101 Things I Wish I'd Known Before the College Search

[historymom]

1. Reach schools are "reach" for a reason. Expect not to get into any of them.

2. "Holistic admissions" means "holistic for anyone with a 4.0 GPA and a 2200+ on the SATs."

3. Don't make your kid apply to a school they really aren't interested in. Even with merit money they still won't go.

4. "Need blind" admissions means when FA awards come out they are blind to your need.

5. Don't waste your time visiting schools where accepted student SAT/ACT scores are significantly higher than your PLAN and PSAT scores.

6. If you know or suspect your EFC will be high, push your kid to do LOTS of community service. Most outside scholarships weigh heavily on this and you will need those scholarships!

7) Don't decide before exploring your options that you can't afford to go private. They can be more affordable that public. But most everyone should have an in-state public or two on their list as a financial safety.

8) Investing a few bucks in a service: ie USNWR and yes...even C0lL ege Prow1er can help you decide if you want to get on that plane and make the visit or cross a school off your list before the visit. Spend a little to save a lot

[historymom]

ACK crossed post with bunches of people!!!

[huguenot]

Historymom, I'm going to call your 7 and 8, 11 and 12 to fit into the sequence.

13. Start earlier. Do what it takes to visit in Junior year and then do apps early, early in senior year before it gets any busier.

14. Prepare child for weirdness of college admissions (good merit aid at top school vs none at safety). Scholarships are recruiting tools and there's no telling what they may recruit this year.

15. It takes a lot of time and money to prove you have no money and need financial aid. :-P

[Greta]

#16?: Respect the privacy of the college residents and do not expect to see any dorm rooms during a college tour. It can happen, but more likely you will not allowed inside a dorm during the tour.

Not seeing the dorms frustrated me a little when we were touring with our oldest, but now that he is enrolled and living in a dorm I can very much appreciate the security and privacy issues that would arise if tour groups were allowed in their living spaces. And besides, most dorms/dorm rooms on a college campus are not homogeneous. Seeing a random dorm room during a tour tells a student and parents very little about the future living conditions of a newly enrolled freshman.

[madbean]

LOL hugeunot, on #15

16. Face the fact that there are always students out there with higher SATs, more APs, and insane GPAs...and they are all posting Chance me threads on CC.

[Sectumsempra]

17 (or 18?): there are only seven activity slots on the common app

[bethievt]

19. If you stay more than a few days on CC, you may be in for life.

[sly_vt]

20. First thing parents need to do in the college search process is fill out a financial aid estimator online to understand what their financial commitment is expected to be.

Ha Ha bethie. How true

[northeastmom]

Greta, I agree. Also, seeing a room won't give you the info about who you will be living with, who your floormates/dormmates will be, or if you will be tripled in a double sized room. These are all things that can effect the freshman year experience much more than whether the walls are cinder block, or if the current students lofted their beds. As long as a student has enough space to hang clothes, and a desk, it is the fellow students one is living with that can make that dorm experience a great one, or sadly, not so wonderful.

[mountains]

21. If you don't do well on the SAT, try the ACT.

[obsessed mom]

I don't understand what is meant by "holistic" schools. Someone please explain.
Thanks

[Student615]

Re: Holistic schools

Those schools that are more likely to consider the "whole" applicant, giving significant consideration to recs, essays, EC's, individual circumstances, interest, interview, academics, etc., as opposed to those whose admissions may be more formulaic. Some schools will admit anyone who meets minimum academic criteria, some really pride themselves on holistic admissions, and most fall somewhere in the middle.

[mini]

22. There are no schools that are need-blind to those with very large and open checkbooks.

22.A. Come to think of it, there are no schools that are need-blind.

[Marian]

23. You should be planning for the SAT Subject Tests by 10th grade at least. 9th would be better.

24. The real deadlines for submitting college application paperwork are not the ones set by the colleges. They're the ones set by your child's high school for dealing with recommendations and transcripts, and they may be as much as two months earlier.

[sybbie719]

23. Sit down and have the money talk with your kids. Tell them realistically how much you are willing to pay/borrow for their education. Run your numbers through the finanical aid calculators using both the federal and institutional methodologies.

24. Financial aid is based on what the school things you can afford to pay, not how much you are willing to pay (there is often a big disconnect).

25. If your school uses the CSS profile yes, they will ask for the finanical information from both you and your ex-spouse along with the financial information of your current spouse(s) if applicable. In short in the college's eyes there are 4 people with income and assets to pay for your college, however YMMV.

26. Students, if your parents tell you that they are only willing to pay $ "X" for your education, beleive it. Don't think that just because you have been accepted at _______________, with no $ that all of the sudden it is going to magically appear.