<p>This is SUCH a great thread! Thank you all for posting! Mindexplosion–amazing advice!</p>
<p>We learned that it was very helpful to visit schools in junior year, do all SAT/testing in junior year, and have all apps done and ready to submit in August (or whenever sites were ready to receive the material). This helped D focus on senior year grades and enjoying the aspects of school that she loves as well as having time for a job. It destressed her immensely, and she thanked me for doing it that way. Realizing that this is definitely not the best way for everyone, it worked splendidly for us.</p>
<p>The one thing we didn’t count on and will take away from submitting apps early is that we listened to adcoms whos said “if you submit early you will hear early.” This was not really the case (unless the colleges listed an EA date to hear early such as 12/15 or 12/20). If anyone read my other posts, you will see that Rutgers was one of those colleges that said that if we submitted early, we would hear within 4-8 weeks, even tho their deadline is in January. They said they preferred to stagger results, but alas, it was a marketing ploy (in my mind). We were all gung ho and submitted 8/27. We just heard from one (not all) of the schools a few days ago, while most of her classmates submitted apps in Oct and heard within a week, some two days! It totally turned us off. It would have been fine for us if they said submit early but you might not hear until January 31.</p>
<p>Cakeisgreat, Thanks for sharing! It depends on what schools you apply to. My D’s apps were also in very early, some in August and most of the rest in early September. She started hearing by mid-October and had 3 acceptances by the end of that month. One was EA, the other 2 were rolling/priority. Going into the holidays she has heard from 5 schools (thankfully accepted) but 2 of her EA schools don’t notify until March 1st! We will be chewing nails until April 1st in any case. </p>
<p>I would still recommend doing what our Ds did. Better to get the application and essay process done early so they can relax a bit during their senior year. Also, for some schools, applying early on may increase chances of merit awards.</p>
<p>"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. "</p>
<p>Good advice. S toured legacy school on his own. He needed to form his own impressions, not be swayed by my recollections and emotions.</p>
<p>One thing I did that a lot of my friends didn’t is check EVERY email from EVERY college-at least the title. I ended up taking advantage of one of those “special applications”, visited the school and did extensive research on it, and now it’s my top non-reach school that I’ll most likely be attending next fall. The other nine I found by research or word of mouth.</p>
<p>^This actually reminds me of another thing a lot of my friends and I learned the hard way when our firstborns were applying to college: make sure your kids check their email frequently! Not just for the offers Humanity has mentioned, but also for personal communications from admissions reps they may have met on a visit. I know email isn’t the most popular communication vehicle for young people but it’s really important during this time!</p>
<p>The major exception here is MBA programs. Applicants are generally expected to have several years’ work experience before enrolling.</p>
<p>One of my kids will be starting a MBA program this fall after three years away from school, and I’m sure the transition will be difficult. But in this career path, it’s what you have to do.</p>
<p>Consider it a fluid process ~ apply to a few schools in late Aug w/rolling admission to hear early in the Fall. Determine if these early acceptances are solid love-thy-safety choices. After acceptance is a great time to visit - very empowering to visit as an accepted student. Add or drop schools from your list as decisions come in and visits are made. Don’t fall in love. Be prepared for new favorites to rise to the top as the process continues and total cost & details become more clear.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Discuss any parent limitations before you start looking at colleges…including finances, geographic limitations…anything. </p></li>
<li><p>Remember, your child is going to college, not you.</p></li>
<li><p>Offer support, advice, assistance, but let your kid be the main responsible person.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply to at least one rolling, or early action school that is attainable. It’s so nice to have at least one early acceptance.</p></li>
<li><p>Ask teachers for letters of recommendation before,the junior year of high school ends.</p></li>
<li><p>Created a list of activities/ECs starting in 9th grade which was very helpful for our kiddo and the GC.</p></li>
<li><p>Encouraged kids to get all applications done well before Thanksgiving…and they did.</p></li>
<li><p>Pick the safety schools first. It’s easy to pick the others. And love thy safety.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Start your college search early and visit different school types to see what type of school feels right for your child.</p>
<p>My son applied to 8 schools, 3 reach, 2 match, 3 schools which we felt he would definitely be accepted. We told him that when he applied he should only apply to schools that he would be happy to go to because ultimately he would need to choose the school that best meets his interest and needs that is the most affordable. We also gave him a dollar amount that was the most we would be willing to pay.</p>
<p>Finally, we attended the re-visit day and did overnights, if they were offered. It was very clear after these visits which school was right for him. His first semester is over and he is happy that he chose the school he did.</p>
<p>Try to start narrowing down serious, viable options well before April 1st so you are not completely overwhelmed during that month when a final decision needs to be made.</p>
<p>Plan ahead for accepted student visit days, which are often very helpful in making a final decision. These events typically have more detailed and more specific information about programs than other admissions events. The most competitive colleges typically schedule them for weekends in March and April. Try to find out the dates as soon as possible (or at least when they were held last year) and write them into your calendar, so you can keep them free.</p>
<p>Research whether you will be eligible for college grants from your state government, and whether those grants can be used at out of state colleges. State grants are often available to more families than federal Pell grants.</p>
<p>For example, in my state of PA, many middle income families are eligible for grants of $3,000 to $4,000 a year from the state if they attend a college in PA. However, if they select a college in NY, NJ or MD, they get nothing. If they select a college in most other states, they typically get a maximum of $300 to $500 a year. That can help make the difference in deciding between an in-state and an out of state college.</p>
<p>Some states also have their own merit grants, which might only be able to be used at certain in-state public colleges.</p>
<p>I’m glad I had multiple safeties. Being able to choose between three schools when I got rejected or waitlisted from all the rest made me feel much more secure and in-control.</p>
<p>As a student, the smartest thing I’v done this far (at the behest of my parents :P) was finish the SAT by November of junior year. I took it for the first time in May of my soph year, and retook it this November. Right now, all my friends are stressed out about taking it in March (and then retaking in June), but I can focus on my schoolwork :)</p>
<p>I am a student, and the thing I would have done, if I could change the past, would be to do all the SATs/ACT test(s) earlier. Heck, during 10th grade, even!</p>
<p>Those put so much stress on my shoulders at times.</p>
<p>Also, have the topics you want to write for your essays down on paper somewhere, so when you come to those application supplements, your memory can recall what you wanted to write for that particular supplement.</p>
<p>I’m a senior now, but here’s a my two cents anyways:
Finish the standardized testing no later than the end of junior year. I wound up doing fine on my tests, but I was testing all the way up to December of senior year. Testing on top of writing apps is no fun. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>That being said, study for the standardized tests before each sitting! It is unbelievable how many kids don’t study because they want to ‘see where they stand’. It just wastes money and besides, isn’t that the point of a practice test?!?!</p></li>
<li><p>Start looking into general college requirements no later than sophomore year. I was so adamant on starting the college process that I refused to do any real research until May of junior year. I was lucky that I had been taking the required number of courses for all my schools, but in hindsight, that was stupid on my part. </p></li>
<li><p>Apply some safeties early if you can. I didn’t do that, and I won’t be getting any good news until March (I got deferred from my early school). It definitely helps ease the stress. </p></li>
<li><p>Talk to your parents early on about financial limitations and any other conditions they might have (‘you need to apply to my alma mater’, location, size, type of school, etc.). Laying out the cards might be tough, but it’s necessary.</p></li>
<li><p>Maintain a positive attitude. Getting stressed isn’t worth it, you never know what’s going to happen.</p></li>
<li><p>And finally… know what you want. And I don’t mean have your major picked out before you apply, but spend a little bit of time thinking. I originally had about thirty schools in mind. But I quickly realized that I wanted to be near some family, so that took about half of the schools off my list. Do you want a big name school, or a state school? and be realistic about your numbers too. Good luck to everyone!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>One thing about the recent posts about Standardized tests and when to take them:</p>
<p>My D took the SAT twice before the end of her Junior Year, and then for the last time in early October of her senior year. And, since most schools take your best scores across all SAT (or ACT) attempts, it worked out for her, since she finally ended up with the 2/3 scores that put her in merit scholarship range at nearly all the schools she applied to…</p>
<p>That was a very manageable schedule along side her essay, IMHO.</p>
<p>Getting back to the parents here - pay for tutors if you have the means - but consider personal one-on-one tutoring, and not the larger well known franchise outlets. For what we paid the tutor once a week, and the resulting increase in SAT score, makes it well worth it when the merit scholarship arrives with the acceptance letter. And yes, this is aimed at those kids who are very good students (GPA, extracurricular’s) and not necessarily great standardized test takers.</p>
<p>I have to say that this was not our experience. In spite of having done day visits to every college D2 applied to prior to the application process, she did not make a final decision until attending accepted student days at her top 3 choices. For her, spending 24 hours on campus made the choice crystal clear, and she picked what was her 3rd choice going into those visits. Now she says she would have been miserable (and possibly failed academically) at what she thought were her early 1 & 2 choices, and I think she is right. On top of that, we were able to negotiate her final choice to another $10,000 in need based aid by leveraging her aid offer from one of the other schools.</p>
<p>I would say do NOT rush into ED – it seems tempting from a stats perspective, but you have no opportunity to compare FA packages or leverage to negotiate for better FA. And you are potentially giving up the opportunity for another in-depth look at each college before making your final decision.</p>