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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If at the outset, several things are good to know.

The first is money. There are about 15-20 schools that will make it work for nearly all families. They are generally the schools with the highest per capita endowments. And they are almost all highly selective. If those schools aren't realistic, do the NPC at a wide variety of schools to get a sense of what college is going to cost your family. And tell the kid at the outset what's possible and what's not. MIT and Pepperdine are roughly the same listed cost. But one works for the middle class, and one does not. So get informed. Be realistic. And share what's possible and not possible with the kid.

Treat it as a game. Tell the kid you love them and everything is going to work out. But here are the rules. If you want to shoot for a top school, here's what it takes - grades, rigor, scores, ECs and so on. If you want to go to State U, here's what it takes etc etc. And so forth. Become informed about what it takes. And check college admissions from your high school over the past three years to get a sense of which students are having some success.

Don't sleep on the PSAT. Especially if you are looking for grants and scholarships. If you are looking for merit, start grinding for the PSAT as soon as possible. So many awards and even full rides are possible with a high PSAT score.

But mostly - once you've explained admissions reality, the rules of the game, and the financial parameters - let the kid take charge. They need to own their decisions. And everything has consequences and opportunity costs. No one ever had to tell a kid now at MIT or Princeton to work harder or study longer. If they are well informed, they will do what's needed to get to the best place for them.

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Tell me more about the "so many awards and even full rides" that are possible with a high PSAT score. Are you talking about NMF or something else? If so, how does one find those? My kid - rising senior - has a very high PSAT score - high enough to be NMSF. Have not heard a thing about awards or full rides. [/quote]

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