Just starting-Advice

[Anonymous]

My DD is a freshman and of course we are starting to think about colleges. We are taking her on a few visits, no tours just to walk around and see. Other than that-would love some advice and/or a timeline of the college search/application process. Definitely open to hiring a college consultant if worthwhile.

Does she start studying for PSATs now? When do we we look into a prep class or tutor? When do we do formal school tours, apply for merit awards etc? Apologies for the cluelessness on this but it's our first so would love suggestions from others.

[Anonymous]

If you are counting on merit awards, start researching the landscape now. The best source are colleges themselves (the outside scholarships are not worth it, IMHO; most of them are negligible relative to the cost of tuition and are too much hassle). Figure out which schools give out merit scholarships and for what, and how that fits in with your goals.

[Anonymous]

Buy the Fiske Guide To Colleges 2023 edition.

Easy read with subtle warnings.

[Anonymous]

Encourage her to get involved with clubs and other ECs at school and elsewhere. These should be things she has a genuine interest in. Some parents think kids should wait until they've adjusted academically and then start sophomore year. IME, it's better to join in 9th. First, it's hard to get any leadership positions if you wait til 10th. Second, if the kid does go overboard with ECs and it hurts grades, it's much better to do this in 9th and course correct than in 10th when grades matter more.

Academically, opt for the tougher classes. At almost all high schools it is a lot easier to drop down to less intensive courses than to move up to more intensive ones. That doesn't mean take all the toughest classes. It does mean that if she's borderline for honors or harder classes in some subjects, go for it.

Find out who her counselor is. At some schools, it's the same person all 4 years. Just stop by and introduce herself if it is.

If it's allowed at her school, go to the meetings with college reps for colleges that may be of interest. Don't go to all of them but if, for example, she thinks she might like to go to a small liberal arts college, go to a couple of talks by that kind of school if 9th graders are permitted. Especially do it for less popular schools. (I mean less popular at that particular high school.)

There's no need to go traveling all over the country visiting colleges. You can see lots of different types of colleges locally.

Start looking at colleges from the bottom up. Even if your kid is a superstar, don't start with Harvard or MIT. You're kid is likely to be more open to less selective colleges if she sees them first.

Get a sense of how much your family will be expected to pay by trying out some of the NPCs--net price calculators--at your flagship public and a few other colleges. Be aware that there are certain things that can really hurt. For example, if you're going to sell a second home, the timing of this could inflate your EFC--expected family contribution. If applicable, check out rules for separated and divorced parents.

Talk about money early and often if you have any financial restraints whatsoever. If you are only willing to pay X dollars or some formula like the cost of the most expensive instate tuition, room and board, tell your kid that. I've known kids who wanted to go to attend more expensive colleges and did so because they figured out how to pay the difference. For example, several kids got ROTC scholarships. Not everyone in ROTC gets scholarships, BTW. These kids did because they focused on getting them. You can't get one if your parents tell you fpr the first time when the envelopes come back that they aren't paying for the college of your dreams.

Tell her the better her grades and test scores, the more options she will have. If your family needs financial aid, the most selective colleges tend to have the most generous fin aid policies. If she's going to need to look for merit, better stats will help.

Right now, she should focus on doing well at school, not prepping for standardized tests. An exception is if she wants to sign up for one of those "word a day" sites that just sends her one word a day to grow up vocabulary slow.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Encourage her to get involved with clubs and other ECs at school and elsewhere. These should be things she has a genuine interest in. Some parents think kids should wait until they've adjusted academically and then start sophomore year. IME, it's better to join in 9th. First, it's hard to get any leadership positions if you wait til 10th. Second, if the kid does go overboard with ECs and it hurts grades, it's much better to do this in 9th and course correct than in 10th when grades matter more.

Academically, opt for the tougher classes. At almost all high schools it is a lot easier to drop down to less intensive courses than to move up to more intensive ones. That doesn't mean take all the toughest classes. It does mean that if she's borderline for honors or harder classes in some subjects, go for it.

Find out who her counselor is. At some schools, it's the same person all 4 years. Just stop by and introduce herself if it is.

If it's allowed at her school, go to the meetings with college reps for colleges that may be of interest. Don't go to all of them but if, for example, she thinks she might like to go to a small liberal arts college, go to a couple of talks by that kind of school if 9th graders are permitted. Especially do it for less popular schools. (I mean less popular at that particular high school.)

There's no need to go traveling all over the country visiting colleges. You can see lots of different types of colleges locally.

Start looking at colleges from the bottom up. Even if your kid is a superstar, don't start with Harvard or MIT. You're kid is likely to be more open to less selective colleges if she sees them first.

Get a sense of how much your family will be expected to pay by trying out some of the NPCs--net price calculators--at your flagship public and a few other colleges. Be aware that there are certain things that can really hurt. For example, if you're going to sell a second home, the timing of this could inflate your EFC--expected family contribution. If applicable, check out rules for separated and divorced parents.

Talk about money early and often if you have any financial restraints whatsoever. If you are only willing to pay X dollars or some formula like the cost of the most expensive instate tuition, room and board, tell your kid that. I've known kids who wanted to go to attend more expensive colleges and did so because they figured out how to pay the difference. For example, several kids got ROTC scholarships. Not everyone in ROTC gets scholarships, BTW. These kids did because they focused on getting them. You can't get one if your parents tell you fpr the first time when the envelopes come back that they aren't paying for the college of your dreams.

Tell her the better her grades and test scores, the more options she will have. If your family needs financial aid, the most selective colleges tend to have the most generous fin aid policies. If she's going to need to look for merit, better stats will help.

Right now, she should focus on doing well at school, not prepping for standardized tests. An exception is if she wants to sign up for one of those "word a day" sites that just sends her one word a day to grow up vocabulary slow.

Good luck!

Great advice here

[Anonymous]

Good advice by the PP. I will add that at this age, “visiting colleges” is as simple as driving around a campus when you happen to be visiting that city for something else. Or stopping for lunch during a road trip and checking out their stadium or quad. Do it every so often and your kid will develop a picture of what a small school, big school, urban campus, rural campus, etc. feels like.

[Anonymous]

Agree that in the beginning, casual stops/drives/walk thrus are helpful. Official college info sessions and tours will be important to show interest (starting esp spring of junior year). But don't waste time unless you've narrowed down a bit. They can be MIND NUMBING. I would dearly love admissions officers to take their own tour - or more importantly, listen in on their own info session. Must we hear about how unique they are because they have a cappella clubs? Or holistic admissions? Or just an endless retread of information readily available on the website? I did love my time with my kids doing these, but I wonder if they might be a little less boring.

[Anonymous]

Study for the PSAT as soon as possible if interested in becoming a National Merit Scholar.

Visit as many elite schools / target schools as you are able since last minute visits can get overwhelming & confusing.

[Anonymous]

Great advice. To me, she is in the driver's seat, but you can help support in many ways as others have said. To help guide her to make choices that will help her grow as a person and a student, and will eventually help her present the story of who she is, to admissions folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Study for the PSAT as soon as possible if interested in becoming a National Merit Scholar.

Visit as many elite schools / target schools as you are able since last minute visits can get overwhelming & confusing.

Doesn't that just matter for the PSAT taken in Junior year? It seems early to worry about that as a freshman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study for the PSAT as soon as possible if interested in becoming a National Merit Scholar.

Visit as many elite schools / target schools as you are able since last minute visits can get overwhelming & confusing.

Doesn't that just matter for the PSAT taken in Junior year? It seems early to worry about that as a freshman.

Yes, and your observation is reasonable, but if one wants to spend time preparing for college admissions during the freshman year, then this is one suggestion. Hopefully,concern about the qualifying PSAT test will motivate the student to do well academically in all core courses.

Telling OP to do nothing to prep for college admissions will not be heard as OP has already taken initiative in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study for the PSAT as soon as possible if interested in becoming a National Merit Scholar.

Visit as many elite schools / target schools as you are able since last minute visits can get overwhelming & confusing.

Doesn't that just matter for the PSAT taken in Junior year? It seems early to worry about that as a freshman.

Yes, and your observation is reasonable, but if one wants to spend time preparing for college admissions during the freshman year, then this is one suggestion. Hopefully,concern about the qualifying PSAT test will motivate the student to do well academically in all core courses.

Telling OP to do nothing to prep for college admissions will not be heard as OP has already taken initiative in this area.

I guess I can see that. I just know some kids who would be extra stressed thinking they needed to start prepping for the PSAT in 9th grade.

OP - So much can change between freshman and junior year that I wouldn't spend time flying all over the country to see schools. Check out local ones or stop by if there is one where you are traveling.

[Anonymous]

Read The Truth About College Admissions and get a copy of Princeton Review's Best Colleges. Here's a decent quick intro to what to do and when regarding various aspects of the process.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/more-stress-reducers/

That website also has a lot about how to manage anxiety re: admissions.

[Anonymous]

It’s way too early to do PSAT prep. I actually don’t think there’s much to do freshman year except join clubs, sports, and outside interests.

[Anonymous]

For PSAT prep, there are things can she can start with now if you really want to though I think sophomore year after she has had more math would be better.

Make sure she has a top notch calculator that she is super familiar with, uses all the time and knows the test-taking tricks for (there are some pre-programming tricks that help with the standardized testing)

Make sure she is reading all types of books -- fiction, non-fiction, the classics, poetry, short stories and Old English. All of these come up on the test. Old English is especially hard to understand without a lot of familiarity.

Talk about current events and world events at home to hone critical thinking skills.

Look at old tests online, again, just to familiarize.

Real prep comes spring of sophomore year assuming your DC has taken pre-calc by then.