Running the Admissions Race

hsseniorlooking
Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:03:45 +0000

Well Dad thought I waited a little too long about getting my applications done. He was a bit of a nag. I told him that I’ve never missed a deadline and don’t plan to start missing them now. It seems like this dynamic is common between parents and high school students.

Although, I must say Dad helped get the Common Application stuff filled and made sure I knew what all the deadlines, and due dates were. He told me about the various merit competitions as I really didn’t look at the financial aid side of each school. He prodded me to enter some merit competitions. My initial reaction was to think I’d never get any of this competition based merit aid. To which he said “If you don’t enter you won’t get any".

In hindsight, I would suggest as you prepare a list of the schools you are interested in that you also check their financial aid pages as well. You’ll want to know about any requirements for merit aid as well admissions requirements. I wasn’t going for any athletic, performance or artistic aid or programs either. These types of things have their own issues, lists and deadlines.

You should actually create a school list in your junior year if possible. You’ll need to juggle scheduling SAT’s, SAT II, ACT’s and possibly AP exams, and any other academic requirements that each school has.

It probably would be nice to have an early sit down with your parents and discuss your possible college aspirations around the family’s income and parental feeling about paying for college.

Mom & Dad always supported my decision to try and apply to some competitive colleges. But Dad always had a cryptic comment about we’ll have to see what kind of aid you can get. This apparently meant applying to some safety schools (both academic and financial safeties).

It wasn’t until my EA school gave us the merit award that Dad spelled out the family economic picture. Although Dad did tell me ahead of time that ED was out of the question because aid would be a significant part of any admission decision. I told Dad I was willing to help and take out some loans too. So after talking with Dad I presume the family should also use an EFC calculator early on and discussing the financing aspect and how that could impact your school choices.

Since college has a major family impact it should be a joint discussion between student and parents. The lines of communication and support need to open both ways. We had our ups and downs, but we can see the finish line, and I’ll be glad when the race is over