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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Have you ever watched house hunters? You know how they are looking for 3 or 4 things in a house? Near the end of the show, they have that graphic that shows how each house meets some of the criteria.

Start talking about your college experiences (the positive ones) to build college awareness. Then visit a college or two, casually, when you are traveling or something. No pressure. Then sophomore/early junior year, help your teen figure out 5 “non-negotiables” (of course, everything is negotiable). Make them specific. Let one be absolutely non-negotiable.

Then, only place colleges that meet those criteria on your “long list.” When making the short list, make sure there are two solid safeties. But don’t let your kid randomly add schools because friends are applying. Stay focused.

Teen might decide:
1. Warm weather/sunshine. (As a parent you consider that your teen struggles with SAD, and reinforce that this is an important factor, not a shallow one)
2. D1 football
3. Lots of school spirit 
4. Strong pre-med advising
5. Strong Jewish community/active Hillel

Ok, so don’t start adding Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State to the list. Not William and Mary or Davidson. Ignore all the northern SLACs (really, all the SLACs).

You should be able to find 8-10 happy choices with this approach. Applying to 20-30 schools means the teen and/or parent doesn’t know what they want or didn’t stay focused.

And have the discipline to protect the process/be the buffer for your kid. If your boss says “you know, I went to Williams, and I’d be happy to write a recommendation” DON’T suggest Williams to your kid (if the above are actually the criteria). DON’T make him apply to one last school. Complete your list by the beginning of senior year, so you aren’t panicking and adding on.

And reinforce to your teen that there is no one perfect school out there. Don’t get too attached. Like in house hunters, if you get most what you want, and all of what you really need, then you’ll be in good shape. [/quote]

I'm curious of the schools that fit this criteria? Miami?[/quote]

I was thinking Davidson or maybe the California schools [/quote]

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