Once your child has been admitted to one, a few, or several colleges, it is important to have an in-depth last look. Most schools offer Admitted Student Visit Days. Often, an overnight stay in a dorm is included. It is in your best interest to urge your child to take Read more…
Ideally, preparation for the college search process will start years beforehand. There are several things you can do as a parent to be in a better position for helping your child determine what his or her college choice should be. I learned some of these the hard way so I Read more…
Updated 2-4-17 – Updates in red In part 1, I talked about what you can do to minimize your upcoming out-of-pocket college costs when you have a senior in high school who is in the process of getting down to the final college choice. Today, I want to talk about Read more…
When I am talking about “out-of pocket” college cost, I mean what needs to be paid out over and above what the parents and child have already saved for college. The best way to minimize this cost is to minimize the gap between how much the college will cost you Read more…
It’s late January. My daughter has finished all of her applications. We are waiting for a scholarship competition, two overnight campus visits, an admissions interview (one very competitive school lets kids visit after the application deadline up until a cut-off date), possible updates to merit scholarships based on December ACT Read more…
One of the most valuable tools I have found for estimating how much it will actually cost you to send your child to a particular college is the Net Price Calculator. Most colleges are required to post a link to a Net Price Calculator on their websites. It is usually Read more…
This is the third and final post in a three-part series about college visits. Today I am posting Q through Z in The ABCs of College Visits. Q – Questions – Be sure to ask lots! With my daughter, we would be on a tour with a current student, Read more…
This is the second in a 3-part series about college visits. Today I am posting I through P in the ABCs of College Visits. I – Interviews – Some schools require a counselor interview, alumni interview or current student interview as part of the application process. There are other Read more…
This is the first in a 3-part series about college visits. Today, I am posting A through H in The ABCs of College Visits. A – Accept that your child may not have the same impression of a school that you do. He or she may love what you Read more…
We Have Researched Schools – Now What? You need a place to capture and organize all of the information you have gathered. This will be a key resource in your kid’s college search. I have created a spreadsheet format that has worked well for me and for other parents involved Read more…