<p>I haven't applied for college for over 25 years, so I'm not sure when I should start applying and visiting colleges with my daughter. She's a sophmore this year. Any advice?</p>
<p>Visits should start probably this summer or early next fall. She can’t apply anywhere until the college opens the applications for her class, usually Aug/Sept of her senior year.</p>
<p>You have come to the right place and started at the right time! Welcome! Here are a few thoughts:</p>
<ul>
<li>We took our kids on one or two visits to colleges in spring of their sophomore year. Just nearby schools so they could get a feel for the college visit process and start thinking about what they wanted. Maybe go to a couple of different size/type schools, just to help them get started on thinking about size, type (liberal arts vs. university), rural vs. urban, etc. Just for us, our sophomore visit motivated one of my kids to work harder – she liked the school, but thought, “I can go to a better school if I work harder”. And was motivated, and did go to a better school with good merit money.</li>
<li>Get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. If your D is the type, have her go through and pick out schools that interest her. One of mine did this on her own. The other asked me to mark schools I thought would be a good fit for her. I picked about 50, and we discussed that list and pared it down to 20. Her final application list was 8 of those.</li>
<li>You can’t really narrow down the list until your daughter has some standardized test scores. If she took the PSAT as a sophomore (some schools have their kids to that), then you have some guidelines (although they will go up over the next 18 months as she learns more). She definitely should take the PSAT junior year (school will likely organize this, but check), and you will have results around Christmas time.</li>
<li>Run the Net Price Calculator for each school she is interested in to see what you might expected to pay. Note that if you have complex finances or a small business, the results may not be at all accurate.</li>
<li>Plan some campus visits for spring and summer of junior year. We did a few earlier when family or other reasons took us near colleges they wanted to see, though. It is better to go to campus when school is in session, but not absolutely necessary. Best to do several things on campus – tour, sit in on a class, eat in the cafeteria, meet with a prof in an area of interest if she is comfortable. We found info sessions to be less interesting after a couple, and often skip those. We were also pretty strategic in interviewing (D1 interviews well, we had her do some late junior year. D2 is not a good interview, she did not do any unless required).</li>
<li>If she can’t visit, get her signed up on the website for mailing and if the college has a session in your town, go to it.</li>
<li>Plan her schedule for standardized testing. Many kids take their “main” test (SAT or ACT) more than once to get their best possible score (mine both did it twice). If any of her schools require SAT subject tests, plan those as well. We found that the calendar got complicated (didn’t want to miss state meets in their activities, etc). Best to get as much testing as possible out of the way in the junior year so she can focus on applications and senior year “stuff” more in the fall. It makes the picture of where she likely CAN go much clearer, too.<br></li>
<li>Pick some schools that are safeties (sure to get in AND you can afford it), matches (her stats match pretty well, around the 50% mark for the schools), and reaches (she is below the 50% mark AND/OR they have an admissions rate under 25%). She most likely will end up at a match or safety, so spend time on those. Don’t just go on a tour of big name schools and assume she will get in someplace even if the admissions are tough (we see that every year, and sometimes kids have no choices in the spring).</li>
<li>Go out and read the College Confidential forums on the schools she is narrowing down to. You will be amazed at what you learn!</li>
<li>The Common App becomes available in August of her senior year. Try to get her to start on her Common App essays early.</li>
<li>There are ways to apply early at some schools (Early Action, Early Decision). Learn the difference and think very hard before putting in any kind of restrictive early application (that won’t let you apply to other schools, compare aid packages, etc.). Come out here for advice. :)</li>
<li>My advice is not to let her essays go in without examination by an adult. Just someone to give her editing comments, make sure her content is appropriate, help catch major typos, etc. Some kids don’t have this, but it is a good idea.</li>
</ul>
<p>There is tons of advice out here on CC. But it is a bit like crack cocaine for parents. Unless your kid is a really high power performer, stay out of the Ivy section (many people find it distressing). Parents have tons of good advice on financial aid, admissions, merit aid, pros and cons of various types of schools, etc. Good luck!</p>
<p>From intparent’s great advice, I say run the Net Price Calculator of schools first. It can be a real shock to discover the cost of college. Over the next year, start to get a plan, and that can include looking for schools that give significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Excellent overview by intparent!</p>
<p>I know I felt the same way as the OP. I felt much better when I read a few books on the college admissions process. Once you have a good overview of the whole process you will be empowered. I was about to say “less stressed” but somehow when it comes to the college admissions process, “less stressed” won’t be the case for a few years! But, knowledge is power!
Ditto the recommendation for the Fiske Guide.
If you want a quicker overview, start reading a few websites such as the “Getting Started” section of the College Board <a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started[/url]”>https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started</a>
OR
[Prepare</a> for College | Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college]Prepare”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college) </p>
<p>And if you need a good laugh, get this from the library “Crazy U” by Andrew Ferguson. Here is an excerpt: <a href=“Excerpt - Crazy U - By Andrew Ferguson - The New York Times”>Excerpt - Crazy U - By Andrew Ferguson - The New York Times;
<p>I found sophomore year too early for mine. But by a few months into junior year they were ready so your mileage may vary on the sophomore visits. We did the big/small visit in fall of junior year and by the late spring after ACTs etc., we settled on some targeted colleges that we visited in late August after the colleges “started” and right before senior year started in September (coaches weren’t happy but I said “tough”). Applications can occur anytime from the beginning of senior year until the last deadlines…again depends on the application list. Some exuberant kids might actually start the process summer before senior year, but those are a rare breed of kid.</p>
<p>Great advice from Intparent! I’d echo that it is helpful to start early – visit a few schools (either near your home or near any travel destinations) this spring or summer. You’ll begin to get a feel for big/small, rural/suburban/urban, etc. as well as for what works for your family to make the most out of a college visit.</p>
<p>Yes, Intparent provides excellent advice. </p>
<p>I took my son to one nearby college at the end of his sophomore year just to get him motivated and so he understood what was ahead. I agree that it is great to visit two very different colleges (urban vs. rural, large university vs. small college) early in the process to try to narrow down the likes and dislikes. </p>
<p>Many parents try to combine some college visits with a family vacation to save some time and money. However, it is preferable to do most visits when a college is in regular session, so you can see what it is really like, as opposed to just looking at mostly empty buildings.</p>
<p>I recommend taking both the SAT and the ACT. Then, pick whichever test result was the best, and take that test again. ACT is generally best for students who are better at science than math. In any case, they are completely different tests, and a student will often do better in one than the other. </p>
<p>Take the PSAT as early as possible. Some schools offer it sophomore year, in addition to junior year.</p>
<p>Make sure that your admissions safeties also can serve as financial safeties. An admissions safety does not help if you can’t afford it. </p>
<p>Check out some colleges where your child will likely be eligible for some automatic merit scholarships, and some that meet a high percentage of financial need. It reduces the risks of being admitted to colleges that end up being unaffordable. </p>
<p>Recognize that sometimes a student needs to attend a less prestigious school in order to find a school that is affordable. Avoiding high levels of parent debt and student debt is more important than prestige. Some parents say to their kids - “OK, if you want to attend the very expensive college, fine, but you have to agree to let me move in with you after my retirement savings run out.” </p>
<p>I told my son that if he picked the college with the highest net cost, he would have to work during the school year, instead of only having to work during the summer. That helped him make up his mind.</p>
<p>You already have been given some great advice here. This is what worked best for us:</p>
<p>Soph year - start visits, nothing intense, combine with other activities when possible. Helps motivate in some cases, helps focus on what your DS/DD is looking for (and what they don’t want, which is just as important!). Continue during junior year.</p>
<p>Junior year - Standardized testing! with DS, we were able to be done by June; for DD, she had to take ACT one more time senior year. Both of my kids focused on SAT, but then tried ACT, which ended up better (and they only submitted ACT). </p>
<p>Summer before senior year - get good start on applications; try to be done in October (apply Early Action wherever possible - not binding). It’s nice to have some early acceptances so that DS/DD can enjoy senior year.</p>
<p>As others have said, as far as your college list, important to have match and safety schools (academic and financial).</p>
<p>There are a lot of schools and lots of choices. Read on the web, check out videos, and take everything on CC with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>My recommendation is to look at the schools where you know your student is likely to be accepted and that you can afford first. It’s so easy and fun to cherry pick. Yeah, it’s great to say, "we’re looking at Harvard , Princeton and Yale, and other schools with the name recognition and panache, but the reality check can hurt when your kid realistically is going to probably be going to ABC and XYZ schools that are not so well known. Those are the ones you need to check out. Kids can tell what your standards and hopes are, and it does fuel the stress that the college app process does inherently have when there are going to be seletive schools on the list. You can mitigate that may taking the focus off of them. Those schools could not care less whether you are interested in them. Everyone is.</p>
<p>Yes, CPt, it may make sense to delay the visits to the dream schools. You don’t want your son or daughter to completely fall in love with a college that they are likely to be rejected from, or that will be unaffordable. You can always visit the dream school on accepted student days (after you get a financial aid offer). </p>
<p>(When my son visited Georgetown, he wanted to buy an expensive sweatshirt. A friend said - don’t do it, because if you get rejected, you won’t want to ever wear it. He didn’t get accepted.) </p>
<p>I’d also recommend keeping your schedule as open as possible during the month of April of the senior year, if you are going to be attending accepted student events, before making a final decision before May 1.</p>
<p>If your daughter is a HS sophomore, take a look at what other kids in the same grade are doing on this thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1086324-parents-hs-class-2015-college-class-2019-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1086324-parents-hs-class-2015-college-class-2019-a.html</a></p>
<p>You’ll see conversations about PSATs, SAT subject tests, midterms, extracurriculars, college tours etc</p>