Anonymous wrote:It may be unpopular opinion, but standardized test scores matter most and extra-curriculars matter least. I’ve had 3 go through this process. The most well-rounded, most likely to succeed kid, had lower scores because she was a joiner, positive attitude, and never said no. Mind you she still had a 4.35 gpa, but not as high/inflated as her siblings. Also, full pay matters. Going ED is extremely important if they have a top choice. If the #1 school doesn’t do ED, have a heart-to-heart talk with them and pick a Hail Mary stretch/better than top choice and give it a go. And in a pandemic, well, none of the rules apply.

I didn't even realize that some schools don't do ED!

It may be unpopular opinion, but standardized test scores matter most and extra-curriculars matter least. I’ve had 3 go through this process. The most well-rounded, most likely to succeed kid, had lower scores because she was a joiner, positive attitude, and never said no. Mind you she still had a 4.35 gpa, but not as high/inflated as her siblings. Also, full pay matters. Going ED is extremely important if they have a top choice. If the #1 school doesn’t do ED, have a heart-to-heart talk with them and pick a Hail Mary stretch/better than top choice and give it a go. And in a pandemic, well, none of the rules apply.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One advice from the other "regrets" thread. Worth repeating here.
Create a seperate private email account for your child to use for applications, internship requests and PSAT/SAT/ACT and APs. Make sure that you also have access and keep checking the spam folder too.

Do you plan on going to college with DC as well to make sure they’re doing their assignments? Unbelievable.

I'm no helicopter parent, and I don't have access to my DCs email or any school portals, but I can absolutely see where that might be useful. DC gets plenty of college-related email that requires my knowledge/attention (especially in regard to financial aid). My kid is on top of it and eventually everything that needs to makes it to me, but it would be a whole easier and faster if I could just take a quick look for myself once a week, as opposed to having things forwarded to me out of the blue here and there. As long as a parent doesn't insert themselves into the process where they don't belong and doesn't take any actions that the student should be taking, there's nothing wrong with having access IMO.

Anonymous wrote:Really none for us. We had a great partner in our school and that *really* helped. I would say if your school starts its college counseling program junior year or later, get your own private counselor. We had 4 years of college counseling services and they were invaluable. The other recommendation we got from friends was to have a private tutor for SATs not a group class. We followed this advice and were very happy. My own personal piece of advice is not to get hung up on the PSAT. It’s nice for your high school if kids score high and it certainly is helpful for the kids who do well, but not scoring in the stratosphere has no impact on admissions or how well your kid adjusts to college. We knew people who prepped the PSAT and that just wasn’t worth the money to me. And yes, get those good grades freshman year! They make a big difference.

Please please could you share who you worked with for college admissions counseling ? We didnt grow up here and need someone to guide DC other than whatever desktop research I can do. If you like I can give you my email ID (collegeinfo2024@gmail.com) so you could PM me. Thank you so much !

I just have to say that every time I see this subject heading, I hear Frank Sinatra. . . and the image of Trump taking to the skies above Andrews AFB comes to mind.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One advice from the other "regrets" thread. Worth repeating here.
Create a seperate private email account for your child to use for applications, internship requests and PSAT/SAT/ACT and APs. Make sure that you also have access and keep checking the spam folder too.

Do you plan on going to college with DC as well to make sure they’re doing their assignments? Unbelievable.

I didn't post the first message, but I find it unbelievable you don't recognize that every kid and situation is different. I agree that having a shared account for college applications, internships, testing, etc. was helpful. I had one son who did everything on his own two years ago and another who just needed additional assistance this year. This was an unprecedented year with the stress of covid, online school, the uncertainties around the college admissions process, the FASFA/CSS documentation, virtual tours, etc. Compared to two years ago, the admissions process this year was much more complicated and required some strategic thinking/planning to get into the best possible school that our kid would enjoy, be successful attending, and provided the best value. We didn't write essays although we did review and provided suggestions so having access to a shared account was helpful. In retrospect, having a shared account with our other son would have been helpful to allow us to guide him through the process.

Anonymous wrote:One advice from the other "regrets" thread. Worth repeating here.
Create a seperate private email account for your child to use for applications, internship requests and PSAT/SAT/ACT and APs. Make sure that you also have access and keep checking the spam folder too.

Do you plan on going to college with DC as well to make sure they’re doing their assignments? Unbelievable.

One advice from the other "regrets" thread. Worth repeating here.
Create a seperate private email account for your child to use for applications, internship requests and PSAT/SAT/ACT and APs. Make sure that you also have access and keep checking the spam folder too.