On a scale of 0-5, how involved are you in the app process?

[Anonymous]

0 being not even seeing anything they are doing and 5 being seeing it all, editing essays & filling in some forms/doing admin work.

I am a 4.5, honestly. But really he did all the good and hard work in HS - he just needs help organizing everything/presenting it.

[Anonymous]

First child, 1. Second child, 4.5. Really depends on the kid.

[Anonymous]

0 which we are all fine with. Agree with every kid is different

[Anonymous]

5.

[Anonymous]

Maybe 3-3.5

I helped him brainstorm ideas for the common app essay, but didn't edit (his English teacher reviewed). I do know what it's about generally, but haven't read it.

He needed help with forms and I edited and helped input parts of the application after his rough draft.

He is a solid student and reasonably well organized for a teen. If I were doing something like the common app for myself I would ask my husband or a friend to review for any errors. It's too important to not help.

[Anonymous]

Helped DD create a tracker for deadlines for everything and meet 2x week to check progress. Don't know what you call that on your scale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First child, 1. Second child, 4.5. Really depends on the kid.

Same. My second had a lot of anxiety around the process and required much more attention and prodding.

[Anonymous]

OP you are not alone. I was probably a 5 based on your scale.

[Anonymous]

6

[Anonymous]

First child, 0.5 or 1. I did get to see his essay eventually.

Second child, 0 other than tracking down SAT sites I thought were unlikely to cancel and handing over the credit card for payment of fees.

Third child, TBD. But he's very organized and motivated.

None of my kids have academic or psychological issues. I would definitely step in if they were freaking out or didn't have the skills to manage what is, after all, a pretty complicated process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6

[Anonymous]

Kid 1 4-5. It felt like college admissions was one long argument..

Kid 2 is probably a 3. She’s really worked closely with me on colleges for a year now— from getting the Fiske Guide and scheduling virtual sessions to in person visits to making a list to completing applications. She makes the decisions about which schools to apply to, ED, etc., within the financial parameters we set. She does the work. But she and I sit down every three months or so to look at long term goals and every Sunday to check her progress from the previous week and make a list of goals for the upcoming week.

It’s so nice to have a kid who is working with me as a teammate. But, having also done college admissions with a kid who was less cooperative, I think it’s more about the kid than the parenting style.

[Anonymous]

It can also depend on the number of applications. There are a lot of moving parts. I would say my DH and I were a 5 on the administrative end. Due dates and verification that schools received documents. (I am a stickler on ensuring that others did their job: transcripts, recommendations, SAT scores). BTW, my kids each applied to 10 schools.

[Anonymous]

Involved? About 6 since past 17 years.

[Anonymous]

This is our first kid of 3 who will be going through the process. I'd say about 4.5. Not because I need to micromanage-- she's incredibly organized, knows all the deadlines, checks in with school counselors regularly drafted essays during the summer-- but because she asks for and appreciates my partnership in reviewing the essays, evaluating pros and cons on where to apply ED vs EA vs RD, checking over paperwork before submitting, etc. We have a great relationship. This will likely be a much more fraught process with kid #2....