished over Thanksgiving break. Stage 3, schools with Jan 1 deadlines, would depend on outcome of EA decisions. This played out perfectly, since the EA round yielded 1 deferment and 2 admits (one safety and one top choice high reach). D was looking at as many as 8 more applications, but now will only do 2 other high reach apps due Jan 1, making things a lot less stressful around here for the next 10 days.</p>
<p>1) Make sure the cost of the college is part of the equation if your family doesn’t have unlimited funds available. While it might be an ego boost to apply (and get accepted) to a pricey college, what good does that do if it is beyond your means to afford? And yes, you might get scholarships/etc…but if you don’t fit in with those who go there, will it really be worth it?</p>
<p>2) Be realistic and recognize that you can be successful in your chosen career field at a LARGE number of colleges. Don’t get caught up in rankings/marketing hype…etc. associated with some colleges. Don’t get overly focused on just one college.</p>
<p>3) Visit any college you are serious about applying to.</p>
<p>4) Start to narrow down choices even before applying. Eventually you can only chose ONE, so sooner rather then later is a good time to make some difficult choices.</p>
<p>5) Don’t chose a college just because a few h.s. friends are also interested in the same college. What happens if they eventually decide to go elsewhere or make new friends once you start going there?</p>
<p>IJustDrive, I love your perception. Esp; “You are not your application and your worth as a person is not based on your acceptances or rejections.”</p>
<p>Just found this thread. Going through the college admissions process again with D #2. Here’s my contribution (apologies for any redundancies)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Apply Early Action everywhere (why not). Gives you and your child more time to think over any decision choice. This is not the “binding” one.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure any school your child applies to has multiple majors they’re interested in (at least 2), so there’s a “plan B” if “plan A” doesn’t work out in their choice of major (or intended career). This can be hard sometimes if you “love the school” and they don’t offer too many majors.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t waste time and money applying to schools either you or your child realistically can’t see themselves attending, even if that roster of schools fleshes out some sort of artificial “comfort zone” to make sure they get in “somewhere”. Just be realistic, one “reach” school is fine. My D #1 applied to 8 schools, and looking back, half of them she would have never wanted to attend anyway. D #2 applied to only 5. She’s fine.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t expect much merit aid if you didn’t visit the school at least once or twice before applying, unless you’re one of those 1500 SAT / 4.0 GPA / extracurricular’s “out-the-nose” type of kid. Your kid may get in, but you likely won’t get help financially.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t let other family members or friends bad-mouth your child’s college choice cause it isn’t Ivy League or has a ridiculous price tag. The kids going to Harvard or Princeton are already running in societal circles most of us won’t ever be running in anyway, and they already have the connections to help them out which most of us will have to develop over years in college, then the workforce.</p></li>
<li><p>Hopefully you’re coaching your kids to pick a major which will allow them to be employed once they graduate. I’m all for those kids that want to “find themselves” and “explore all sorts of things” and be “undecided majors” and all, but at the end of the 4 years, you need to walk out of that school with a skill that you can feed yourself with, period. Unless your last name is Trump, Gates, Jobs or Buffet (LOL).</p></li>
<li><p>Seek out 3+2 or 4+1 BS/MS or BA/MA programs (which is also easier if your child knows what they want to study). It’s great to get accepted into one of those and not have to worry about taking the GREs and re-applying to Grad school in about three years (yes, Grad school apps go out in Fall of your kid’s senior year - unless they intend to work first) all over again.</p></li>
<li><p>Visit schools in the Spring and Fall when students are actually on campus. I never learned a whole lot from summer campus visits when even the coldest weather schools could look like paradise. And make damn sure you “check in” when you visit so they know you were there. Eat at the school when you visit. Talk to random students there and not just the tour guides.</p></li>
<li><p>Do the FAFSA and take the Stafford loans regardless of your medium/high income level. Since you don’t pay these back until they graduate, and the interest isn’t so bad, and the loans not too bad, its “like” getting merit aid, but not really.</p></li>
<li><p>Proof read your kid’s essays. Help them with the common app. This isn’t the time for them to learn a life lesson by letting them do something like that 100 percent on their own. Be an involved parent.</p></li>
<li><p>You can include something like a class trip overseas as an extracurricular activity - consider it a “cultural experience” (which it actually is if its led by school instructors).</p></li>
<li><p>Either you or your child keep track of all activities and volunteering and service items and clubs from Freshman year forward. Make your child write them all out on a piece of notebook paper with the dates and descriptions. Then help them with that portion of the common app. I know kids who were academically above average and not athletes that had more to put on their app… than kids who were athletes in H.S. and had that “Automatic activity” to list on their App… and got into more of their schools as a result.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider schools in your geographic region unless you want to enjoy paying for plane tickets home every time your kid comes home. For example, if you have a kid in NJ/NY who wants to (or says he/she wants to) go to school in California, that’s fine, as long as you want to foot the travel expense bill PLUS tuition, room and board. Speak up and be reasonable. It’s not a soul crushing setback if financial concerns prevent them from attending a school in some far-away place.</p></li>
<li><p>Buy a hand truck.</p></li>
<li><p>Urge Grad school right after graduation (if its part of the plan). Don’t procrastinate cause its awful hard to get the engines running again once your kid starts working at the entry-level somewhere.</p></li>
</ol>