<p>Our 2 big pushes were during spring break junior year and late August/early Sept before the start of senior year. We filled in a few here and there during Senior fall at Parent’s weekend break and Thanksgiving break. </p>
<p>During the summer prior to junior year, we did visit a few campuses while on a family trip that were close by but in retrospect I think they were a waste of time because students weren’t on campus so my daughter found it hard to gauge fit. </p>
<p>I think it worked out well for us the way we did it. We made a conscious decision not to start too early to avoid anxiety and to keep it in perspective. Over the Christmas break of junior year both parents and child independently went over college guide books (I’ll mention Fiske again as being our favorite) and then I mapped out a route for spring based on what schools were in session during her break. I am fortunate to have a flexible work schedule that made the touring easy. </p>
<p>I let my child take the lead on what appealed to her and what schools to visit and apply to but I did help out with administrative tasks where I could e.g. going to websites to request info, typing up envelope labels for supplements, etc. once she had determined her list. A BS student has a busy schedule between academics, sports and evening clubs and activities.</p>
<p>We did visits over winter and spring break with our older son. We went on tours, but only chatted with the assistant coach, while my son was a little ahead of us with his tour guide. He’s only a sophomore, but he’s being recruited and will likely commit to a school this summer.</p>
<p>I’ve taken our two oldest on college tours and both had the same rules for me … I could go on the tours but I stayed in the back and did not ask questions. (Actually I believe all parents should let the kids be in front and let the kids ask the questions). BTW - there are a ton of parents on tours.</p>
<p>I agree with some of the parents above—let the kid ask the questions, try to stay out of the way. </p>
<p>My kid won’t discuss subjective issues of the schools with me at all. She’s ranking her list in her head, but won’t tell me. It’s just her attempt to make it her decision. (She’s not considering anywhere I wouldn’t be thrilled for her to go.) I think I know her top choices from the glow in her eye during the visit, time will tell if I’m right.</p>
<p>Did your kids have interviews on campus, with alumni off campus or not interview? Wondering about the timing of interviews for bs kids who have limited breaks.</p>
<p>Not all schools interview. The ones my child had were with alumni or regional admissions representatives, in the college house, at the boarding school, fall of senior year. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>CK, what sport is your son recruited for? Could you share what the recruiting process is like? I can PM if it is a topic that doesn’t interest others.</p>
<p>It interests me…if CK isn’t comfortable sharing the sport, a general description of the recruiting process would still be useful, I think. One thing that intrigues me is that he’s already looking at committing to a college…is that atypical?</p>
<p>Here’s a question for those who have been through this before: As a parent, what was it like handling college denials (hate the word “rejection”) … or missing college acceptance elation … when your child was at BS? DD is an upper and is reporting that the tension on campus is thick. The girl across the hall was crying–because she got into Yale. The whole thing is already freaking DD out and she’s just starting this journey. I am strictly forbidden from mentioning college, sending links to “interesting” articles, posting to CC… ;-)</p>
<p>A friend pointed out that prep schools can limit the number of colleges a student may apply to. She claimed her son, at public school, could apply to an unlimited number of colleges, whereas a friend’s child, at a prep school, could only apply to 8. </p>
<p>Do the experienced parents find this to be a problem? Or does the greater guidance from placement counselors lead students to make more informed choices?</p>
<p>That’s interesting about the limit because so many people are applying to more and more colleges and with the incredible level of competitiveness, it’s almost a necessity. A hard cap at 8 may not be keeping up with the times. A process where students can get waivers or permission to go above that may work. But a hard cap at 8 seems like the college counseling office is out of touch…and/or placing a premium on spreading the acceptances around at the expense of competitive students who want to have some options. I’m not sure better guidance can make up for that, particularly if you’re looking for financial aid and need to look at the actual price tags in April to make an informed decision.</p>
<p>My guess is that the upper limit will be looked at by many boarding schools in light of the new data coming out and the articles tauting that this year was the hardest year ever and the factors that created it.</p>
<p>The problem is that the teachers and advisors have a lot on their plates even before needing to write recommendations. Allowing a student to apply to unlimited schools that don’t have a common app, creates a real dilemma when multiplied by the number of students in a graduating class. I think it’s both a resource issue and a way to get students to focus their search.</p>
<p>Neato - the Common Application is accepted at 414 colleges and universities. So it is likely that many students will utilize the unique forms from a particular college, thus increasing the paperwork from teachers.</p>
<p>Long layover at mpls so thought I would weigh in here …</p>
<p>Have been through the process 10D who is now a very happy frosh at a selective NE private. 12D is now starting the process. </p>
<p>There are no caps for applications at my Ds’ school. Teachers usually fill out reps on Naviance/Common App and are very technically savvy, so it is not really any extra work for the teachers to send in a few more reccs. It is however, more work for the student who needs to do more essays, supplements, etc.</p>
<p>We check the box on the PSATs and go on all the college tours. Most of the college marketing comes as email these days. Useful to have DC set up a gmail or yahoo account just for college mail. That way it does not clog up their regular mailbox. We found the marketing and college visits the most useful way to have a conversation with DDs about what they are looking for in a college. I think it is critical for parents to help kids understand what is truly important to them as individuals. The conversations with friends are often full of angst, concerns about prestige, and preconceived notions. The conversations with GCs can sometimes be limited by their familiarity with the usual suspects. Parents are uniquely focused on the best interest of their child.</p>
<p>At my Ds’ BS GCs seem to spend the first few months trying to manage down everyones expectations. There are a lot of BS parents who believe an elite prep is a free pass to the Ivys, and get upset when the GC suggests that might not be the case. For those of us with more realistic expectations this talking down expectations can feel very discouraging. We found the best way to compile the initial list was to look through Fiske, look through guides like The Underground Guide which speak to the social climates, etc, and then visit whenever possible. We then used Naviance and the GCs to get a read on the realistic chances at any given school. The GCs get much more realistic after the summer when the initial hype of junior spring dies down.</p>
<p>My 10D applied EA (non-binding priority app) to a safety school she really liked. She was into college by Thanksgiving, and that took a lot of pressure off. It also reduced the number of applications since other safeties fell off of the list. We will likely try the same strategy with 12D. Otherwise we shied away from ED. Too high stakes, and too difficult to recover and write RD apps if DC gets denied. When you take out recruited athletes, who must apply in the ED round, there really are no better odds at most schools for ED over RD for the non-athlete student.</p>
<p>My other big tip is to get the essays drafted over the summer. Senior year academics are still very demanding. Having to write essays and apps is almost like taking an additional course. Much better if DC is just refining really solid drafts.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention…interviews. Probably less than 30% of 10Ds’ schools offered interviews, and some of those were alumni informational only. Many schools send repd directly to the BS to do interviews. Otherwise thay can be set up on campus during a visit, or at home on break.</p>