Beware of hidden deadlines - for example, the college admission deadline may be January 1, but the deadline to be considered for institutional and/or merit aid could be December 1.

Also, ask for help if you need it. Don't suffer through this alone!

Anonymous wrote:If you have not already done this, I would advise an honest conversation with your kid about the financial realities. This doesn't mean you have to tell him/her about the details of your family finances or even how much you and/or DH make, but please let them know how much if any you're willing & able to pay per year. Tell your child if there are schools/types of schools you would not pay for. Let him/her know what conditions if any you will place on your financial assistance (do you require a certain school? major? GPA? other requirements?). If he/she will need to take out loans for school, discuss this and the amounts and implications. Please don't put your kid in the position of applying to (or worse being admitted to) a very expensive dream school believing that you will/will be able to pay, if that is not truly the case.

+1. Absolutely! I am having this discussion with my rising sophomore (the last one) right now so there will be NO surprises when the time comes regardless where DC applies.

While CC can be a useful resource, it can also be an addictive, anxiety provoking forum for high achieving teens. Use with caution.

Early decision if your child absolutely knows a school is his/her top choice! Not every child does.

Anonymous wrote:1. It's wayyyyy harder to get into (insert college name here) than what you remember.

2. Does DC play a sport/have other demanding extracurriculars? Start those apps now!

3. Early decision if you can afford it. There's a huge admissions boost in many cases.

4. Acceptance to at least one rolling admssions school can eliminate the need for a safety.

5. If DC does apply early, still have him/her fill out the regular decision apps. Nothing worse than getting bad news, then having to fill out multiple applications....all during Christmas break!

6. College Confidential, especially the parents forum and the financial aid forum, is a great resource.

I concur.

If you apply early decision, you've got to have fallen in love with that school, so I take issue with the warning not to. Many students do fall in love with a school. For them, early decision might make sense. The catch is to be ready for any outcome., to calibrate your expectations.

Make sure your child understands how much luck plays into this. Other factors, too. Legacy, athlete, geography. I am seeing students who did not get into their first choice school STILL SMARTING. (My child starts college this fall. so I've heard lots of stories from this cohort from a cross section of schools.)

Make a list of schools, all schools your child would want to attend. (DC did this with college counselor. Not sure if your school has one that works super closely with students or not.) Your child will be writing supplemental essays for each, so plan that accordingly as far as deadlines go. Some schools require two supps! (A Google docs or Excel spreadsheet can be helpful.)

Early decision is a wonderful thing if you are certain. Some schools offer an ED1. I know students not accepted to a reach ED who were accepted by their second choice ED2.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Use the common application and apply to any school that you might go too.

2. Don't get obsessed with going to the highest ranked school that you can get into. Getting a big scholarship at a decent state school might be better than paying big bucks for a prestigious name (within reason).

3. If your child wants to go to grad school, go to a school that is cheap and easy. Grad schools are all about undergrad GPAs and test scores. A high GPA/GRE from XYZ State University is better than mediocre grades and scores from a prestige SLAC.

great advice!

Good advice with a caveat.....the prestigious SLACs avoid "grade inflation" at all costs. That means, 3.2 to 3.5 while "low" is not bad! There are some very well knows SLACs where the average is 3.2!!! The grad schools and employers know this and take it into account.

Depends on the SLAC. When I was doing grad admissions, I was amazed at how inflated Amherst's GPAs were. And it's not because every student there is exceptional. It was depressing to see that dumb/lazy kids with essentially the same GPA as very smart hard-working kids.

If interested in the Ivys -- apply early decision. Schools like Penn less than 20% of applicants applying early but take 1/4 of their class at that stage -- WAY better odds of getting in when you're competing with 5000 kids rather than 35,000 kids for a mere 2500 spots.

Write essays over the summer whenever possible, or block out fall weekends to do it. Yes -- I realize your kid has a lot of ECs but honestly I'd take my chances blowing off a practice or going half assed in one game to make sure my essays were solid.

It is NOT that much harder to get in now than it was 10-15 yrs ago, so stop using that as an excuse. Maybe it is harder compared to when you (the parents) went -- I'm not sure bc I'm not that far out. Admissions rates at selective schools were low a decade ago and for many have only dropped by 0.1 or 0.2% so don't act like it's SO much worse that it used to be. Be wise in selecting your safeties and matches and take your shots and see what happens.

Don't let DC fall in love with any one school. You could be the absolute perfect candidate and not get in -- make sure they see the positives and negatives about every school so if they do end up at a safety they don't see it as a huge disappointment.