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!