An application to a “likely” or “safety” that your kid doesn’t actually want to go to is a waste of time, energy, and money. They should spend time finding schools they genuinely like for those.

One approach a lot of students take is to apply in August to Pitt, which has rolling admissions and that a lot of people love. If they hear by late September that they’re in, it takes a lot of anxiety off the table.

Anonymous wrote:Literally here after creating a college list for my DD. She will be a Junior next year.

I’m scanning and scrolling and seeing terms like Yield Protection, weighted GPA, safety, reach, what are the absolute first things I need to know and do.

We have not had a Guidance Counselor reach out to me as a parent yet.

What do I need to know now?

Of course we will begin touring schools but walk me thru what AI isn’t going to tell me.

Preferably your daughter creates a list.

Go on Facebook - much better supportive college admissions groups / resources

Anonymous wrote:You are starting too early. Simmer down.

Rising junior better be at least starting to think about things and have factored college into junior year courses. Not sure what you are talking about. Good luck to your kid.

Reach, target, safety — classifying likelihood of admission.

NPC — net price calculator. Specific to each college and can be found on the admissions website. Input your financial information and it spits out your DC’s estimated cost of attendance, or yearly cost to attend that college, all things included.

Liberal arts college vs. national university. 2 different educational focuses — the former focuses more on teaching and instruction traditionally, while the latter focuses more on research output.

Scoir/Naviance are both platforms that provide graphs of historical outcomes from your DC’s school. There are different graphs that show data for different colleges. Your DC’s school will use one or the other. Use the scattergrams to see where your DC lands.

Ensure you know whether your DC wants an urban/suburban/rural college experience, big/medium/small student population, etc. to help tailor the list.

Aim for 12-13 schools total, 1-3 safeties, maximum 5 reaches, all else targets.

Paths to admission vary by school. Most have both ED/EA and RD.

Early Decision 1/ED1: if admitted, DC has to attend if the financial aid package works. Results come in December usually. DC should apply ED to their favorite school, if ED is offered. Submit in October/November.

Early Action/EA: non-binding (unlike ED). Results come anytime from December to February. Submit EA apps in October/November.

Early Decision 2/ED2: if admitted, DC has to attend. Submit in December, hear in February typically. This comes after ED1 and should be DC’s second or third favorite school.

Regular Decision/RD: non-binding, largest applicant pool. Submit in December, hear back in March typically.

Anonymous wrote:You are starting too early. Simmer down.

Mmm not really

This forum is full of hyper competitive asswipes who have no idea how to live a meaningful life. So I would get off immediately and focus on what’s right for your kid and family in terms of budget and fit.

You are starting too early. Simmer down.

Literally here after creating a college list for my DD. She will be a Junior next year.

I’m scanning and scrolling and seeing terms like Yield Protection, weighted GPA, safety, reach, what are the absolute first things I need to know and do.

We have not had a Guidance Counselor reach out to me as a parent yet.

What do I need to know now?

Of course we will begin touring schools but walk me thru what AI isn’t going to tell me.