My daughter is a sophomore this year (class of 2020) and just starting to look into and think about colleges. I just found this site which is amazing but not sure where to even begin. Any suggestions on what to start with, what to look at first? When to start doing tours? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
I have a sophomore too. For my two older kids, we started their junior year. We went to a lot in February and March. I wanted to know what we were dealing with before we looked as in test scores, interests, etc. Once you have a handle on her test scores and class rank in general then it is easier to know where she can get in. (I did not want my kids to fall in love with UT when they were not top 7%)
We started the first list during his Sophomore year and visited his first college just before his Junior year (too early for him) and more during the spring semester. We were done during the summer before his Senior year other that accepted student visits and interviews. Our school only allowed 3 days a year to be missed for college visits which is hard if you are looking out of state. Sophomore year go to college fairs and look online. Focus on developing her ECs , volunteer work and grades. In the summer plan out a visit strategy. Late Jr. year early Sr. year is great to weed out schools. Save time Sr. year to help make finally decisions.
Two things to think about:
- Consider your family finances and how this will affect college choices. This takes a lot of thought, and it's best done before the student gets seriously interested in particular colleges that may turn out not to be affordable.
- If your student is likely to be applying to highly selective colleges, consider whether it might be appropriate for her to take SAT Subject Tests toward the end of 10th grade. Depending on what classes she is taking, sometimes this is a good choice.
You can find lots of information on both of these topics on these boards.
If you haven’t looked at current costs (tuition, fees, and room & board), I’d suggest looking at your in-state options and some OOS publics and privates.
We hadn’t been paying any attention, so when it was time for Kid #1 to start looking, we were shocked (!!!) at how expensive college was. I was still stuck in the stone age, when it was possible to work your way through college.
Then, I’d start giving some thought as to how you’re going to pay for four years, and determine your budget. More kids in line? Look at the big picture for your family. Ready for retirement? Run Net Price Calculators (NPCs) at school web sites to see an estimate re: how much the schools expect you to pay. This also shocked us.
Better to have the parents look at, and figure out the financials, before anyone falls in love with any schools. We let Kid #2 apply to a school we could not afford, and she was accepted, then she was mad & very, very disappointed.
We started tours second semester junior year, and just went to some area schools, very low key, and used those schools as representative of a “type”. Here’s a big state flagship. Here’s a small LAC. Here’s an urban school.
On her short list of seven schools she applied to, she had only visited 3 of them before applying. We figured we would see the acceptances and FA packages, and then make a decision re: final visits.
We had Kid #1 do community college then transfer to our state flagship. Kid #2 had very good test scores (PSAT) and earned a full ride scholarship to an OOS flagship. She wasn’t so happy at first about being made to “take the money”.
If you think you have a very good test taker on your hands, and you need the $$, then throw your weight into prepping for the PSAT (possible National Merit), and then those ACTs and SATs.
I really enjoyed Frank Bruni’s book “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be” https://www.amazon.com/Where-You-Not-Who-Youll/dp/1455532681 On a road trip, when I had Kid #2 trapped in the car with me, we listened to it on audio, before application season.
We have one graduated from college and starting her life in a different part of the country, and one in her second year at school. Soooo glad to have the College Admissions Mania in the rearview mirror. The pressure at Kid #2’s high school got very intense and she was so stressed out by it all.
I hope this helps. Best of luck!
Have the financial talks early and often.
Don’t push, but encourage your daughter to start thinking about what she’d like in a college by spring of this year.
She’ll take a practice PSAT this fall, but the score won’t count for NMF, so just use it to determine whether she needs some prep books or a class for the real thing. The junior year PSAT is important because if she does well, it can lead to scholarship money, as well as an admissions boost.
My kids were good, but anxious, test takers, so they opted for the one and done approach to the SAT. They took this in the spring of their junior year, and the subject tests in the fall of senior year. Kids who don’t do well on tests may want to start earlier and take it more than once. Register early for the sitting you want, as spaces fill up and you may have to drive farther away to find an open spot.
If your daughter is at all anxious about the whole college application thing, don’t even bring it up until the spring. If she’s still anxious, wait until spring of her junior year to do tours. You won’t be behind!
Run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of a few places (state flagship U, local private, community college, your alma mater) and see whether you could afford any of them right now. If you can’t, could you tighten your budget and make them affordable? Then tighten the budget now, and try living on what you’d have left if you were shelling out for that education. This will clarify whether or not you can do that, and if you slap what would be going to tuition/fees/meals/housing into savings starting now, you’ll have some money in the bank when you do have to pay those fees for real.
And, of course, if you realize that there is no way anything but that community college is going to be affordable, then get to know it well, and let your kid know that it will be the CC unless they land serious merit-based aid. That was our situation. Two years at the CC then two years at the state U. Kid loved both places, and is well launched in her career.
I’m glad this worked out for @Massmomm’s family, but others might like a different approach. I would suggest taking both tests earlier, both because there’s a chance for the student to take them again if the scores are disappointing and because things can go wrong on test day – illness, power failure at the test center, hurricanes, whatever.
Also, if the student wants to take a Subject Test in a one-year subject (such as Chemistry or U.S. History) or one that they will not be studying the next year (for example, if the student takes French 4 as a junior and doesn’t plan to take French as a senior), the optimum time to take the Subject Test is at the end of the school year when the student is actually taking a course in the subject. It’s amazing what you forget between June and the first fall test date.
@DLP824 , what kind of a student is your daughter?
Many of the kids who post here, or whose parents post here, are straight A, AP, top of their class kinds of kids.
My B average older kids are absolutely the exception here-- evidenced by the fact that I’m a member, and neither of them has ever heard of this site.
Does your daughter have any idea “what she wants to be when she grows up?”
Is she generally a good student? Does anxiety come into play?
Does it look as though she’ll want to go away to school? Do you or she have any sort of idea of how far from home?
Let’s talk finances. Are her grades likely to mean some merit aid? Does your family have some money banked for college? if not, are you willing to consider your State University system?
We started doing tours during Junior year. (Those of you familiar with my daughter’s saga: we still have miles to go before we sleep. But that’s a different thread.) Applications go in during autumn of Senior year. You don’t have to have seen all the colleges she’s applying to by then (thankfully) but you’ll want to have at least started the process. It’s hard to know what you’re looking for until you’ve seen, for example, the difference between a large and a small college.
As others have said, the #1 early task for parents is to evaluate your finances so that you know how much is a realistic price limit. Running net price calculators on typical colleges (local public, flagship public, other desired publics and privates) can give you an idea of financial aid may look like.
In terms of standardized testing, 11th grade is the typical year where that becomes important. The 11th grade PSAT is the one that counts for National Merit qualification. Additionally, taking both the SAT and ACT in 11th grade give a standardized testing baseline (along with HS courses and grades) to help determine which colleges are realistic, and gives a chance to retry early in 12th grade.
If SAT subject tests are desired (only a small number of colleges require or recommend them), it is best to take them at the end of the school year when finishing the associated course. Usually, this would be at the end of 11th grade, but some student may finish courses for which they want to take SAT subject tests on in 10th grade.
My kids were also B+ students…not accelerated in anything except music…and not all AP courses and the like.
To the OP…there are 3000 colleges in this country…so there is a place for everyone who wants to go to college. In 10th grade, we started looking at colleges…sort of. We wanted our kids to see big, small, private, public, urban, suburban, rural. When we went on family vacations, we swung through some schools just to see. It helped our kids whittle down their choices from 3000 to less than 10.
If you have financial constraints…share them sooner than later.
If you have any other parent criteria…share those sooner than later. For example…we had a distance criteria…either within a three hour drive from our house…or within an hour of a close friend or relative. Really…that wasn’t very limiting for our kids!
Regardless…don’t let your kids have a “dream school”. Sure, it’s fine to have a favorite…but dream school notions elevate one school to super status…and really…that’s not always the best plan.
Cast a broad net. Start looking first for those sure thing schools that are affordable. Get a couple of those and then build the rest of your list. It is very easy to find those reach schools…not so easy to find the sure things.
Above all…have fun. Let your kid sort of lead the way. Look at schools when they are ready to do so.
I think you can wait until spring of junior year.
I personally think that it is harmful for kids to think about college prematurely. It can kind of distort the high school experience and cause undue stress.
That doesn’t mean you can’t think about it, especially the financial end.
But I would wait until Feb. of 11th grade to discuss with your child and start visiting.
First and foremost do like everyone else suggests. Figure out finances. Costs at your public schools and some privates. Your finances for this child and any others. Do NOT consider your retirement funds as part of the available money. You will need those later and can NOT get them back. Loans can be taken and paid off.
When you are in college towns plan to visit hem casually for a bit. Exposing her to large/small campuses, big cities/small towns, public/private will help her learn what is the same and different about colleges/universities. Then when she does her actual college visits she will not be overwhelmed and can actually pay attention to what makes a place appealing or not. It otherwise could take several formal visits to realize this. You can do day trips to see schools around your area. They do not have to be the ones she would apply to.
She should take the AP subject exams and any SAT subject tests shortly after taking the subject. Study hard while finishing the course- get a better grade in it and do better on the test. These may not be until next year, don’t worry if no AP’s yet.
This could be really great for everyone’s mental health if the student is, in general, following a path that is likely to lead to admission to a college suitable for the student’s ability level and academic interests.
But not all kids are doing this. And in those cases, it’s up to the parent to intervene.
If you have a kid who is not trying to get good grades because they don’t seem important, or who wants to drop out of all extracurricular activities, or who wants to avoid taking honors and AP courses because they require extra work, or who wants to drop foreign language after level 2, or who wants to do any of dozens of other things that could hamper college admissions, you may not be able to wait until the spring of junior year to discuss college.
I think sophomore year is a good time to start thinking about one might want to study. Perhaps this is atypical but my Ds HS had a career fair to give students an opportunity to discuss different fields. Another thing to begin looking at is the various types of colleges, not specific schools. You might visit (I don’t think you really need to tour at this point) an LAC, an urban school, a campus town, a large flagship, a directional, etc. It will give your child an opportunity to get the feel of the various types of schools and campuses without the pressure of considering attending the school. It’s a good time to prepare and find out dates for testing, and as others have mentioned determining how to finance college. Go to financial aid seminars, look at school websites and get a feel for what grades etc. they expect for merit scholarships. You will likely have sticker shock. Now is a good time to begin to log things such as volunteer hours and their different interests and leadership positions. It’s easier to do earlier in the process rather than attempt to remember everything while your filling out your applications.
Junior year is when the initial testing will likely take place and the serious college search will begin. Your child will likely have a better idea what they wish to study and what type of campus they might be interested in. You will also have a better idea what type of colleges your child might be academically qualified for. Visit colleges if you are able. The more selective the college the greater demonstrated interest will be considered. By the end of their junior year they will have the 6 semesters of grades and at least a set of test scores that will be considered for their applications. These will be the ones most considered for any ED, EA or for public flagships that require early applications for consideration for merit scholarships. Later grades and scores will be considered for RD. Junior year is also the time to begin to consider who you will ask for recommendation letters. By late junior year I would recommend discussing finances with your child. Let them know what you are willing to contribute. This can be through savings, current income or money you are willing to borrow. The rest will be through your child’s earnings, scholarships, financial aid or Stafford loans.
Senior year is application time. They should be prepared. Having kept a log of their activities it will give them material for answering the application questions. October 1 will open the FAFSA website to file your fafsa. The earlier the better. Then comes the waiting. If you have discussed finances with your child they will know that to be able to attend a school two things must happen. First they will need to be accepted and second the school will need to provide the scholarships and financial aid to make it affordable based on the contribution you will be able to make. If a school is not affordable it can be disappointing but not a surprise.
This is kind of the Reader Digest version of my observations. Good luck.
I have a sophomore. I’m not sure if I’m doing the process “correctly” or not, but here’s what works for us. We like to travel, so if we happen to be somewhere that happens to have a college that we happen to think Little Tutu might like, I’ll schedule a tour while we’re there. It’s not to determine whether or not that specific college is appealing, but just to get an overall feel for what she likes and doesn’t like (i.e., big/small, rural/urban, various majors, etc.). With her input, I’m creating a spreadsheet so she can narrow her choices down later.
Unlike what some people have suggested, we are not focusing on finances. Why? Because we’re in that middle-income slot where there is a chance she might get aid from one or more of those 100-percent-meet-need schools. However, we are including EFCs on the spreadsheet, and she is well aware of what we will actually spend. But, if you don’t try, you definitely won’t get aid.
Why has this worked for us? It has made the process more tangible for her. She knows that if she wants to go to certain schools that she is going to have to study to get the higher ACT/SAT scores she needs. If she wants to pledge a sorority, she knows that some have minimum GPAs. She knows that she doesn’t want to experience life in snow-covered Connecticut despite how academically wonderful Yale is or that even though the weather is nice at UCLA, she doesn’t want to be that far away from home. She is thinking that perhaps she doesn’t want to go to a large school where she may never see her friends, even if she knows 100 people there. And, she is beginning to realize that having a larger student loan to attend School A may not be worth it when she can have a smaller loan to attend School B.
What we’re not doing is letting the process consume her. She has the personality that if we waited until she was a junior, anxiety would kick in, she would think she would have to visit colleges that aren’t good fits “just because,” and she wouldn’t get anywhere.
Looks like you already have done the household budgeting aspect so that you and she know what you are able and willing to spend.
The reason many suggest that parents focus on finances first is that some wait until April of the student’s senior year to figure out what is affordable, sometimes with disastrous results (every college that admitted the student is too expensive), and others go on assumptions about cost and financial aid that may not be accurate, resulting in similar unpleasant surprises in April of the student’s senior year.
Marian I was considering all those factors when I suggested waiting. I don’t think the external motivator of college admissions is really a healthy thing but that’s me. Those things that you mentioned should be addressed as needed, but college considerations don’t need to be part of the solution. If a kid continues an activity in order to get into college, for instance, I don’t think that is a good thing. Better to continue for other reasons, or change to something else.
If parents talk about college in order to create motivation, it will backfire, often in the form of anxiety, but also, once kids are admitted to schools, they can lose motivation if that was what was driving their work and activities.
“Unlike what some people have suggested, we are not focusing on finances. Why? Because we’re in that middle-income slot where there is a chance she might get aid from one or more of those 100-percent-meet-need schools. However, we are including EFCs on the spreadsheet, and she is well aware of what we will actually spend. But, if you don’t try, you definitely won’t get aid.”
I’m not sure you mean your not focusing on finances. You have to. It sounds like you have already determined what you can spend so you have a good idea how their education will be financed. I think what you mean is that you aren’t going to focus on cost. So long as your child knows what has to happen for a school to be affordable then by all means apply where you will. You do need to have a “safety” that you know you can afford either because the school is affordable or you know there is a guaranteed scholarship that will make it affordable. There will be some schools that it will be highly predictable that the necessary FA will not be likely, NYU is one that is not known for it’s FA.
@compmom and @lvvcsf When I say we are not focused on finances, I mean that I’m not restricting my child from applying to ANY school, even if it APPEARS to be out of our financial reach. Because, you never know, she might just get a scholarship or some other type of aid to cover her expenses. I might win the next Powerball. She can apply anywhere she wants, but if she doesn’t get the aid to cover the dream, I’m not a parent who will then say “Oh, we’ll make it work.”