Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My DD is only in middle school, but I've heard our public high school will provide only limited minutes of college counseling services. I have considered private high school in order to get better access to these services. However, the public high school seems like it will be a good fit in all others areas, so I am starting to research private college consultants.
I do not have the background, expertise, nor time to become a complete expert in the college admissions process. However, I am willing to pay (not overpay) for someone who has expertise in this area. What are your thoughts/experiences with this? How do I go about evaluating consultants/services? Are there any good natl. certifications I should look for? I am looking for someone who will basically hold our hands through the entire process (3-4 years?) and help us find the best college match. I am not looking to get my kid into a particular school (e.g. an Ivy), but the school that is the best fit for her.
Some background on DD:
My DD will likely be a very strong candidate based on: academics, athletics, music, extracurriculars/leadership, etc. She is highly competitive and self-driven. She is a strong student in a highly regarded gifted program, with very high natl. test scores (particularly math/science). She is also an elite AAA hockey player, 4 sport athlete, and successful in other areas as well (orchestra, student govt., debate, science/math teams, volunteerism, etc.). She is the girl who wants to do it all, while I keep careful watch for any signs of burn out and spend endless hours driving her around!
Her hockey club will start "showcasing" her at college tournaments in upcoming years. Her coaches are completely focused on getting the girls into the best "hockey schools," which may or may not be the best fit academically. Her coaches keep telling me that hockey will pay for her college (but I'm not going to count on it).
She wants to study bio/mech engineering or medicine (brain surgery) at a top school. Perhaps her hockey skills may be an additional "hook" into some prestigious programs - we'll see. She also has the goal to be on the olympic development team. So, some of her goals are to 1) be a top brain surgeon and 2) be on the women's olympic hockey team - It's good to dream big!
So, in addition to standard college counseling, we may need counseling on athletic recruitment/scholarship as well. This is all so confusing and overwhelming to me, which is why I am starting the process in middle school.
after Jan 1 of her junior year she can fill out the NCAA form- coaches from D1 and D2 schools will have her on their radar if she is the quality they are looking for.
I may be wrong, but if she continues at the rate she is going with all the activities she will quickly burn out in HS.
I would check directly with the HS as to what services they provide-they may have outside people that already come into the school to assist.
One other item I forgot- did she qualify as a 7th grader to take the SAT's? I can't remember the criteria, but if she does qualify the school counselor should contact you to register for the test. (It has to do with the score on a standardized test I think?).
I agree-if she is really a top player, the schools will find her. Keep in mind that the NCAA has recruiting rules and contact rules so they can't contact her before a certain point. I know hockey is one sport that has different rules but her AAA coaches should know that.
For female hockey players, most of the top colleges for hockey are also very good schools. With her potential major in mind, the University of MN would be a great place for her to really like .
You really don't need to pay someone to do this for you. Most high schools, even private schools, have limited college counseling available. She should be well known to her guidance counselor in her high school though--that person will be her best resource for getting into top colleges.
At this point, however, she just needs to focus on doing well in school, taking the right classes in middle school to place her into the advanced track in high school, etc. She should be taking a couple AP classes, at least, each year (junior and senior year for sure--honors classes fresh/soph year--depending on how your high school does that).
If she is a recruited athlete for hockey, it will be a full ride if the program is fully funded. Most major hockey programs are.
These were the rankings at the end of the year. There isn't a bad school academically in the bunch. You are right to make sure that the school is a good fit academically because if something happens and she can't play hockey any more, she still has to love the school she is at.
after Jan 1 of her junior year she can fill out the NCAA form- coaches from D1 and D2 schools will have her on their radar if she is the quality they are looking for.
I may be wrong, but if she continues at the rate she is going with all the activities she will quickly burn out in HS.
We are watching closely for burnout and talking to her about it. This is a big concern for me. I met with the head of the gifted dept. to discuss it. They explained it is common for gifted/overachieving kids to want to do it all. I was concerned that she would be taking a "full load" of gifted courses in middle school with all her extracurriculars. It helps that she is very internally motivated, extremely energetic (needs less sleep), and very organized. The fact that she can learn school material so quickly also enables her to fit more things on her plate. We also live close to most of her activities, keeping commute times to a minimum. This year, she did remove several extracurriculars from her life, so that she would have more time to focus on activities that are more important to her. She is starting to understand that she does have time/commitment limits and can not always do it all. She is a pretty happy kid who is not easily stressed.
We are watching closely for burnout and talking to her about it. This is a big concern for me. I met with the head of the gifted dept. to discuss it. They explained it is common for gifted/overachieving kids to want to do it all. I was concerned that she would be taking a "full load" of gifted courses in middle school with all her extracurriculars. It helps that she is very internally motivated, extremely energetic (needs less sleep), and very organized. The fact that she can learn school material so quickly also enables her to fit more things on her plate. We also live close to most of her activities, keeping commute times to a minimum. This year, she did remove several extracurriculars from her life, so that she would have more time to focus on activities that are more important to her. She is starting to understand that she does have time/commitment limits and can not always do it all. She is a pretty happy kid who is not easily stressed.
Sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders. I wouldn't worry too much about taking a "full-load". Better students tend to get more stressed when they are in classes of kids that just don't care or don't try hard in school. One thing I would caution you on is an IB program. If that is offered at your high school, I would do a LOT of research into the program. It's a good program but it's highly stressful and they overload kids with homework/busy work. It's generally not a good fit for athletes and it really doesn't give you a leg up on college admissions, at least any more than AP classes do.
Just keep her focused on the goal with her hockey--it's a way to pay for college. Keeping that in perspective will help keep her leveled. In a lot of ways it's easier for girls because they don't have the added pressure in most sports of "going pro". Our D will be playing college sports and it was very important to her to find a school where the sports came second. Hockey will be a full ride for most better programs, but keep in mind, academically she could qualify for a lot of money too, full rides + in some cases so don't rule out not playing in college as an option----but it sounds like she wants to play in college, for now anyway.
I agree-if she is really a top player, the schools will find her. Keep in mind that the NCAA has recruiting rules and contact rules so they can't contact her before a certain point. I know hockey is one sport that has different rules but her AAA coaches should know that.
For female hockey players, most of the top colleges for hockey are also very good schools. With her potential major in mind, the University of MN would be a great place for her to really like .
You really don't need to pay someone to do this for you. Most high schools, even private schools, have limited college counseling available. She should be well known to her guidance counselor in her high school though--that person will be her best resource for getting into top colleges.
At this point, however, she just needs to focus on doing well in school, taking the right classes in middle school to place her into the advanced track in high school, etc. She should be taking a couple AP classes, at least, each year (junior and senior year for sure--honors classes fresh/soph year--depending on how your high school does that).
If she is a recruited athlete for hockey, it will be a full ride if the program is fully funded. Most major hockey programs are.
These were the rankings at the end of the year. There isn't a bad school academically in the bunch. You are right to make sure that the school is a good fit academically because if something happens and she can't play hockey any more, she still has to love the school she is at.
Thanks for the info. I agree that there are a lot of good women's hockey schools out there. She is a relatively strong hockey player, but an even stronger student. She is first an academic. I am just thinking a college consulting service might help us narrow down the best schools for her academically, where hockey can perhaps be used as an admission "hook." I do not want a potential hockey scholarship to deflect away from a top school that is the best academic fit.
She is extremely high in math/science and is currently in a very accelerated (3 year advanced) program. She has been the top finisher in several natl. math/science competitions. She is on path to take the full load of all AP math/science coursework before senior year. She will start being bussed to the High School to take math next year (as a 7th grader) and take AP Stats, AP Calc, AP Chem, AP Physics by Junior year. She's on path to take college credit math/science seminars by Senior year, because there will be no more AP's left for her to take.
I know there are some very good hockey schools. But she is also thinking about top engineering schools, like MIT, which only has a girls hockey club team. I just feel that, due to all the variables involved, we'll need a little more support in the college selection process than the 15 minutes per year our school counseling office provides. If necessary, I am willing to pay a private counselor for this support. Maybe I just need that peace of mind. Maybe things will become clearer as I start the process.
Our D will be playing college sports and it was very important to her to find a school where the sports came second. Hockey will be a full ride for most better programs, but keep in mind, academically she could qualify for a lot of money too, full rides + in some cases so don't rule out not playing in college as an option----but it sounds like she wants to play in college, for now anyway.
Yes, that is what I am feeling. Hockey should come second. I think she will likely qualify for academic scholarship as well, maybe at some top schools. Just trying to figure out how this all works!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
