Now that Mini EZ is half way through her sophomore year, the colleges have been sending out emails and letters by the hundreds (it seems) every day.
I of course want her to go to
Indiana University where I graduated from, plus it's only an hour south of here.
But,,,,she will choose her path of where she wants to attend.
What did y'all do when it was time for you little angel to start looking at colleges? What are some things we need to start thinking about NOW?
Thanks!
Oh, she wants to be a special ed teacher too, just like her mom!
Just some thoughts...
Schools
You daughter should start researching schools in an organized manner. Buy a file box (which can be a simple cardboard file box) with hanging folders. Setup a file for each college that she (a) receives information on and (b) which she desires to attend.
The setup an Excel spreadsheet with schools listed down the left side with columns for different aspects of the school, such as... (off the top of my head)
- Name
- Status ("Unreviewed", "Reviewed - Possible", Reviewed - No", etc...)
- In State/Out State
- Public/Private
- Majors
- Regular Application Date
- Early Application Date
- Early Decision
- Regular Decision Date
- Avg Freshman SAT
- Avg Freshman GPA
- SAT Score Deadline
- Total Student Body
- Student Teacher Ratio
- Tuition Costs
- Housing/Food Costs
Develope a "Tickler" or "Time line" which plans out required/optional activities such as campus visits, SAT Test Dates, Early/Regular Application Deadlines, Early/Regular Reposnes Dates, Accept/Decline Dates, FASFA Application Dates, etc...
To enhance the research process I highly recommend subscribing to multiple online resources including:
You may not need it now, but I highly recommend it for at least the Junior and Senior years.
Sit down and have a heart to heart with your daughter and layout what the true financial situation is and what options are available. Over the years we were able to afford a pre-paid tuition program here in Virginia, we paid for two years tuition at a State University. Our son took that and spent two years at a Community College and is now a University Junior and our account will pretty much cover his 4-year degree. Our daughter on the other hand wanted to full 4-year University experience. She new from the get go she was going to have to qualify for scholarships and she would be taking out large student loads to help finance college. She's financed her school based on pre-paid tuition, scholarships, loans, and recently picked up a research assistant job as a Math Major that will extend through next year.
Make sure you understand the total cost of attendance (tuition, housing, meal plan, fees, insurance costs, transportation fees, etc...) and have a plan for funding those costs because typically student loans are not going to cover it all.
Funding sources typically include:
- Savings (accounts, pre-paid college programs, etc...)
- Grants
- Scholarships
- Student Loans in the Students Name
- Student Loans in the Parents Name
- Student employment
This is a really big deal as it relates to finances. If your daughter applies to private schools then ISVOOS is probably not a big deal. But OOS tuition rates can be a deal killer.
Number of Applications
Your daughter should submit multiple applications. After an honest look at her qualifications she should select multiple "Top Picks" the ones she really wants to attend and a few "Safe Picks" as "Plan B" schools.
With each application there is a Fee (figure $60-$100 a pop), how many applications you allow her to submit is a function of cost benefit and finances. Submitting 2-dozen applications can be quite expensive, one the other hand putting all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea either.
Attend College Open Houses
I don't think it's a bad idea to attend one or two college open houses as a sophomore, especially with a major school being only an hour away. That will let your daughter hear from the horses mouth (as they say) exactly what the school is looking for in terms of admission criteria. If she goes this spring she has time to modify her Junior/Senior schedule to try to plug any holes.
So visit now or maybe in the fall next year to learn about the process. Then arrange dedicated visits the fall of her Senior year to actually evaluation colleges for application purposes.
