<p>Two of my kids are sophomores, so we went through the search, application, and selection process that most CC posters here are in the midst of now. But when I look at the start of this cycle next year for my youngest, I find myself just older, but not any wiser. If you have been through this in the past, when you look back at what you thought versus what actually transpired, can you list what were the main things you learnt from it?</p>
<p>Some specifics in our case:
We felt that the student's perception of "fit" was very important, only to find that perhaps they were based on premises that were shaky. eg. We respected our D's decision to not even consider applying to Penn State because it was way too large and too spread out. Now, every time she comes home on break, she makes a beeline to Penn State to spend time with her friends there because she things it's a great place and everyone likes it there. My S who felt that it was most important to be able to get a business minor or a dual degree was quite put off by the intro business courses, that he decided to take on a second technical discipline (fortunately at a school that's absolutely superb in both the areas he's into). So the question is - how much credence should one give to a child's (evolving) preferences?</p>
<p>The second area where I'm disappointed is my total lack of actually learning what can be done to make modest credentials look good, good credentials great, and great credentials translate to an outstanding application. (Or at least not make good credentials look mediocre). Both the kids wrote their own essays in their (differing) styles, took perhaps one out of three suggestions that my wife and I gave, perhaps a bit more from their GC when it came to revising the essays. </p>
<p>We thought my S's (genuinely true) feelings specific to Stanford in his essay - that his greatest academic love - computer science - started from an introductory Stanford/EPGY C programming course would resonate with them. We assumed his credentials ACT-35, 800 in math SAT by 7th grade, 800s in SAT-IIs, numerous math/comp programming/comp sci contests and EC projects, class rank 5/345, 7 APs starting with calc AB in soph year with all 5s, paid programming job and tutoring company he started in senior year, would make Stanford a match - he didn't even make the waitlist. Didn't get better than a waitlist in any of the 3 Ivies, and what saved him was that his first choice - CMU - came through (in retrospect, this is the best thing that could have happened). We know several students who we felt had lower credentials who were accepted, so we are no wiser when my youngest applies as to what works and what doesn't. So while we've lucked out with our first two, we have this uneasy feeling that we're still playing amateur night the third time around.</p>
<p>Perhaps you can give some suggestions on what you all learned in these areas - what did you feel was important while you were selecting schools that did or didn't actually matter after you were in, and what would you have done differently in the way you applied. I don't even want to address the issue of merit scholarships - an area where we again came out with nothing, but fortunately for us, it was secondary.</p>
One thing that helps as far as choosing colleges goes is to visit the campus and stay a couple days if possible–not just on the school campus, but exploring the surrounding areas/city. Otherwise, I don’t really think there’s such a thing as a “perfect” fit college. There are bound to be some aspects of even your dream school that you won’t like. As long as you feel comfortable and can see yourself there, practically speaking, it shouldn’t be a big deal.</p>