If you visit, request to be added to a mailing list, they start tracking then. Open emails of interest etc.
I meant more specifically that things like emailing AO’s with program questions, interviews etc…it’s too early.
Not to mention the list can change LOT between now and then and you can end up being badgered by an early school of interest that falls off or down. LOL!
With at least one exception, though: If your child is looking at programs that require things like portfolios for admission, it’s not too early to find out what s/he should be working on preparing and assembling.
(Which is one reason my D19 may end up in industrial engineering instead of industrial design: She’s started learning what sorts—and I use the plural there on purpose—of portfolios she’d need to assemble for design programs, and admission to engineering programs begins, I kid you not, to look a lot easier.)
that’s a VERY valid point ^^^^ any theater tech, drama, music or art kids should start assembling now…save every scrap of everything and take pictures.
Thanks for posting this, @dfbdfb – we are learning “draft” portfolios drive the process for theater design/tech and digital design. (Of course I had no idea until we spoke with some professors.) Portfolios need to be customized for different programs at different schools.
@RightCoaster and @eandsmom thanks! I created a new email for college stuff and signed up for two college’s information. I know some families are tired of getting literature but we’re just starting out and I’m actually curious what they will send. 
@dfbdfb Good info on portfolios!! Thanks for the heads up!
I assume it’s better for me to have S19 send emails about those types of questions and not have his mommy do that?
^^^^ That’s why you set up the special joint college email. 
Mommy can send and sign for her son.
Just realized that was my first post on here. I have a senior at Yale and S19 not looking at any schools like Yale, so following along here. His PSAT was good so will be chasing down merit, I think, for him. No clear picture for sure on what he wants to study - math or computers, not english or history.
Thanks, @RightCoaster for the suggestion on creating twitter/facebook accounts. I created a Twitter list of schools/related accounts to keep updated.
@homerdog i think its a great idea to start visiting colleges now. I started with my s17 summer between 8th and 9th grade and dragged my d19 along. I felt that it would just give them a better idea early on so that it would be a little less overwhelming (although its pretty overwhelming deciding on which school which is where we are at now for him). Also keeps them focused on what they want so that they take the rigorous classes in HS they need to have a shot at getting into the colleges they like.
@eandesmom and @ MAC2012 thanks for your responses.
@RightCoaster awesome input, thanks!
@letsshare I’m excited to see schools mostly because I can’t wait to see S19’s reactions. We are visiting family in MN this summer so we will probably see Macalester and Carleton while we are there. And six Ohio schools have this official week where they all have students and professors available during their tours. We’ll probably hit Denison, Kenyon, and Oberlin. It’s called the Ohio Six College Tour. Ohio is driving distance from where we live, so this would just be an initial trip to check out these schools. If any ring his bell, we would re-visit junior year when more kids are there.
We did our first (for this round, since I have two in college already) college visit this weekend, an engineering open house at UVA. They convinced us. Now if the grades can stay high enough so that there is a chance.
The talk of portfolios made me think of something I heard at UVA orientation with my oldest that seems like a fantastic idea even for our high school kiddos. The career center guy said that they recommended all students keep an electronic portfolio with all their extracurriculars, jobs, contact info for people they might want to ask for recommendations, anything they might ever want to conceivably use for job/internship/club/grad school/etc. application. The idea was that nowadays no one should have a fixed resume that they keep updated, but rather for each application you are going to pull out those items from your vast trove of experiences to highlight why you are best for this particular position.
Seems like a great idea, @mom23travelers - now if someone hasn’t come up with a program/app to “keep” all that stuff in, they need to.
I’m realizing that I have multiple links and emails and photos and snippets of stuff I want to remember and refer back to during this journey, but they’re scattered across three email addresses and two computers. It’d be nice to have a cloud-based repository to throw it all.
Anyone have any experience with University of Washington? I’ve been playing around looking at big state schools with good honors programs. UW keeps coming up. Kids in the program have average ACT 31-33, can live in the same dorm, and their honors classes are small. The campus looks gorgeous. And I love Seattle. The OOS cost is about $49,000 which, while a lot of money, is still less than some other OOS publics and they have a scholarship that seems pretty attainable that is $5000 per year.
I have some concerns though. Sounds like many students commute. Not loving that. Also read in the Fiske Guide that it’s hard to get a professor’s ear. (Even in the honors program, those kids still are taking some classes with the whole population of students.) Fiske Guide also said much of the social life is off campus in Seattle. That’s not a plus either.
Any west coasters in this group with any good info? Either have an older child at UW or know kids who are there, perhaps even in the honors program?
UW is the school the very smart kids from Alaska aspire to. Yes, lots of commuting, but a lot of them are what I call local commuters—that is, they live quite close to campus, and bike or walk in. By reputation, the faculty can be hard to connect with, but I think you get that at every large research-focused institution, really. And having attended research conferences on campus, yes, lots of social life off campus, but res life seems to have lots going on, too, at least when I’ve been around.
From what I have read, there are 16 dorms and on campus apartments that house around 7,500 students, and 72% of freshmen (about 4,680) live on campus. The fraternities and sororities (which are located on the streets adjacent to campus to the north) house a few thousand more undergraduates who walk, bike or skate to campus, along with many other students who live in apartments and houses in and around the University District. It’s practically a small city of 18 to 22 year olds.
UDub alumn here. Know TONS of kids who go there. Also know tons of kids who don’t get in, get waitlisted or do not get direct admit to their majors. About 40% of our current senior class applied.
Interestingly enough, none of our 4 kids are/were remotely interested, including my S17 (who flat out refused to apply) although I will likely make S19 apply. Different reasons for each kid though. Too big for SS11 and S17 and SD14 had her heart set on a program elsewhere that would be direct admit and start out core classes right away. Equally as big though but she’s found her tribe playing club soccer.
In a school with 30,000 undergrads in a major city, you will have commuters. You will also have very large very full dorms, kids living off campus but not really commuting and a very active greek system. Tons of school spirit. The kids we know fall into all 5 categories.
Connecting with faculty will vary by program but honestly if that is the desire, it may not be the place. If connections happen it will be junior/senior year. Classes can be very hard to get and most majors are impacted. If you aren’t a direct admit and are going for a more competitive major, it can be a risky proposition. It is absolutely perfect for many kids, it was for me. I didn’t need to connect with the faculty and didn’t mind 700 seat lecture halls. I was in a sorority and that made the school small and gave me my “tribe”. The happier kids I know there are involved in something, whether it’s greek life, club sports (2 of SD14’s friends play club soccer there), marching band or other. You need to find a way, or most kids do, to make it small.
That said, I have three classes that stand out in my memory as having an impact in my life, and one professor who wasn’t remotely in my major that I really recall (though can’t truly say I “connected” with him all that much. One professor. One. Sure I recall a few more details than that on some of the classes but nothing of substance. Zero help in my major for internships and recruiting. I am not sure how much better that has gotten but certainly I have not seen recent grads having issues getting jobs at all. I have dinner with my sorority sisters every other week, I wouldn’t trade my years there for the world but have wondered at times if an LAC would have been a better educational experience.
My sister did both undergrad and grad school there and really loved her grad school experience. I don’t think it’s any different than most large state schools. I can’t speak to the honors college at all.
It’s a great school, I’m a proud alumn, it just depends on what your child wants and the environment they do best in.
@dfbdfb @eandsmom @UWfromCA thanks for the input! @eandsmom I bet you’re right about UW being not much different than other big state schools when it comes to personal attention. I have a niece and nephew who graduated from Wisconsin and they loved it, but didn’t really connect with any profs until junior and senior year. Even then, I wouldn’t say it was very personal. Still, a great experience, tons of friends made, life changing study abroad semesters, and they both found something they love to study.
I went to Northwestern and I would say I didn’t know many of my professors well, but I also blame myself for not seeking them out more. Most of my classes for the first two years (except calculus and German) were about 150 kids. The professors I remember the most are the ones who were fascinating people who loved their area of expertise and had engaging lectures (a Russian Lit teacher and an Econ teacher come to mind) but I never once spoke to either of them. 
And I loved my time there.
So, maybe small classes and individual attention isn’t always the very most important thing. That being said, college is so expensive now that I think my husband and I feel better about paying full-freight if our kids will be in smaller classes with more individual attention! Time will tell…