Current/Future Applicants and Parents: Making a College Application List

Mom2M
Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:20:31 +0000

Our family approached the “List” process over a long period of time.

D attended several workshops/classes at local colleges and universities from middle school on, she just liked that kind of thing.

We visited a variety of schools while D was in 10th/11th grade. Some large, some small, some public, some private. The first pass was to determine what type of college she liked.

I focused on costs and admission issues. A lot of time on CC, a lot of time on college websites, a lot of time at the library reading books, etc. I like information gathering, so this division of labor made sense. We have our own business, and that complicates financial aid. I am grateful for alamemom and others who answered my questions and recommended several books.

We had multiple conversations about finances. Before any applications were submitted, we talked about finances. To us, being able to pay the bill was as critical as being admitted.

As we got towards the end of 11th grade, we visited/revisited specific colleges so she could make up her list. We insisted financial + academic safeties being on the list. We did not limit the number of applications, in part because we didn’t have to (this kid knew what she wanted). We did insist on one “so mom can sleep” application (automatic merit scholarship – Univ of Alabama). We were VERY clear on the finances–discussions about loans, impact on grad school, etc.

When the “big envelope” arrived, DH and I were still a little concerned, but we felt we had done our homework. We feel USC has been very fair with our family and we appreciate it.