Tag Archives: college decision

admissions, college guidance

Making the College Admissions Decision

 

This article was originally posted by the Princeton Review and I have permission to share with my readers–great content and information for every parent and student considering the college admissions decision.

college admissions decision

The college decision letters and emails are rolling in. Celebrate your acceptances, stay positive, and strategize with your college counselor about what you’ll do next. Whatever your application status, we have some tips on planning your next move.

If You’re Accepted

If you applied regular decision, you have until May 1 (“Decision Day”) to notify colleges. Here’s what you should do after you receive your college acceptance letters:

  • Learn even more about the schools that accepted you by visiting campus one last time. Talk to real students, visit the dorms and cafeteria, and find out about key academic programs and campus activities.
  • Compare financial aid packages to see which makes the most sense for you and your family.
  • Talk to your college counselors. They’ve been cheering you on throughout the whole application process and are there to help you decide which school is right for you.
  • If you plan to defer your acceptance for a year to work, travel, or volunteer, make sure you’ve done your research. Talk to the admissions office about what it needs from you to consider your gap year request (and be sure to ask about any financial aid implications).
  • Notify colleges of your decision, and send in your deposit by the deadline.
  • Don’t slack off in school! Colleges expect you to keep your grades up all throughout senior year.

If You’re Waitlisted

If you land on a school’s waitlist, you’ll need to decide whether you will pursue or decline the waitlist invitation plus make plans to attend another college. Follow these tips to make sure you’re covered.

  • Quickly respond to let the school know whether you will accept or decline your position on the waitlist.
  • If you accept,
    • Send a follow-up letter to let the school know why you would be excited to attend and the reasons why their college is still the best-fit school for you.
    • Stay focused on your grades and prepping for AP exams.
    • Request an interview, so you can reiterate your commitment to the school.
  • If you decline, reevaluate the rest of your list. What schools do you need to learn more about? Which schools can you still visit?
  • No matter what, get excited about the schools that accepted you. Decide which college fits you best and send in your deposit. If you do get off another college’s waitlist (and accept!), you’ll forfeit your deposit.

If You’re Deferred

If you applied early decision or early action, you may receive a notification that your application has been deferred to the regular admission pool. This can happen if a college decides they need more information (like senior year grades or test scores) before making their final decision. Here are your priorities:

  • Work hard to keep your grades up.
  • If you plan to submit new SAT/ACT scores, prep thoroughly.
  • Keep in touch with the admissions committee, and make sure you’re sending them the information they need to evaluate your application.
  • Keep up your college search! Craft a list of dream, match, and safety schools—any of which is a great fit for your specific personality and interests. Work with your college counselor to stay on top of application deadlines.

If You’re Rejected

If you didn’t get the news you were hoping for, it’s okay (and normal!) to feel disappointed. But don’t dwell too long! There are still some proactive things you can do to find your best-fit college.

  • Focus on the schools that said “yes”! It’s time to visit or research in more depth the schools that accepted you. Sometimes your dream school has been on your mind for so long, that it can overshadow the rest of your options. There are bound to be plenty of new-to-you programs, internship opportunities, and other on-campus gems to get excited about!
  • Stay positive! You might feel tempted to take a year off from academics altogether and apply to your first-choice school again next year. We caution against this route! It is easier to transfer to the school of your choice from a less prestigious school than to start again from scratch (even if you spend your year off doing something productive and character-building).
  • Lean on your college counselor. Your admissions counselor is a pro at helping students compare schools and decide which offer of admission—and financial aid package—to accept.
college guidance, parenting

How I Helped My Daughter Choose College Over a Boyfriend

 

choose college

I will never forget how it felt when my daughter announced, “I don’t think I will go away to college.” My stomach went into knots. My heart broke. My mouth dropped. Panic arose within every fiber of my being; but I didn’t speak. My mind was going in a hundred different directions; but I remained calm. Thinking back, I have no idea why I didn’t immediately start freaking out.

What would make an academically motivated, hard-working senior with a dream of attending college in Boston change her mind? A boy. What else? During the second half of her senior year she met a boy. He was kind, sweet, loving, and very romantic. He plied her with flowers, daily love notes, and phone calls declaring his love. He also began begging her to stay. It started simply with an “I will miss you” and transitioned to talk of marriage.

How could I possibly compete with the “M” word? How would I convince my daughter that college was more important than a boyfriend? How could I explain to her that he was probably the first of many and there was a big world out there waiting for her to explore?

The first step to convince her that college was the best choice, was to start a conversation. The first thing I did was ask her, “Why, after all this time, and all your hard work, would you change your mind?” At first, she gave me a multitude of excuses, from being afraid to move so far from home to missing me to having to leaver her friends. But eventually, she admitted it was her boyfriend.

Instead of bad-mouthing him and telling her he should not be pressuring her, I turned the conversation toward these three topics: the reason you wanted to go away to college, the realities of losing all your financial aid, and the importance of choosing your own path in life. After a few days of tears and logical evaluation, my arguments prevailed. She agreed to stick with the plan and go away to college.

It is important to note that I did not lose my cool. I didn’t argue. I didn’t yell. I didn’t make her feel her opinion was silly or stupid or illogical. She was now an adult and would have to make her own decisions. I simply guided her toward the right choice.

Getting her to college was one thing. I thought that once she made the decision, she would move on. But the first day of freshman week, she announced that she would give it a try and transfer if it didn’t work. Translated: if the long distance relationship doesn’t work, I will move back home and go to college there.

But I knew something she didn’t know. College offered her so much more than being stuck in a long-distance relationship with a boy who was still in high school. It wasn’t two weeks before she met someone else and decided that college was a good place after all. By the time spring break rolled around, her boyfriend was ancient history and college and its experiences became the focus of her life.

admissions, Guest Posts

Helping Your Student Make the College Decision

 

making the college decision

The College application season has begun. Students are now feeling the pressure of the college weight on their shoulders, as their future planning starts becoming a reality. But for parents, this may also be an even more stressful time. As a parent, how are you supposed to increase your child’s chances of getting into their top school, and, after that, how will you afford to help pay for the skyrocketing costs of planning and attending a University? I’ve outlined a few key tips that will elevate your child’s application, help you make the college decision and some tips on how you can save costs.

1. College Visits

  • If you are serious about getting your child into their top school, a college visit is a must. College visits provide students with the opportunity to explore the campus and get a feel for the atmosphere they’ll be entering, and it sometimes offers the chance to interact with students and faculty members. However, the cost of college campuses will add up, so it may behoove families to take advantage of guided virtual reality tours, like those offered by SchooLinks; which hosts tours of over 600 high-ranked colleges, including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, and more.

2. Connect with Admission Officers

  • This may seem intuitive, but there are countless families who think a college visit is enough. It is important to get in front of an admissions officer if you plan to visit a college campus. Book an appointment with an admissions officer to show that you are interested in attending the college, and ask questions regarding the applications, school, etc. to show your continued interest in the school. You may not always have the time to meet with multiple admissions officers in person, but you can reach them via email or on SchooLinks where students can connect and interact with School Admission Officers.

3. Financial Aid

  • As I mentioned before, getting into a college may seem stressful, but figuring out how you will afford to pay for college is an even bigger headache. The go-to solution for financial aid is filling out the FAFSA form or searching for scholarships, but even when searching for scholarships, students often overlook many scholarships they may be eligible for. Parents should urge their students to start applying to scholarships early on, as early as 9th grade. My best advice for winning scholarships is to apply to multiple small scholarships, amounting to awards of $250-$500. Those scholarships normally have a lower number of applicants are yield a greater chance of winning. For an easy scholarship entry, parents can have their children enter the SchooLinks $5000 Scholarship, which has no application or essay requirement.

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Today’s guest post was provided by SchooLinks, an online free resource to help parents and students organize and plan college application submissions as well as scholarship applications. Students can connect with School Admission Officers, view guided virtual reality tours, or receive help from consultants. Upon joining, students should fill out their profiles completely, with all of their personal and academic information, in order to provide schools with all the important information they require. This will also allow SchooLinks determine which scholarship students are eligible, which makes the list of scholarships to research much more narrow. To get started, create a profile today!

college guidance, financial aid, mom approved tips

Mom-Approved Tips: How Will You Make the Final College Choice?

 

final college choiceThe May 1st decision deadline is approaching and families are anguishing over that final college choice. The college your student chooses will be her home for the next four years. It will be her extended family. Her choice should take into consideration those two facts. But how will you make the final college choice?

Make another college visit

It’s time to revisit the colleges. This is by far the most important element of making the final college choice. If the college hosts admitted student events, your student should attend. This visit could have a profound effect on their decision. Spend as much time on campus as needed—talk with students, attend a class, talk with professors, and take your own campus tour.

Compare financial aid awards

After the visit, compare the awards. Who offers the best financial aid package? Will the awards carry your student through all four years of college (are they renewable?). Did the college include loans as part of the package? Was your student “gapped”?

Even if the college is your student’s first choice, the award should factor in to your decision. The last thing you or your student want is to graduate with overwhelming student debt. Trust me—she will thank you in the future for being the voice of reason.

Compare colleges who offered admission

In an article I wrote for University Parent, How Will Your Senior Decide?, I make these suggestions:

Begin by reexamining all the factors your student considered when applying. For each college or university, take a second — and closer — look at location, academics, the size of the student body, and other elements that made your student feel it would be a good fit. Review statistics including the freshman retention and four-year graduation rates.

It’s been months since she submitted her applications. If she got in, is she still in love with her first-choice college? Has she learned anything about the school since she applied that changes the way she views it? Has anything changed for her? Does the school still fit with her long-term academic and personal goals?

This is a good time for your student to gather information from a few trusted sources. She doesn’t need to invite everyone she knows into the decision-making process, but it can really help to consult with older siblings and friends, or teachers, coaches, or counselors.

Based on this research and reflection, make a list of pros and cons for each college and compare them side-by-side. The top two or three should be evident.

Before your student accepts a college’s offer of admission, take all these factors into consideration. You want your student to be happy, but you also want her to graduate with minimal debt.