Helping HS age niece with college prep long distance

[Anonymous]

My 16 year old niece (junior in HS) lives in the Midwest and my sister is not going to do much to help her prepare for college applications. My sister has basically resigned her to maybe trying for junior college. I know my niece should have a good shot at a four-year college with scholarships if she applies herself. What do you think is the best way I can support her in the process? I'm thinking things like have her do SAT exams online and review her results with her, or help with her essays, review her grades with her periodically. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Did she ask for your help? I mean, her mom's right there, right?

[Anonymous]

Can you offer to pay for an SAT prep course?

It would be good for her to have some SAT scores on file even if she doesn't go to college right away. Even if she prefers to go to a trade school, it certainly would not do her any harm to see where she ranks nationwide on a standardized test like the SAT. You are a good aunt for encouraging her like this.

[Anonymous]

I think your plan sounds good, BUT if money is tight two years at a community college could be the way to go. Many have guarenteed admission programs.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I could definitely pay for a prep course - thanks, that's a great suggestion. I think her mom would encourage her but she is a single mom working a minimum wage job with two other children. Getting by is her priority and I want to offer to help if I can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I think your plan sounds good, BUT if money is tight two years at a community college could be the way to go. Many have guarenteed admission programs.

I guess I am not clear on the advantage of going to a community college versus going straight to four-year college. If she can get scholarships and need-based aid, why not go directly to a state school or even private?

[Anonymous]

You might try having some big picture conversations about what if any ideas she has now about potential majors/careers, types of schools she may be interested in, etc. then help her start to research schools to apply to. It sounds like she may qualify for aid, so it would be worth it to look at all three options (private, public, community college) and compare. If you can financially help her with application fees that would be great - if she wants to apply to multiple schools that could get pricey fast. Also help her review the fine print when/if she gets scholarships, aid, grants, etc. it sounds like she should qualify for a lot of aid and may not need much in the way of loans hopefully, but it would be great for her to,have someone like you to help,navigate it all and understand implications of her financial packages. Definitely look into transferable credits and guaranteed admissions programs if she does think more about community college. Sometimes a CC is a better fit to start out at and then transfer. Also, if you are interested, encourage her to look at schools near you if you think she could benefit from being in a different environment/having your support locally.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're still around, look into the Quest Bridge program for yor niece. If they're low-income it's a great opportunity and there are things she can do as a junior to help prepare.

We are struggling with the same thing with my nephew--lives in rural Arkansas, his parents have no drive or motivation and when we try to talk to him about his possibilities my SIL actually makes him get off the phone. We paid for a prep course and it helped his test scores but he seems to be half-assing the admissions process. His high school counselor is clueless as well--they're just not in a place where anyone has a clue about what's out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think your plan sounds good, BUT if money is tight two years at a community college could be the way to go. Many have guarenteed admission programs.

I guess I am not clear on the advantage of going to a community college versus going straight to four-year college. If she can get scholarships and need-based aid, why not go directly to a state school or even private?

If she has decent grades she should be applying to private colleges. I'm not sure I'd focus on the SATs at all, so many places are going test optional. Make a list of colleges she is interested in and see if any of them have summer programs for 2016.