Willing to explain the basic schedule of college admissions these days?

[Anonymous]

I've been reading some threads in this forum in order to just start preparing for my middle school child. I went to college in the 90s. I'm sure the application process is very different these days. And I'm also sure that our high school will help explain things. But, for those of you in the thick of it, would you mind offering just a few notes or bullet points about applying to college? Things like....I hear that there is now a universal application of sorts. Is that true? Are all applications online now? What is the general schedule of things? For instance, when do kids take the SATS (is it still the SATs?); when do you apply for early decision? When is the application deadline for regular consideration? How much is the average application fee these days? When do you typically hear back about acceptance? I'll stop there. Any kind souls willing to offer some Cliff Notes summaries? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Soph/Junior year - visit colleges
SAT or ACTs - Junior year or early senior year
ED (binding), EA, or priority - usually Nov 1 due date
RD - usually Jan 1 due date
Common App, Uni App, school apps are online (almost no paper involved)
Naviance to do the research on schools your DC maybe interested in and also track progress of applications
Fee - usually 40-70 per school or so

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Soph/Junior year - visit colleges
SAT or ACTs - Junior year or early senior year
ED (binding), EA, or priority - usually Nov 1 due date
RD - usually Jan 1 due date
Common App, Uni App, school apps are online (almost no paper involved)
Naviance to do the research on schools your DC maybe interested in and also track progress of applications
Fee - usually 40-70 per school or so

This is OP. This quick summary is super helpful. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Soph/Junior year - visit colleges
SAT or ACTs - Junior year or early senior year
ED (binding), EA, or priority - usually Nov 1 due date
RD - usually Jan 1 due date
Common App, Uni App, school apps are online (almost no paper involved)
Naviance to do the research on schools your DC maybe interested in and also track progress of applications
Fee - usually 40-70 per school or so

I honestly wouldn't start looking at schools until Spring Break of junior year. We started a little earlier than that, and it made the process feel like it lasted forever.

Some other thoughts:
Test Prep - prior to SAT and/or ACT

PSAT - Early Junior year, but some private schools offer a practice PSAT in Sophomore year. This was helpful to my son - his soph PSAT scores were high, so his college counselor suggested doing test prep in summer before junior year. He then scored as a National Merit Semifinalist when taking PSAT for real in October of Junior year, and took the SAT in November. He scored high enough to be finished with the SAT I by the middle of junior year.

SAT II - Needed for more selective schools. Good to take at end of Junior year, in conjunction with studying for AP exam in the same subject.

Writing Essays - Summer before senior year. With the Common App, your kid won't have to write too many different essays. If you can get him/her to work on it over the summer before Senior year, it puts you way ahead of the deadline game and makes Senior year a little more enjoyable and less frantic.

Decision Time - April. Most schools inform kids of decisions by mid to late-March (at the latest) and give you until May 1 to make up your mind. So set aside time for your child to revisit, stay on dorm, attend class, etc. Looking at schools side-by-side after you've been accepted might yield a very different view from what you saw more than a year earlier while visiting during Spring Break of your Junior year.

[Anonymous]

Many (but not all) schools use the Common App. Some schools use the Common App and have additional supplemental essay questions.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Thanks so much for the insight. Super helpful and appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soph/Junior year - visit colleges
SAT or ACTs - Junior year or early senior year
ED (binding), EA, or priority - usually Nov 1 due date
RD - usually Jan 1 due date
Common App, Uni App, school apps are online (almost no paper involved)
Naviance to do the research on schools your DC maybe interested in and also track progress of applications
Fee - usually 40-70 per school or so

I honestly wouldn't start looking at schools until Spring Break of junior year. We started a little earlier than that, and it made the process feel like it lasted forever.

Some other thoughts:
Test Prep - prior to SAT and/or ACT

PSAT - Early Junior year, but some private schools offer a practice PSAT in Sophomore year. This was helpful to my son - his soph PSAT scores were high, so his college counselor suggested doing test prep in summer before junior year. He then scored as a National Merit Semifinalist when taking PSAT for real in October of Junior year, and took the SAT in November. He scored high enough to be finished with the SAT I by the middle of junior year.

SAT II - Needed for more selective schools. Good to take at end of Junior year, in conjunction with studying for AP exam in the same subject.

Writing Essays - Summer before senior year. With the Common App, your kid won't have to write too many different essays. If you can get him/her to work on it over the summer before Senior year, it puts you way ahead of the deadline game and makes Senior year a little more enjoyable and less frantic.

Decision Time - April. Most schools inform kids of decisions by mid to late-March (at the latest) and give you until May 1 to make up your mind. So set aside time for your child to revisit, stay on dorm, attend class, etc. Looking at schools side-by-side after you've been accepted might yield a very different view from what you saw more than a year earlier while visiting during Spring Break of your Junior year.

FCPS high schools also offer the practice PSAT sophomore year. Not sure about other school districts, but I imagine they do too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soph/Junior year - visit colleges
SAT or ACTs - Junior year or early senior year
ED (binding), EA, or priority - usually Nov 1 due date
RD - usually Jan 1 due date
Common App, Uni App, school apps are online (almost no paper involved)
Naviance to do the research on schools your DC maybe interested in and also track progress of applications
Fee - usually 40-70 per school or so

I honestly wouldn't start looking at schools until Spring Break of junior year. We started a little earlier than that, and it made the process feel like it lasted forever.

Some other thoughts:
Test Prep - prior to SAT and/or ACT

PSAT - Early Junior year, but some private schools offer a practice PSAT in Sophomore year. This was helpful to my son - his soph PSAT scores were high, so his college counselor suggested doing test prep in summer before junior year. He then scored as a National Merit Semifinalist when taking PSAT for real in October of Junior year, and took the SAT in November. He scored high enough to be finished with the SAT I by the middle of junior year.

SAT II - Needed for more selective schools. Good to take at end of Junior year, in conjunction with studying for AP exam in the same subject.

Writing Essays - Summer before senior year. With the Common App, your kid won't have to write too many different essays. If you can get him/her to work on it over the summer before Senior year, it puts you way ahead of the deadline game and makes Senior year a little more enjoyable and less frantic.

Decision Time - April. Most schools inform kids of decisions by mid to late-March (at the latest) and give you until May 1 to make up your mind. So set aside time for your child to revisit, stay on dorm, attend class, etc. Looking at schools side-by-side after you've been accepted might yield a very different view from what you saw more than a year earlier while visiting during Spring Break of your Junior year.

FCPS high schools also offer the practice PSAT sophomore year. Not sure about other school districts, but I imagine they do too.

Madison HS required PSAT(practice?) for freshman this year. It was early dismissal/half day As that is all they did that day. My kid is just in Geometry this year but recognized the material and took a lot of the mystery out of it for them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soph/Junior year - visit colleges
SAT or ACTs - Junior year or early senior year
ED (binding), EA, or priority - usually Nov 1 due date
RD - usually Jan 1 due date
Common App, Uni App, school apps are online (almost no paper involved)
Naviance to do the research on schools your DC maybe interested in and also track progress of applications
Fee - usually 40-70 per school or so

I honestly wouldn't start looking at schools until Spring Break of junior year. We started a little earlier than that, and it made the process feel like it lasted forever.

Some other thoughts:
Test Prep - prior to SAT and/or ACT

PSAT - Early Junior year, but some private schools offer a practice PSAT in Sophomore year. This was helpful to my son - his soph PSAT scores were high, so his college counselor suggested doing test prep in summer before junior year. He then scored as a National Merit Semifinalist when taking PSAT for real in October of Junior year, and took the SAT in November. He scored high enough to be finished with the SAT I by the middle of junior year.

SAT II - Needed for more selective schools. Good to take at end of Junior year, in conjunction with studying for AP exam in the same subject.

Writing Essays - Summer before senior year. With the Common App, your kid won't have to write too many different essays. If you can get him/her to work on it over the summer before Senior year, it puts you way ahead of the deadline game and makes Senior year a little more enjoyable and less frantic.

Decision Time - April. Most schools inform kids of decisions by mid to late-March (at the latest) and give you until May 1 to make up your mind. So set aside time for your child to revisit, stay on dorm, attend class, etc. Looking at schools side-by-side after you've been accepted might yield a very different view from what you saw more than a year earlier while visiting during Spring Break of your Junior year.

I disagree that spring junior year is when to start visiting colleges. Sophomore year gives your child time to really see if small schools/large schools rural city etc is the way they want to go. With so many schools around here and many within a 4 hour drive, it really doesn't take a lot to visit a couple of schools and get a real feel for them. Summer is not a good time to visit schools. You really don't see what the school atmosphere is all about. It is just a bunch of buildings. Visiting Sophomore year also lets your child have some insight as to what schools will be looking for as far as admissions.

As far as essay's, my DC had over 30 to write between the Common App and the supplemental essays each school required. The more difficult to get into the school, the more essays there will be. DC applied to 10 schools. Each had 3 supplemental essays.

If your child takes any AP's, take the SAT II in that subject that year. It is really hard to go back and remember information from freshman or sophomore year. If your child takes AP American history, freshman or sophomore year, take the SAT II that Spring.

Deadlines will be pretty varied. The deadlines that DC had were Nov 1, (Early Action) Nov. 30, California state schools. Jan 1, Feb 1 and Feb 15.

Be really organized and start sending scores and asking for recommendation forms early. Teachers and counselors get overwhelmed and it is relaly hard to pull off an application in a few days.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

We have a lot that we want to visit, looking at Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, in addition to our home state of Virginia as well as Texas (where my wife and I went to grad school). Starting in junior year will be too late, so we'll try and combine college visits with vacations & family visits.

[Anonymous]

Op, go to the College Confidential website and read-read-read. Most of all, you're smart to want to learn for yourself - and not rely on being taught by the high school. High schools have their own way/timeline for doing things which tend to result in their students getting into the same-old-colleges again and again. If your student's admission journey is likely to be different from the herd at your high school, you need to become your own expert.

[Anonymous]

Families really vary, but our DC had no interest in looking at colleges as a sophomore. By spring of junior year though DC knew his test scores, had a more clear idea of what he wanted to study in college, and understood the financial piece. Visits were much more productive with those things in place. When DC was a sophomore, I did start doing some reading, and that helped more than anything.

The one thing that maybe has changed, but hasn't been mentioned is the importance of establishing a personal connection with someone at the school -- again something that is best done spring of junior year. DC is applying ED and knows the representative well. The representative gave tips for completing the best application but more importantly will possibly be able to go to bat for DC. It isn't possible everywhere, and not measured at a few schools, but showing interest is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Families really vary, but our DC had no interest in looking at colleges as a sophomore. By spring of junior year though DC knew his test scores, had a more clear idea of what he wanted to study in college, and understood the financial piece. Visits were much more productive with those things in place. When DC was a sophomore, I did start doing some reading, and that helped more than anything.

The one thing that maybe has changed, but hasn't been mentioned is the importance of establishing a personal connection with someone at the school -- again something that is best done spring of junior year. DC is applying ED and knows the representative well. The representative gave tips for completing the best application but more importantly will possibly be able to go to bat for DC. It isn't possible everywhere, and not measured at a few schools, but showing interest is important.

Must be a small school. Sounds like a good strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Families really vary, but our DC had no interest in looking at colleges as a sophomore. By spring of junior year though DC knew his test scores, had a more clear idea of what he wanted to study in college, and understood the financial piece. Visits were much more productive with those things in place. When DC was a sophomore, I did start doing some reading, and that helped more than anything.

The one thing that maybe has changed, but hasn't been mentioned is the importance of establishing a personal connection with someone at the school -- again something that is best done spring of junior year. DC is applying ED and knows the representative well. The representative gave tips for completing the best application but more importantly will possibly be able to go to bat for DC. It isn't possible everywhere, and not measured at a few schools, but showing interest is important.

Must be a small school. Sounds like a good strategy.

I agree. Must be a very small school. Showing interest matters at some, doesn't at many.

Large schools like state flagships, establishing a personal connection is almost impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, go to the College Confidential website and read-read-read. Most of all, you're smart to want to learn for yourself - and not rely on being taught by the high school. High schools have their own way/timeline for doing things which tend to result in their students getting into the same-old-colleges again and again. If your student's admission journey is likely to be different from the herd at your high school, you need to become your own expert.

My dc is a sophomore so I guess I need to start this research. I've heard of others recommending College Confidential and have been on the site but I don't know where to start. It's just a massive jumble of threads. Do you just click on a thread and read? Use the search box?