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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our kids are still young (elementary age) but I’ve been following the college talk with friends with older kids who have gone through it already, and can’t believe how much has changed since our college days. DH and I both graduated from a T10 (that doesn’t give legacy preference) and would love for our kids to have a similar experience one day, but I know getting into a T20 is much harder now. 
If you could start over in elementary years, what do you wish you had known or would do differently? Public or private school? Focus on ECs? Friend group? Do you wish there was less college pressure, or do you wish you had pushed your kids harder? [/quote]

OP, I think you are already doing what is most important: reading about the process, researching your questions and just overall staying informed of the trends as the years go by. My oldest just graduated from college and my youngest just finished her freshman year and all I can share is that the entire college application process is so specific to each student and each school and then to each situation with those two factors considered. In other words, there is little to no way to develop a strategy years ahead of time. The key is, I believe, is to educate yourself. I did and still do, obviously as I am here reading these threads (I have a HS nephew that I am now helping with the process).

I remember listening to some of my kids' friends as some applied to colleges and I would be shocked to hear how ill-informed they were. I would gently ask if their parents were helping them and they'd say they were and I would feel so badly for that kid as it was painfully obvious which ones had the guidance of someone who was [b]current [/b]of the college admissions process and which parents were basing their guidance on knowledge that was years and decades old.[/quote]

[b]Its sad that the college process needs an adult to be so involved.[/b] Parents have full time jobs and have to do this as well and its not the smartest kids who get in, its those with the sophisticated private counselors and parents. What a messed up system. As immigrants we were clueless when our first applied to college but we did some patchwork packaging and he was fortunate to land in a good place. For the second kid we have paid a private counselor but I think we will have to work on it ourselves as well because the counselor does not seem that great.[/quote]

Strong disagree. The very definition of parenting involves providing one's child with an education, in addition to food and clothing. In my opinion NO parent has an excuse to not educate themselves so they are better informed to try to help their child. And I do not mean to get your kid into a T20 or T50 or whatever. My kids did not go to those kind of schools but I damn well made sure that I knew what the process was to guide them to where they were meant to attend.

Parents are 100% responsible to read and learn and figure out what the plan may be in applying and paying for colleges (if their child is to go on that track - trade schools are cool too) just as you work to figure out what to put on the table for their dinner. And there is so much free resources out there about the college application process (this site for one - just commit to reading a lot so you start to see patterns in the more authentic and helpful information that is offered). This PP says they were clueless about the college application process? Well, so many of us were. My husband and I did not go to college and did not have any family members to help us but you know what we did? We talked to our kids' friends parents, we asked their teachers questions, we took books out of the library, we read DCUM, we listened to podcasts, we talked to neighbors and we learned little by little. Oh, and before the PP comes back to say that we were privileged to have the time to do so, just don't. We have 3.5 jobs between us and a significant health issue but we made the time because it is our job as parents to be there to help our kids.

It (obviously) makes me so mad when parents use excuses for parenting their kids.[/quote]

I was clueless with my first kid but guess what they ended up at a T15 because they had very strong stats and we came up with a profile summer before senior year. I thought sending them to a good HS was enough but I was wrong. [b]I dont think parents should have to do so much to package their kids[/b]. Now that I know how this is done I made sure to hire a private counselor in 9th grade. [/quote]

Parents do not need to "package their kids" at all. That is not what the prior post was about. What parents have a basic responsibility to do for their children is to educate themselves about the college application process ahead of time so that they can help guide, understand and answer questions when it is time for their child to apply. If that means to hire a private counselor, well, ok that gets the job done but there is no need to always outsource basic parental responsibilities.[/quote]

OP here- thanks for the helpful tips. Before anyone else freaks out, my kids are absolutely enjoying being kids and I have not done anything to “prep” for college besides send them to a good school, read together, give them chores/responsibilities at home, and do activities they enjoy. I was just blindsided when friends with high school age kids were full of regrets about not hiring a college counselor early enough (they said families at their school started in 8th grade!!!), and going by the old “well rounded” kid advice. I made a mental note to start saving for a college counselor in addition to everything else, and also trying to adjust my expectations of what’s normal. I just had a fantastic college experience and hope for the same for my kids, wherever the right school ends up being, but I’m so grateful that I got that experience at a fantastic school I loved. The good experience is worth more to me than the diploma or tuition, and I’m also aware if my kids aren’t happy even at a top school they won’t have that experience. 
I was basically just wondering what else you wish you had known in middle school or earlier, because I was so shocked how much has changed. I wish my parents had known more to help me for applying to college, pick classes, and been more involved, but I’m also well aware of the mental health struggles many kids face today with all the pressure. [/quote]

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