The best gift I ever received from my oldest was a one-and-done SAT taken January of his junior year.

Anonymous wrote:Start SAT/ACT prep summer after sophomore year. Take the test in the fall of junior year and again in the spring. Save the summer after junior year for working on college apps.

We did this and it worked out very well. Also, try to get some SAT subject tests out of the way during summer after sophomore year if possible. All of this done by Spring Junior year was a blessing with multiple AP test and finals to work through.

Start SAT/ACT prep summer after sophomore year. Take the test in the fall of junior year and again in the spring. Save the summer after junior year for working on college apps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Is a personal statement the same as the common app essay? Or is it something different? -signed another parent of a junior following this thread

Same thing by a different name

FWIW, it shouldn’t be a narrative resume. Or a place to explain away less impressive part of the package (there's usually another place for that). For selective schools where the essay matters, it’s essentially an elevator pitch — a brief opportunity to make yourself memorable/interesting/desirable.

I would probably do SAT/ACT prep over the summer after junior year and have them start working on essays. Some of the colleges don't have their essay questions available until August but they are usually so general that your kid can look at the previous year's questions and start sorting out their thoughts. Have them write the essay and, if at all possible, they should run it by someone at their HS.

My son applied early and it was nice to have acceptances in hand by early fall.

Yes. The Personal Statement is the same as the Common App essay. The Common App has a number of topics to choose from but most of them ask about the applicant's background/experience/interest which is why some people use the terms interchangeably.

Anonymous wrote:

Is a personal statement the same as the common app essay? Or is it something different? -signed another parent of a junior following this thread

Same thing by a different name

Anonymous wrote:It is very important that your student and you chose ALL the schools to apply to very carefully.

Safety, match and reach, everyone involved should be comfortable with them all.

This might mean visiting in the summer at this point.

Of course, each person might have a favorite but in the end it is your students choice so get comfortable or don't apply.

Understand that once you get out of the top 50-75 schools there is a LOT of merit aid out there.

Understand that safeties and even matches for students hanging around the 70th or 75th percentile of their class,
I know most don't rank but you know where your kid stands if you pay attention, will cost about half as much as the low reach your student managed to bag.

Talk about this early and often. There are schools out there that do things differently enough or have huge prestige that are worth 2X.

But there are lots more choices that end up being, the school DC had barely heard of before visiting that their friends don't know for half price
vs the school that all their friends know the name of but seems identical during our visits for full price.

Maybe I'm not paying attention, but how does one know this? We know what our child's GPA is, but not the distribution of where that is in the school. Where do you find that information?

Anonymous wrote:My two best pieces of advice (echoing some given above).

1. Start the Common App in August. There is absolutely no reason not to have all the factual stuff complete before school starts and ideally at least a good (if not final) draft of the personal statement. This really relieves a lot of stress and helps contribute to a senior year your kid can actually enjoy.

2. Have a Financial Safety school - one you know will accept your kid, that you can afford, and that they can see themselves attending if all else fails. If you don't have a Financial Safety, then you really don't have a Safety School at all.

Is a personal statement the same as the common app essay? Or is it something different? -signed another parent of a junior following this thread

Yeah, a safety is not a safety if you can’t afford it.

My two best pieces of advice (echoing some given above).

1. Start the Common App in August. There is absolutely no reason not to have all the factual stuff complete before school starts and ideally at least a good (if not final) draft of the personal statement. This really relieves a lot of stress and helps contribute to a senior year your kid can actually enjoy.

2. Have a Financial Safety school - one you know will accept your kid, that you can afford, and that they can see themselves attending if all else fails. If you don't have a Financial Safety, then you really don't have a Safety School at all.

It is very important that your student and you chose ALL the schools to apply to very carefully.

Safety, match and reach, everyone involved should be comfortable with them all.

This might mean visiting in the summer at this point.

Of course, each person might have a favorite but in the end it is your students choice so get comfortable or don't apply.

Understand that once you get out of the top 50-75 schools there is a LOT of merit aid out there.

Understand that safeties and even matches for students hanging around the 70th or 75th percentile of their class,
I know most don't rank but you know where your kid stands if you pay attention, will cost about half as much as the low reach your student managed to bag.

Talk about this early and often. There are schools out there that do things differently enough or have huge prestige that are worth 2X.

But there are lots more choices that end up being, the school DC had barely heard of before visiting that their friends don't know for half price
vs the school that all their friends know the name of but seems identical during our visits for full price.

apply late in the summer for something with a rolling deadline. That way your child will have an excepted's in hand before Christmas and maybe even before Thanksgiving. Then when they start worrying that they're not going to get in anywhere and it they will never go to college, you can say yes you will, everyone goes to college, you at least have a safety.

Realize the power of early decision for acceptances. Apply for schools of interest even if the tuition is high. Many give merit aid extensively. Don't go crazy with testing. My kid took the SAT 1 time. His scores were in line with his grades. Stopped there. Saved money, time and stress.

Anonymous wrote:Very few schools are requiring SAT2s anymore. Georgetown seems to be one of just a handful of holdouts.

Which is why Georgetown is easier to get into????????