Our Top 5 Tips for Navigating the College Admissions Journey

The college admission process can be intimidating, scary, and stressful—but it doesn’t have to be. Armed with an intentional and thoughtful plan of action, you can eliminate the most common mistakes.

Tip #1: Have a Plan for How You Will Pay for College

If you don’t know how you will pay for college, saying you will “figure it out later” will be one of the biggest mistakes you ever make. You want to know if you have financial aid eligibility and which colleges are more generous with their aid packages. You also want to know which colleges award merit scholarships—and which ones do not.

Tip #2: Build an Intentional College List

Having your child apply to colleges simply because you’ve heard they’re a “good college” or because they are highly ranked is only going to lead to disappointment and frustration. Your child should think about what’s important to them and use those insights to build a thoughtful, intentional, and balanced list of colleges—where they know why they are applying to each one.

Tip #3: Test-Drive the School

Schedule college visits so your child can see everything “up close and personal.” Whether it’s a college’s viewbook, social media, or website, you want them to get beyond the picturesque quads, the diverse groups of students walking around in college swag, and the hyped-up crowd at the basketball game. By exploring a campus in person, your child will be able to form their own opinion of how well the college might fit them.

Tip #4: Ensure the Essay is Personal and Insightful

An essay that focuses only on accomplishments fails to help admissions counselors truly get to know the applicant. A standout essay should be personal, insightful, and help admissions counselors better understand who your child is and how they might fit into the college’s community.

Tip #5: Understand Application Directions

Your child should learn everything they can about admission requirements, application dates, and special attributes. This is especially important if they are applying for a more competitive major like nursing, engineering, or computer science—where there may be additional requirements that other applicants may not need to submit.

 

When In Doubt, Ask For Help!

The college search and application process has a lot of moving parts. If you’re not sure what to do or when to do it, schedule a complimentary consultation with us so we can help you put a thoughtful and intentional plan in place.

 

Download the Top 5 Tips for Navigating the College Admissions Journey