Reply to Can't get high school junior to pick out colleges

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Can't get high school junior to pick out colleges"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Pick an area -- Pennsylvania, or New York or new England, or whatever and visit one of the following over spring break: (1) a large university, (2) a small liberal arts school that is preppy, (3) a small liberal arts school that is more alternative. If these three choices tilt rural, pick a fourth school that is urban (or vice versa).  Thats enough for spring break.[/quote]

We've gone through the application process with our two oldest, and this is really good advice.  The only thing I would add is to encourage you to see only one school each day.  That way you'll have enough time to do more than just take the tour and attend the info session.  If DC can go to a class, do that.  If you can eat lunch in a dining hall, do that.  If you can just hang out in the student center for a while and drink coffee, do that.  Even better, go to a theatre performance or athletic event.  The idea is to flesh out DC's picture of what it would be like to live on this campus and hang out with these people.  You can look at websites and guidebooks to get a sense of which departments are strong, but the campus vibe is hard to figure out unless you're on the ground.     [/quote]

+1.

Also, as a family do you do any weekend road trips or have vacations planned this summer? If so, make it a point to spend a few hours at a college campus nearby.  Headed to the Outer Banks?  Take half a day and visit UNC-Wilmington.  Going to Cape Cod? Drop by Boston College as you pass through Boston.  Even if you don't think one of these particular schools is it, get tickets to a football game this fall and spend a weekend in College Park (stay in a hotel near campus), VA Tech or UVa.

If you have your own limits to the search, let your teen know.  Cost is the obvious limiter.  Do you want to place a limit on distance or region of the country, for example.

And, others also mentioned that you should probably have the conversations about whether your child wants to go to college.  Would a gap year or stint in the military be more appropriate for them?

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics