Momtalk: the College Search

Is your future college student a planner or a leaper?

However you and your child approach the selection process, the college search has changed.

In my day, we took the ACT and/or SAT once, maybe twice if we did poorly.  We picked out two or three colleges that interested us and sent in applications to those.  Maybe, just maybe, if our parents felt adventurous, we visited one or two schools.  I went to Bowling Green State University, because it was close to home, mid-size and didn’t seem overwhelming.  My first visit was after I applied.

The planner

My daughter’s college search was an entirely different experience.  She took her first ACT as a freshman to get a feel for the test; she re-took it once each of the following three years to solidify her score.  She only took the SAT once junior year because all of the colleges she was interested in would accept the ACT and that was the better test for her.

We took a 2,000 mile driving tour of colleges during her junior year spring break and looked at seven out-of-state colleges.  We finished with two other trips to in-state schools.  By the end of her junior year, she had decided on her top three schools.  The summer prior senior year she emailed teachers asking for letters of recommendation. She knew the date applications would be on-line. She had all of her applications submitted by mid-October and was hearing back from schools by early November.   She was offered a place in her number one choice on December 22 and promptly accepted.  We mailed in our deposit and put the whole stressful application process behind us.

While being accepted in not the end of the college process, it certainly makes her senior year more pleasant and our home life less stressful.  We now can focus on the information from one school, take final visits to solidify things and become comfortable with her choice. 

College is a huge shift for everyone – your child will have major changes and so will you.  For our family, having questions answered early and becoming comfortable with a new school has made the upcoming change seem more manageable and exciting.

My daughter and I are “planners.” We liked starting the process early – thus the freshman ACT.  She liked looking at brochures and books and thought she really wanted to head south, out of cold, gray Ohio – thus the 2,000 mile road trip.  As it all ended, she will be attending Ohio State University in Columbus, but it was her own choice after considering many options.  I believe that our willingness to look at things that were not our first choice as parents, such as distant out-of-state schools, allowed her to rule them out on her own and come back to a choice we can all live with.  We were up front early on regarding the high cost of college and how much we were willing to pay.  She understood that a school out of our price bracket would require scholarship, aid or loans on her part.  We want her to have a vested interest in her education, making sure that she understands she is ultimately responsible for working hard.  She has spent her high school years focused on academics and extra-curricular activities to build her resume.  We guided her on this path, but she executed it beautifully. 

The leaper

We now are guiding our sophomore son down the same path. He’s not as much of a planner, but he is headed in the same direction. He'll be able to apply to schools early in his senior year.  He will take the ACT for a second time this year.  With any luck, he will know his top choices by the end of next year.

Everyone has their own speed and comfort level, but we’ve found that by approaching the college process in small steps, it’s easier to move forward than trying to leap off the cliff and not knowing what to expect.