One of the things we did was to have weekly family college meetings where we all sat down and discussed where we were in the process, what needed doing etc. We found this a way to contain the anxiety and talk, so at dinner we could discuss things happening at school and other topics less loaded than college.

Always try to go on an organized tour of a campus. Don’t wander around just with your kid. My kids never had a very favorable impression of a campus unless they went on an organized tour. For one thing, the tour guides were always students and they had more ‘cred’ with my kids than anyone else.

Make your child put together a resume. It doesn’t need to be a “normal” resume. It can have categories which suit your child (Athletics, Volunteering, Familial Responsibilities, Academic Awards or Engagement). Make them do this FIRST before they embark on any applications. It acts as a kind of mental template and it forces them to put words behind the features of their life.

Take both the SAT and the ACT. Some people will really perform better on one than the other. Home study for either test is helpful, even doing a little bit so that the kids are familiar with the formats and the kinds of questions asked helps.

Don’t worry if your child doesn’t know what they want to study. It is equally important to know what you DON’T want to study. Ask them to think about WHY they don’t want to study something. You will find that the answers actually point them in the direction of the things they prefer, are attracted to, and find valuable.

Treat all the institutions you come across in your research with respect. In other words, don’t undervalue regional, smaller or academic institutions with special fields of study. My experience is that there are quality people thinking hard about how to provide quality experiences at all institutions of higher learning. Remember that the faculty at most colleges and universities went to other institutions, usually places of “greater prestige”. (Academic jobs are hard to get and most people take a job that is offered to them, no matter where.)

Ian did research on the colleges via social media in regards to student reviews. It’s great to understand how other students feel about the school.

Sophomore year is the year to be in Quiz Bowl, Model UN, Science Olympiad, travel for sports, have a cool internship. It helps kids find out what they like, get a “special” thing on their resume, or establish a link to something which will also be important in their junior year.

• Start visiting colleges in middle school. We are so glad that we took advantage of vacations to visit schools in the area when it was convenient.
• We would suggest creating (with the student) a timeline that includes application due dates and then build in benchmarks for prepping essays, etc. Getting buy-in from the student up front would make meeting the deadlines the student’s decision rather than something the parents are pressing.
• Use additional resources in the HS English department to assist with some of the essays. With so many essays, students need multiple resources to assist in editing and advising.
• Start earlier than you think is necessary.

One thing I think is important is suggesting the importance of visiting colleges and I would recommend starting as early as a junior. I would also suggest starting the college essay as a junior or very beginning of senior year.

Lastly and I think most importantly I feel like when you visit the school or attend a virtual event it shows the college admissions team that you’re interested enough in their school that you decided to visit it, especially if you have to fly to get there. I also thought it was very helpful when you made calls to Butler and Loyola admissions team on behalf of Ian. I think this also showed Ian was interested in their college.