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While CD could be a great place for such a discussion, college confidential is better as it only deals with college related issues. There is a forum for parents, so check it out:
Hold on, if you're sending people to CC, then you have to mention the parents forum. The competitive kids that do major research (or think they could have) before they finish High School are the big posters on the rest of the board. The Parents forum has lots of good information, and the Parents Cafe is even fun!
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
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I think the individual school forums on CC are the best for information once the picks are made. I very rarely posted on CC except on the board for his school. It was also there that some of the other parents were really able to "help."
What about Carolyn's site as well? AdmissionsAdvice.com It seems to be much more parent friendly, where to me CC tends to be overly obsessive with rankings (although still not as much as Princeton Review, nor XOXO.)
I think the national date only matters for a select group of students (i.e. those applying to the highly selective colleges and universities). A lot of these institutions have weekends for admitted students so that they can visit and make their decisions. When I was a senior, pretty much everyone knew where they were going and had made their minds up well before May 1st. I know that I took an entire week off of school, started with Northwestern and ended up at Duke. In the end I wasted all that time and chose Alabama.
I think the individual school forums on CC are the best for information once the picks are made. I very rarely posted on CC except on the board for his school. It was also there that some of the other parents were really able to "help."
What about Carolyn's site as well? AdmissionsAdvice.com It seems to be much more parent friendly, where to me CC tends to be overly obsessive with rankings (although still not as much as Princeton Review, nor XOXO.)
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with those rankings . . .
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with those rankings . . .
There is far too much information for them to acquire individually, and rankings allow a parent, student, or counselor to feel as if they are making an informed decision.
I think it is very unfortunate, but very understandable.
In addition, not everybody can afford to engage the services of a private college counselor - to whom, then, would/should they turn?
I honestly would really suggest NOT to go to College Confidential. In retrospect, I never should have :P I really wanted to go to UChicago but everyone on there told me that I had no chance. I ended up applying early decision to Brandeis (which I do adore, don't get me wrong) and got an almost full tuition merit scholarship. Realistically, I certainly had as good of a shot at UChicago as anyone- I certainly fit the mold to a T of the stereotypical Chicago student and I think I would have had more career options coming out of there.
But I was an impressionable, angsty 17 year old who listened a bit too much to the kids on there who would post, "I have a 1550 SAT (old) and a 3.97, do I have a shot at my state U?" The competition on that site is fierce and can scare the bejesus out of you in an already stressful time!
Honest, I don't know many kids that go to "highly selective schools" but all of my kids and their friends were aware of the May 1st deadline. My kids, both B or B+ students had several offers and didn't put their decisions into the mailbox until April 31st. My son attended two or three admitted students events and did two overnights, one was at a state school.
The parents forum at College Confidential is much more friendly then the rest of the boards there. Rankings are just numbers and a very small part of trying to find the right fit for a college. If you hang out in the parents forum, you'll hear "fit" in just about every thread, and not as much talk about prestige.
I like to stress fit also. Having attended a couple of different institutions really gave me more perspective. Overall, I loved my time at Tulane. It was the perfect place for me (except for the Hurricane Katrina fiasco!). I went to Harvard when Tulane closed in the fall of 05 and while I liked it, I still wouldn't have attended H for my undergrad degree.
And then, I think Philadelphia is really underrated as a college town. It has so much to offer.
One college that people might not have heard of but I would recommend EVERYONE to consider, is Rhodes College, in Memphis. One of the most beautiful campuses in the country and you can get a top notch education there for relatively little money. Of course it is private and it does cost more than what most people have, but they have an excellent merit and need based aid program.
There is some really good advice here but I want to add a few things since I teach at a community college.
Applying by November seems to be a good rule of thumb, although if there is a particular college your senior is interested in, it's better to call the admissions office and double-check their deadline.
If you want to keep your costs down, make sure your senior goes to a college in the state you reside in. Out-of-state tuition is very expensive.
Going to a community college for the first 2 years will save you a LOT of money. Just make sure you speak with someone to find out which classes transfer to a 4 yr college (it's best to know in advance what particular college your son/daughter plans on tranferring to).
If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
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