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[quote]
The college research process appears to be a collaborative one for most prospective students and their parents. In a recent study, 59 percent of college-bound high school seniors said they researched colleges with their parents, while 66 percent of their parents said they were researching colleges with their children...</p>
<p>"It's clear that, at least half of the time, a college is not just recruiting a high school student. The parents are also involved, and they bring a different perspective and perhaps a different set of expectations," said Kevin Crockett, president and CEO of Noel-Levitz. "With the escalating cost of attendance, too, it's likely that parents also want reassurance that an institution is a good investment...
<p>I wonder if the 59% of students vs. 66% of parents is in any way indicative of some parents thinking they are part of a collaborative process but really aren't.</p>
<p>I do wonder how much input parents are giving their students that is not simply forced upon them and how open they are to listening to their kids. Helicopter parents seem to be dictating their kids’ lives everywhere I look.</p>
<p>^ CC is definitely playing an important role in many HS students’ college search, often replacing the jobs of parents. It’s really great that adults frequent the forums. Without them it’d be chaotic.</p>
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<p>Perhaps students, who usually spend more time searching, give less credit to the efforts of parents. Besides, the student should make the most effort.</p>
<p>Perhaps the parents agreed that they helped their kids “research” colleges in that they looked up various tuitions and said yea or nay (basically what happened to me).</p>
<p>Perhaps these are not entirely overlapping groups. I would say there are a lot of parents who conduct the bulk of the researching for their kids (check out the parent forum) and there are some very highly motivated kids (say 59%) who do take the bull by the horns.</p>
<p>^
I am one of these kids.
Depending on my mom, I would just go to UCLA and that’s it. Close to home, good academics, and would prepare me to be a doctor (which is what she wants).</p>
<p>My parents didn’t even know where I applied–I just kind of worked out the finances and informed them of where I’m attending after decisions came out. Of course, my parents aren’t typical by any means, but I was hoping for a little more support–especially since my family isn’t wealthy or anything.</p>
<p>I wish my son would participate in the process! I am stuck doing all of the research. He doesn’t even want to visit any schools until he sees if he gets in! His total lack of interest is driving me crazy!</p>
<p>I’m doing most of the spadework (identifying possibilities, coming up with lists of pluses and minuses), but based on the criteria that DD specified (and that we talked about extensively beforehand). Frankly, I’m better at this than she is, and I kind of enjoy it, whereas she would consider it a burden. It’s a good division of labor, IMO. (I’m sure she agrees since I’m the one doing most of the labor!)</p>
<p>We’re now in the process of campus visits. We visit together (with DW), all 3 ask questions, and talk about the results in depth. So far, we’ve visited 6 of the 10 schools on our list, and there’s no overwhelming favorite but also no “yecch, I wouldn’t want to go there!” So I guess the process is working fairly well.</p>
<p>She knows the budget; next spring, when the FA letters come out, she’ll make the call - any school within the budget - and I’ll support her choice 100%. It’s her four years, not mine, and her life, not mine.</p>
<p>Friend of mine is a faculty member at a distinctly lower tier school. Her D is an academic superstar, but was totally disinterested in the college search process. She told her mom, “I don’t really care where I go to college.” Mom’s response: “Good! We’ll enroll you at [school where I teach] where you can live at home and go for free.” Daughter adjusted her attitude, real fast.</p>
<p>Agree with Annasdad about doing the spadework. Most of his friends here in our adoptd hometown either go to the local satellite of the flagships, or the state flagships themselves. A few will go to small LACs that are within 100 miles. When our financial situation changed drastically, I knew that I would need to do a lot of work in order to give DS college options. He complains about have 20 schools to research, but I can just imagine how he would have been with 3000. </p>
<p>If he isn’t able to afford his top choice, he doesn’t seem to really care where he goes. I feel like he will do well anywhere that he chooses, though (and HE will be the one choosing).</p>
<p>I feel the same way–it is his four years, and although I am gathering the info and trying to go over it with him, I am going nowhere near making the final choice. He has to live with that choice and as long as it works financially, wherever he chooses is fine with me (as long as he is not going somewhere because the school is well known for their majors in “underwater basket weaving” or “advanced snowboarding”. </p>
<p>Seriously, he is too smart for that, but I am a fanatic about laying out deadlines to come up with a final school application list, do essays, visit schools, etc., and he is not, so it’s looking to be a fun five months! :)</p>
<p>Yea, my mom really had nothing to do with the college search, the application process, or even financing anything. She didn’t know stats, where or when I was applying, or how much anything would cost. I only asked for her credit card on a couple occasions. She’s from Europe, so I guess she didn’t really know how the system works.</p>
<p>Parents can give advice on college selections, certainly, but they can’t live the lives of their children. I’m surprised that parents do all the research for their kids! </p>
<p>If teens can’t even decide where they would potentially like to go to college, how are they ready to even live on their own?</p>
<p>To my it is all about the cost – With 3 kids, college will be a bigger investment than all our others combined so I definitely want to have some input and give some guidance.</p>
<p>Totally different than when I went to college – My Parents did not do any college visits with me, didn’t pay any application fees, and my Dad didn’t even see my college until a month after I started school.</p>
<p>Our S developed a list of eight criteria he wanted in a college. We helped him find (or rule out) colleges using that criteria. Together, we made visits to colleges he was potentially interested in plus a couple that met his criteria but didn’t make his initial list (primarily two safeties). After the visits, he decided which schools he wanted to apply to (ED and RD). The replies from colleges surprised us (both positively and negatively). He will be attending a college he is very excited about. We are all very pleased.</p>
<p>There are a fair number of places across the country where there is very little research at all, which is not a bad thing. </p>
<p>Of the percentage of parents involved, I would agree that many of them are going to be paying the bill. DS’s choices will be limited by what we will pay because we will be paying the whole bill, and even for our in-state schools, we are looking at nearly $100k over four–or more likely
five–years.</p>
<p>The differences in percentages may be due to the fact that kids from single-parent households are less likely to have parents involved in the college search.</p>
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