<p>ditto on timely's post- Target just got some of my hard earned cash for a file box and folders....thanks!</p>
<p>Know your colleges' deadlines for application, but also the dealines for merit scholarships to those colleges. Many scholarship deadlines are AHEAD of application deadlines, or require you to get your application in by an earlier date in order to even be considered! Lots of kids miss out because they look into these things too late, thinking they need to worry about the application first and the rest later.</p>
<p>Keep a big index card with all your online admissions websites, your logon ID and password for each website. Try to keep them the same, but usually that's impossible because some schools assign them, or require different numbers of characters, imbedded numbers, etc. Tape this paper above your computer station so you don't have to run around trying to find it all the time.</p>
<p>While you're at it, make another index card with your mom and dad's birthdate, college of attendance and dates, your social security number (if not memorized), your school ID, your guidance counselor and her phone #, fax #, email, and address, your mastercard/visa information, your admit and grad dates for your high school and any other schools you attended, your test scores and dates for all SATs and ACTs, class rank, GPA. Again, you won't have to run around trying to get this information everytime you do another online application. Tape this above your computer station as well.</p>
<p>Also, to help keep track of everything, I resorted to a spreadsheet finally, after trying not to. Some kind parent on CC e-mailed it to me. I will return the favor. Just PM me with an e-mail address and I will send it to you. It was really helpful, and I'm not good with spreadsheets so it would have been hard for me to create it from scratch in Excel.</p>
<p>"1. Discuss openly your financial limitations if any. It is my humble opinion that these financial decisions should be discussed BEFORE applications are sent, not after acceptances are in hand. That way the student will either apply to schools financially a possibility, or understand that if they don't receive sufficient financial aid, the school will not be able to be considered."</p>
<p>That is the most important one. </p>
<p>If you consider yourself 'middle class', be prepared to pay about 2/3 - 1/2 (roughly the state school cost) to the schools (IVys or equivalent) that meet 'demonstrated' needs. The need is determined by them - not by you.</p>
<p>Profile EFC is usually higher than FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>Bumping up for all of us parents in this boat...</p>
<p>In the end, remember that this is your CHILD's college experience - not yours. They have to end up somewhere THEY are comfortable. It might not be YOUR first choice, or the most "highly rated," but that doesn't matter. As our hs guidance counselor told us: Parents can set limits for financial reasons, safety reasons (ie, "You're not doing a semester in Somalia"), and transportation/distance. Beyond that, let it be the KID's decision. You don't want to spend the next 40 years hearing how you ruined their life by forcing them to go to XYC Univ.</p>
<p>If your child plays a fall sport, get them to write that essay NOW before school starts. They'll hate you now, and thank you later. Be aware of deadlines, and be sure your child is aware of deadlines. Beyond that, bite your tongue and TRY not to nag (easier said than done!)</p>
<p>Get any other things out of the way in August if you can -- our guy needed to finish some stuff for his Eagle, which he did. Also, pocket files (with closed sides) are better than open files (where stuff slides out)</p>
<p>We wrote password info for each school on each folder. You may be soccergal on one application site and soccergal9943 on another. It gets confusing. </p>
<p>Lastly, it can be hard to get your darling to focus on back up plans. They are reaching for their dreams and you want them to do just that -- but its also heartbreaking to learn about a terrific kid who applied only to highly selective schools and then doesn't get into any of them (it happens). I ended up calling it our "asteroid plan" -- ok, your family gets hit by an asteroid and you have no dollars and no roots. Where can you go to get a good education and have some fun? We came up with two strong possibilities (Arizona State and Western Washington Univ) both of which would have provided a solid education and some good times. I'm not sure what my kid thought, but I felt better knowing those two options were on the table.</p>
<p>Look at lots of schools. Kids frequently pick schools based on criteria that adults are oblivious to and seem totally irrational. Getting into college is competitive - kids should apply only to schools that they want to go to. Its a big mistake to apply to schools that are safeties that they don't want to go to. They should pick safeties that they'll love even if those are the only schools that accept them.</p>
<p>Don't know if this has been mentioned, but if your child hasn't been keeping track of honors & awards & activities in each grade, brainstorm this summer to write it all down. Someone mentioned a "brag sheet" that the GC gets--it's easier to fill it out if you have been keeping track all along. And better this summer than December 31, anyway!</p>
<p>Even with a list, my air-headed son tended to forget the most important things..."Oh yeah, Natl Merit Semi..." I guess to him it wasn't as interesting as some other things.</p>