My top takeaways from the most recent admissions cycle:
- Have a discussion about finances up front with your child and let them know how much you can (and will) contribute to college and make sure they apply to schools that are in within that budget (that can be through a combo of parent contribution/need based aid/merit aid).
- Make sure you have safeties on the list that your child would be happy to attend - not a list of 10 reaches with a safety your child thinks is beneath them.
- Be realistic if you have a high stats kiddo who is aiming for T20s - just because their gpa/SAT is at the 75th percentile doesn’t make them a likely admit - unless they are hooked, rejection is the most likely outcome.
- Apply EA to as many of your schools as offer it – many schools now fill the majority of their class this way
- Start your essays the summer between junior and senior year - it will save a lot of time and stress