Consider colleges closer to home. Especially if your kid has ANY health issues. Also going abroad for college might be cheaper but could lead to living abroad as happened to my nephew. He’s very happy. His parents not so much.

Don’t fill out FA at schools you don’t want your DC to attend. EA some reach schools.

In regard to writing essays in summer, I know the Common App has their prompts out, so write one of those... What other essays can a student comfortably write--do the colleges publish their specific prompts before their application opens? Or are there short answer prompts on the common app that you can get access to? Please advise, thanks!

+1000000 to fewer reaches

Fewer safeties.
More UK institutions.
Don't bother applying to UNC when no one from your school has gotten in in 15 years
Read each school's newspaper regularly and make sure language professors and study away aren't being cut (William & Mary and Dartmouth are two examples).
Check up on the overall financial health of schools.
Do all supplemental essays, even the identity essay.

Anonymous wrote:What would you do differently? What advice would you give to yourself one or two years earlier? Would you have your DC take different courses? Would you and DC apply to different schools? What did you wish you knew as a parent of a sophomore/junior? Thanks in advance!

High school is a good time for parents to practice the gentle art of shutting up and letting your kid decide, even if it means subjecting your friends to the rants you have withheld (try to limit that, too, and provide baked goods or pedicure gift certificates to compensate).

I would have asked sooner if my generally independent kid wanted help, and what kind, and I would have listened.

(I have a kid with very good stats and very limited ECs. I think that kept him out of one place where he probably would have done very well academically, but you know what? Someone who helped make their school's clubs or sports happen got that spot, and I think that's totally fair.)

Less reaches. 20+ % of these spots are going to first gen and pull grant kids. Once you add in athletes and donor hooks there’s little room for smart middle class kids.

Craft a list of schools that your child can be excited about from top to bottom. As much as possible, try to avoid prestige shopping. There should be a real reason that the kid wants to go there rather than just it's reputation. Make them explain their list to you and the rationale for applying.

An early rolling admit is awesome. Both of my DC had one and it made them feel much more secure knowing what the "worst case scenario" was.

Take SAT/ACT fall of junior year and, again, in the spring.

All essays completed (as much as possible) before school starts senior year.

Be up front with what you can afford and your lines in the sand and have them apply accordingly.

Encourage our child to have a healthier balance of schools (fewer reaches) and forgo applying for FA at the reach schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take SAT twice - in March during junior year, then do test prep, then take again sometime before the end of summer before senior year.

Finish college essay in August before senior year.

My kid appreciated the online college essay writing workshop offered by Writopia Lab during the summer. It really helped to get that essay done.

Apply to at least one college with rolling admissions in September. It feels so good to get that acceptance early.

Apply Early Action if the college offers it.

Expect better results from your Early Action applications than Regular Decision applications.

And of course, parents - get all the financial aid forms completed as soon as possible.

Did you have a kid go through the process this year? Because your advice about EA is flat out wrong. ED has higher admission rates, but EA is only for the very very top candidates. And deferrals from EA do not mean rejections, as some people say here. My kid was deferred from 7 schools, then accepted to 5 of them--including a top 25 university.

Yes, I did and he is my 3rd to go through the college app process. We can't afford to do ED. Our kids have to go to the college that offers the best financial aid package. About deferrals, it's rare for my kids to get a deferral, I think because we craft a very realistic list of colleges to apply to. Only one reach and the rest true targets and safeties.

Anonymous wrote:Take SAT twice - in March during junior year, then do test prep, then take again sometime before the end of summer before senior year.

Finish college essay in August before senior year.

My kid appreciated the online college essay writing workshop offered by Writopia Lab during the summer. It really helped to get that essay done.

Apply to at least one college with rolling admissions in September. It feels so good to get that acceptance early.

Apply Early Action if the college offers it.

Expect better results from your Early Action applications than Regular Decision applications.

And of course, parents - get all the financial aid forms completed as soon as possible.

Did you have a kid go through the process this year? Because your advice about EA is flat out wrong. ED has higher admission rates, but EA is only for the very very top candidates. And deferrals from EA do not mean rejections, as some people say here. My kid was deferred from 7 schools, then accepted to 5 of them--including a top 25 university.

I would tell my kid to apply only to early action schools that he's in the 75% or higher for all stats. 100% deferrals in that round (including from safeties) tanked months of his senior year and caused a lot of stress. For my next, if her sports recruitment doesn't work out, she'll apply to one realistic, first choice school ED and one or two real safeties either rolling or early action, then save the rest for regular decision.

As far as a year or two or out, at that point that's much that can be done as far class decisions. Your track--at least in my kids' private--is pretty much set and there's not much of a way to stray from it. My kids were locked out of most high-level courses because they weren't tracked that way from 4th grade on. I remember thinking parents who were obsessed with getting their kids into advanced classes in 4th grade were nuts. It turns out they were right.

Lastly, grades grades grades. That's what matters most. Test scores will be important again, too. But GPA, in as high level courses as possible, is what counts most. ECs are nice, but it is all about the GPA.

Take SAT twice - in March during junior year, then do test prep, then take again sometime before the end of summer before senior year.

Finish college essay in August before senior year.

My kid appreciated the online college essay writing workshop offered by Writopia Lab during the summer. It really helped to get that essay done.

Apply to at least one college with rolling admissions in September. It feels so good to get that acceptance early.

Apply Early Action if the college offers it.

Expect better results from your Early Action applications than Regular Decision applications.

And of course, parents - get all the financial aid forms completed as soon as possible.

More safeties & fewer reaches/ matches on application list

What would you do differently? What advice would you give to yourself one or two years earlier? Would you have your DC take different courses? Would you and DC apply to different schools? What did you wish you knew as a parent of a sophomore/junior? Thanks in advance!