College - How Did You Decide?

[Lisa in Katy]

My daughter is about to begin her senior year and has begun seriously thinking of where she wants to go for college. I went to the local community college for 2 years and then went to a nearby university to finish my degree. However, she is a little more brave than I was, and has the whole world open to her at this point. I, of course, would like her to stay within a few hours of home, but will support her whatever she decides.

So, she is starting to narrow it down - not too big, not too small, definitely has football (we're from Texas, after all), not a total unknown, etc. At one point she said nothing north of Missouri because she hates the cold, but now she thinks that if you dress appropriately, it might not be so bad. Unfortunately, her list is still very long.

So, while the school counselor is on vacation, we need some help. We will fill out the FAFSA as soon as it is open for her graduating class, but will not qualify for anything. It's just a step to start the scholarship process rolling. As of the end of her junior year, she was ranked #1 in her class of 632, she made a 1380 on her SAT (2020 with Writing), is thinking of taking the ACT. We will visit some Texas colleges this summer, but can't really afford to start visiting the ones out of state until she narrows her list.

What should we do next? Anyone who has been through this recently have great advice?

 

[Karlynn]

Locate the colleges that carry good departments in the area of interests you daughter has. Then visit, visit, visit. It's usually the visit that makes or breaks a college decision. If you are really very interested in a particular college, contact them prior to your visit and tell them you want a guide that knows their stuff. The guide can kill a college for your daughter. There was one particular college that we thought our daughter was well suited for. It has a beautiful campus and great programs....the guide was horrible. I knew 5 minutes into the tour that my daughter had changed her mind and would never go there.

And my Mom advice - the further away they go to college, the bigger chance you have of your daughter ending up living far away. Both my son and daughter went to out of state schools, met people, fell in love and now I have a son (and DIL and granddaughter) living 9 hours away and a daughter living 12 hours away. I never anticipated being so far away from my adult children.

 

[Marguerite53]

Been here, done this!! Youngest going into her senior year at a private liberal arts college ( $$$$$$). Middle one year out from BA at large public university, oldest on full fellowship for PhD back east after 4 years at a top tier private college in CA. (he stunned us by getting a perfect 1600 in Sat II - Calculus. that was very helpful!!!! )

You really want to match her to the school. Please either find this at the library, or order from Amazon or go to a bookstore. The Fiske Guide to Colleges (here's the amazon link....2009 not off presses yet, shouldn't matter that much)
http://www.amazon.com/Fiske-Guide-C...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213628560&sr=8-1

Believe me, with 3 kids we looked through dozens and this was the best. It will help her realize the many facets of college life, as well as the particular interests she has.

Do not let her slack off her senior year with easy classes because "she's already worked hard enough". Make sure she continues to challenge herself. Start listing all the extracurricular stuff she has done.

Consider hiring someone to help her write her essay and DO IT THIS SUMMER. We have a former Dean of Admissions at Harvard in our community and he and his wife run a very lucrative business helping kids decide where to go and how to get in. They have travelled extensively to colleges and universities and they know the game and how to play it. Please feel free to PM me if you would like me to ask them if they know of anyone in your area who could help in that matter. They may do long distance stuff, but I wouldn't think that would be as good as face to face. These people aren't cheap (any of them) but frankly, it is good to disassociate yourself from the all important essay. It takes a lot of tension away from the household. And they are pros and that is a very competitive element.

If she finds the school that fits her the best, the scholarships will come. Does she have any sports? That can be very helpful. My daughter excels in volleyball and the coach really wanted her (Division III, so no money) but the college was iffy (put her on a wait list). Her sport is a fall sport, so he really went to bat for her, and they accepted her for the fall. It was awesome. She's currently set to break several volleyball records (tho don't let me jinx that by mentioning it...knock on wood) so the college certainly has been rewarded by her presence. Though she is not a stellar student, the experience has been perfect for her because she (as did the other 2) worked very hard thinking, comparing, visiting many schools to find the one that fit their personality. As Karlynn says.....visiting is essential. AFter you've done one or two locally, you could feel comfortable sending her on her own if there are prearrangements for someone to meet her, guide her, etc.

Good luck and stick with it. It's very competitive out there and you're right, you need to get to work NOW!

Marguerite

 

[Gnusgal]

Remind your daughter that TEXAS is a huge state and can still feel "far away from home" without having to pay for out of state tuition.

When I was looking for colleges I didn't even think about going out of state... Not sure why. Maybe because Texas IS so big. I went to lots of college fairs and talked to their reps, as well as looked into which schools had the program I was interested in (audiology at the time). I also wanted to make sure they had a theatre program, since I had been so interested in that when I was in high school, even though I had no plans to major in it (though ended up doing so after all!). I finally decided on UNT because, even though TCU offered me a scholarship, UNT gave me WAY more credits for my AP tests than TCU would have. I went in with 24 hours of credits before ever stepping foot in a college class! If she's taking AP classes, you might mention to her that state schools are way more likely to accept them as actual hours than a private school.

Good luck to both of you! I know my aunt had a horrible time when my cousin decided she wanted to go someplace "with four seasons" (they live in So. Cal.) and ended up in Chicago! I can't imagine being quite THAT far from home (4-5 hours is quite enough ).

 

[Sherry]

Lisa, I've just gone through this with two sons. The oldest is going to be a junior at Purdue University, and to be honest, that was his only choice. He was going to study engineering and wanted Big 10 sports so Purdue was an economical and smart choice. The youngest, who just graduated from high school, looked about six different schools, in state and out. He is majoring in music performance and chemistry so he needed to find just the right fit. He auditioned several places and got the nicest aid package from the school that he liked best, Butler University in Indianapolis. Filling out all the apps, writing the essays, auditioning, etc. was quite exhausting, considering he was taking a difficult load his senior year, but in hindsight, it all worked out, and it will for your daughter too. As has been mentioned, Texas has plenty, big and small, to consider. Make sure she visits the campus for an entire day and sits in on some classes and even meets with some of the professors. That will truly give her a feel for the campus rather than just the standard campus tour. Best of luck to you all in this process. Oh, by the way, look up the Common Application online and see which schools are included on that application. You can fill out one app and pay one fee to apply to several different schools at once.

 

[PJmomrunner]

My daughter will be a freshman at a top university in the fall and I have spent much of the past school year trading one obsession (VR.com) for another (CollegeConfidential.com) in order to help guide her through the process.

A few personal recommendations:

1. Apply early: Many schools offer a non-binding early decision application and even those who don't often have higher admittance rates for those who apply early (afterall, they'll soon be inundated with applications submitted at the deadline, why wouldn't they process them as soon as they get them?). Also, it's VERY unnerving to wait until February or March (or later!) for decisions while everyone and his brother is asking where you're going to school and those around you have acceptances in hand.

2. Tours ARE very valuable, but you needn't take them before applying. We did tour first (19 schools!), but in retrospect wish we hadn't. Go to local admissions events for the schools that interest your daughter and tour a few of varying size or environment that are close by, but it actually makes more sense to spend your money applying to schools you THINK would be acceptable (rather than spending much more on travel and hotels) and deciding which of those that accepted her would be best.

3. Apply to a variety of acceptable schools: "safeties," "fits," and "reaches." Remember every one of them should be a school your daughter could envision herself attending. These days top students apply to lots of schools (hence the low admittance rates at the top schools), so budget $240 to $480 (or more) to apply to six to ten (or more) schools, assuming a couple free online applications and $60 each for the rest.

4. Be completely upfront with your daughter about your willingness and ability to (help) pay for college. Let her know the situation, including what's already been saved, what you are willing and able to pony up in addition to what's been saved, and what (if any) you are willing to help her repay in terms of loans. Also, include at least some mention of your own financial planning for retirement and/or elder care. It's amazing the disparity that often arises between parent vs. child expectations in this department; stating the situation in the beginning (including stating any uncertainties) is very important.

5. Do not rule out expensive private schools. Many of them (I can help you find some if you like) offer generous non-need based merit aid to top students that can bring their cost in line with in-state schools.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Thanks for the advice. Hannah is not in sports, but she is the head cheerleader. She goes back and forth on whether she will cheer in college. It probably depends on where she decides to go. At some schools, cheerleading is your entire life. She's taking 6 AP classes next year, along with Cheerleading. She took 3 this year and we are waiting for the test results. She's involved in student government and National Honor Society. She also works as a hostess (at Hooter's ). I'd say she's well rounded, but some of the guys might think I'm referring to her job at Hooter's!

Speaking of Hooter's, on the applications for schools with religious ties, should she use the corporate name, or be up front? She really enjoys it, they work well with her rather busy schedule, and it pays for her gas, but I don't want it to go against her on applications.

 

[MrP]

The Univ. of Texas was my son's decision, and he loves it there. He was looking at several good schools on the west coast where he grew up, but as soon as we walked around campus at U.T. in Austin and talked to an adviser, that was it...his mind was made up! As an out of state student, acceptance at U.T. was even more difficult, but he made it in with a lot of hard work.
All my best,
MrP

 

[Ana]

My only point of advice is that -- IMO -- student loans are not an appropriate way of funding an undergraduate education. If that means she has to give up her "dream school," so be it.

To the extent that a bachelor's degrees is this generation's high school diploma, I would agree. However, depending on the goals of the individual, taking out student loans for the undergrad degree at a highly sought after University is something to consider. It all comes down to the career. If someone knows exactly what they want to do and can parlay that degree into a well-paying job, the benefits of what that piece of paper conveys to the world will surely outweigh the debt. It's really more of a question of how the BS/BA will be used which should determine a necessity for acquiring debt.

 

[Sherry]

other thoughts

other thoughts

Lisa, PJ made some good points about early decision schools and application costs. Butler was Andy's early decision school so we knew by December 21 that he was accepted, but we went ahead and looked at and auditioned at a few others. After all the acceptance letters and aid notifications came in, Butler was his number one choice. Good luck to her as she goes through this process.

On a more mundane note, make sure she is caught up with her immunizations, especially the Hep B series, which all colleges require. Andy had his college physical this morning and had to have four shots (not a happy camper), all of this because I should have been a little more proactive during his senior year. He'll have to have his third in the series right before he goes off to school.

 

[tommy]

My oldest son went from a large North Texas HS (900 senior class) and went to a small college about 6 hours away. It was too small. He eventually transferred to UNT and thrived there.

My youngest is a junior at A&M. Despite being born in Chicago, he loves Aggieland with all of its activities. And yes he's doing well academically.

Your daughter's credentials sound excellent. Smarts and leadership. Lots of schools would love to have her. What matters is a good fit. That takes time and visits. It's not too early to start visiting. Go visit a school or 2 nearby soon. You'll learn stuff with each visit that will make later visits more valuable.

I agree about avoiding lots of loans and possibly getting in-state tuition (and travel costs). There are lots of good schools with varying specialties and sizes.

The journey begins........... best wishes.

 

[gijanet]

I second Tommy's vote

I second Tommy's vote

for Texas A&M. My sister was an Aggie. It was not in Christie's top ten choices, but they offered her a diving scholarship (back when they had a diving program - duh!), so my parents made her go take a look. She fell in love with the campus and traditions and looked no further. Besides, a degree from A&M opens almost all employment doors in Texas (unless the firms are headed up by a blasted UT CEO). Good luck! I will be facing this a couple of years from now - at least I hope I will be.........haha! P.S. For grad school, I liked UNT, but liked TWU even more; TWU would definitely not be to your daughter's tastes, though, as they have no football team to cheer on. I just liked the smaller classes and family feel. Hugs.

J.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Okay, we have scheduled visits for Texas A & M and ACU. Texas A & M is actually somewhat bigger than she'd like, but I told her that my experience taking a couple of classes there was that it seemed a lot smaller than it really was. It has that family atmosphere. We are going to talk to them about the Honors program, which would mean smaller classes. She doesn't like the idea of being in a class with 100 or more people. Her AP credits will get her out of some of the largest classes, though.

We're also going to be in Huntington Beach next week for vacation. Any suggestions on a school we could drop in on?