College Searching/Advice Seeking

ucbalumnus
Sat, 25 Apr 2020 02:15:21 +0000

johnlax22:

then how to choose the best fit once he hears back.

Ideally, all of the applications should be to good fit colleges. For example, they should all be affordable, or have a realistic chance of affordability by merit scholarship (in which case reach/match/likely/safety must be based on the merit scholarship rather than admission), have the academics that he wants to study and which match his post-graduation goals, and preferably be a desirable environment. The affordability fit can be researched beforehand with the college’s net price calculator, and the academic fit can be explored on the college’s web site with course listings, major programs, faculty rosters, etc…

As the parent, do not wait until next spring to determine the financial constraints. Do the financial planning now if you have not already done so, and clearly communicate to him about what financial constraints there are. Run the net price calculator on the web site of each college of interest to get an idea of whether its net price may be affordable.