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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Students at all academic levels can have a  "deer in the headlights" reaction to the process. It saddens me so much when parents of lower performing students (but still could be college bound) make their kid's inaction a reason for not letting them go to college.[/quote]

+1 Figuring out where to apply to college is a huge, amorphous project that they have never encountered before. Most kids benefit from some guidance. They don't know what they don't know. I'm also a librarian and love research so was happy to take the lead on that part of the project.

We approached it by first doing the tours to a range of types of colleges early in junior year -- urban campus, big school/college town, liberal arts college -- and discussing their reactions. We talked about what they wanted - activities, major, greek life, distance from home etc. Both were very clear on their majors, helped by doing short pre-college programs the summer before junior year that confirmed those interests. Those programs also gave them some insights into what college might be like. We also got really clear on our budget and knew private schools that only give need-based aid would be out of budget.

From the early tours and discussions, one kid was all in on a big school/college town. So, he started his list with VT and JMU. He looked at the Fiske Guide for overlaps and added a few others. But, really, he just wanted to go to VT. I was very involved in keeping him on track with college apps, but once he started VT, he was 100% independent, graduated on time, and has a great job.

2nd kid liked small colleges in rural/small town areas and wanted to study environmental science. We toured a lot more schools with her. IME, the feeling of fit is much more important with small schools than with large ones. Large schools have everything and all types of people, and are more similar to each other than different. But with the small ones, DD definitely felt a vibe that felt right at some places and not at others. And, since most of these were private schools, I did a lot of research on merit aid likelihood. I identified a list of possibilities to start with by looking at lists online of good environmental programs, skimming Princeton Review, Fiske, generally searching for unique programs, etc. I gave DD the list and had her read about them in Fiske. She gave me feedback on which sparked her interest and which didn't. The list evolved from there. We did some tours and open houses, and the list was adjusted further. I insisted on in-state options just in case, so she included UMW and W&M. She ended up at a Pennsylvania LAC that had most of what she was looking for, fit the budget, and felt right to her.[/quote]

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