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[quote=Anonymous]There are AMAZING tips on this thread. Read them all..

Extra thoughts: 
1) The college application process is a marathon and really need to have a plan and schedule to meet deadlines and maintain sanity. I used an old school notebook and my dh used a google spreadsheet. 
2) Time management: Try to cut down on fall commitments of senior year if you can. Don't take more classes than you need.  The extra time needed to write strong essays, plus the academic pressure to do well in the first semester is huge. Highly selective schools require first quarter senior grades if applying EA or ED. And all RD schools ask for first senester grades. My kid dropped down a level in math first semester of senior year  bc did very poorly on an early exam - and not enough time to improve the q1 grade. It was a super stressful decision but the right one. Despite getting an early start on essays over the summer, my kid spent every fall weekend and free moment on college apps and schoolwork. The EA/ED deadlines are oct15/Nov 1 and RD due around Jan 1. Between school, apps and ECs, my kid was exhausted. 1st semester senior year was tougher than expected. 
3) Managing expectations: we made sure dc had a well balanced list and we tried to talk up benefits of the likely and target schools. We were also clear that many reach schools on dc list were high stress and "highly rejective'. Nonetheless, kids hear a lot of outside messaging and our kid gravitated toward the reach schools and it was hard to get them excited about the others. Thankfully they got into their 1st choice, but our talking points at home tried to elevate strength of program and fit vs prestige/rank.
4) Extra support: we did not use a private college counselor because we thought we were capable of doing the research, school list, strategic thinking about major and narrative ourselves. However, we did get outside support for test prep (was a good investment as the higher score resulted in merit $). And also hired an essay person by the hour to help keep our kid on track and helped alleviate stress at home since I wasn't the one bugging about finishing essays. 
5) there is a lot of chatter and gossip at school,  and I told my kid to stay quiet and to focus on themselves only. There is also stress when 1 friend gets accepted and another does not. I tell my kid frequently that I love them and that the respect I have for them and their value is not at all based on college admission. They appreciated that.

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