Senior In High School..Process Of College Bound

[dairyou]

Hi!

DS is a senior in high school this year. He may be accepted in a University but more likely will go to a state college. He wants to major in engineering.

Though DH and I make a good salary we are not college graduates. I finished junior college with a certificate in dental assisting. I'm in the mist of trying to figure out the timeline of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done by.

So, is there any hints of things you wished you would have done to make the process easier?

Deb

 

[luv2sew]

I'm not up on the laws in California, but I have a friend that told me that college tuition is free to residents of California going to school in that state. In fact she purposely sent her son out to California to become a resident of that state for the free tuition. The plan was for him to attend a community college out there till he got his residency and then go full time on the free tuition. Unfortunately for her, he turned out to be one that does not study and drops out of all the classes he has ever signed up for.

 

[dairyou]

I'm not up on the laws in California, but I have a friend that told me that college tuition is free to residents of California going to school in that state. In fact she purposely sent her son out to California to become a resident of that state for the free tuition. The plan was for him to attend a community college out there till he got his residency and then go full time on the free tuition. Unfortunately for her, he turned out to be one that does not study and drops out of all the classes he has ever signed up for.

That would be great! I think it probably depends on good ol' "Terminator" Arnold now. There are cuts everywhere in Cal-ee-forn-yah

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Dec 1st is the general deadline for most schools to get in-house scholarships. I throw that out there first thing because it is an important piece of info to know and you should have applied to all your schools and waiting on money if you can get it.

Need to start applying as soon as applications are being accepted. Find out all deadlines of potential schools. That is very important.

This is your guideline as to what to do.
http://www.collegeboard.com/

This freshman yr is supposed to be the most freshman ever applying so you cannot afford to wait.

Good Luck! Ny dd starts college in 14 days!

 

[dairyou]

Dec 1st is the general deadline for most schools to get in-house scholarships. I throw that out there first thing because it is an important piece of info to know and you should have applied to all your schools and waiting on money if you can get it.

Need to start applying as soon as applications are being accepted. Find out all deadlines of potential schools. That is very important.

This is your guideline as to what to do.
http://www.collegeboard.com/

This freshman yr is supposed to be the most freshman ever applying so you cannot afford to wait.

Good Luck! Ny dd starts college in 14 days!

Thanks so much! That is exactly is the kind of information I need. In the process of reading everything. I'd read one site which takes me to another and then another. Sometimes I forget what I started reading to begin with. I will thoroughly read the collegeboard site. I don't know why I didn't even think about that!

Thanks!
Deb

 

[dairyou]

Dec 1st is the general deadline for most schools to get in-house scholarships. I throw that out there first thing because it is an important piece of info to know and you should have applied to all your schools and waiting on money if you can get it.

Need to start applying as soon as applications are being accepted. Find out all deadlines of potential schools. That is very important.

This is your guideline as to what to do.
http://www.collegeboard.com/

This freshman yr is supposed to be the most freshman ever applying so you cannot afford to wait.

Good Luck! Ny dd starts college in 14 days!

14 days? How do you feel? Is your DD excited? It such an exciting time. I can't wait to see my DS go through this. I know he'll be leaving but it's his first steps into independance.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

14 days? How do you feel? Is your DD excited? It such an exciting time. I can't wait to see my DS go through this. I know he'll be leaving but it's his first steps into independance.

I am OK. I am just hoping she does well.

 

[missypie]

Has he taken the ACT or SAT yet? The next two SAT test dates are October 10 and November 7th. The next ACT dates are September 12 and October 24th.

Have you heard of Collegeconfidential.com? It's a great commmunity. There is a Class of '10 thread on the Parents board - it is pretty intense but you can learn so much.

He should be working on his applications now, with the goal of getting them in by November 1st. As soon as school starts, if not before, he should ask one or two teachers if they will write recommendation letters for him. Some popular teachers get asked for so many that they can't do it all.

 

[undertheradar]

While it is a much lower cost to start out in community college here, the budget cuts are creating overcrowding and fewer class options. Many community college districts are reducing the number of classes and the frequency of those options. As for our state schools, costs are continuing to rise and application deadlines are being moved forward. Our son will be starting at a local college so as to not have to take a lot of needless courses to maintain full-time student status. College Confidential is a great source for this time in your planning stages. Someone here on the boards gave us a heads up to CC months ago and we have learned much.

 

[mamacatnv]

I would also recommend a sit down with his high school counselor, they often have an insight into "local" money. Scholarships for local kids from local organizations. ACT's & SAT's need to be done ASAP if not already done.

The Western Interstate Exchange Program is worth looking at also. http://www.wiche.edu/
My DS will be attending 1 more year at UNR (Univ. NV. Reno) and then if he decides to go the direction he is thinking of then we are looking to transfer him to either Humboldt State, Boise State or possibly Univ. of Oregon.
BTW UNR is on the WICHE program

Financial aide is confusing and changes everytime your students account changes (you get a scholarship, you add a class, you drop a class, you change living arrangements etc). Of all the things we had to learn about college, the whole way the finances work was the most frustrating. Add, that often your child is an "adult" and therefore the schools won't talk to you anyway. Now, our DS has signed the "yes, you can talk to my parents" form but the financial maze is still tough to navigate and UNR's policy is that they will not discuss finances over the phone, which means I have to haul down there or send DS with a list of questions. It is not because I am holding his hand it honestly is confusing and since I am paying a chunk of the bill I often have questions that need answers.
This year is much easier, we know a whole ton more and we were able to anticpate the changes well ahead of time and plan accordingly.

Oh and my sympathies on having a senior......hold onto your wallet, that was the most expensive year ever!

 

[bballmom56]

If money is an issue, don't rule out private colleges. Although their sticker price is high, they can be very generous to the students at the top of their incoming freshman class. In some cases, the merit money can make a private less expensive than a public. The trick is to find schools where your DS's stats (GPA, SAT/ACT scores, class rank) put him in the top 25% of the admitted stats for that school.

The 2 websites mentioned are excellent resources (don't let college confidential scare you! There is tons of great info. there.) You can also check out Princeton Review that has a variety of tools for searching and applying to colleges.

Good luck! My last is now a junior in college and I will miss it all when it's over!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm not up on the laws in California, but I have a friend that told me that college tuition is free to residents of California going to school in that state.

Oh I really don't think that was ever true. I lived there, and though I left the state for college, there was always going to be a charge if I'd gone to a UC or comm college or anything in between.

My dad worked for UCSC for ages, and one of the benefits was that his college aged kids were going to get a lovely discount on their education, should they choose to go there, but then they chose to not go. If it had been free, a discount wouldn't have been a big deal.

So I think your friend was very misguided.



OP, he needs to look at the application deadlines! I had already applied before I started senior year. Got my acceptance early in my senior year, if not the summer before, and I did NOT do any early acceptance stuff. My mom hadn't gone to college at that point, and my dad got his degree when we were teens and wasn't a trusted source of info at that time, so it was really sort of free-floating for me, I had to figure out a lot of things on my own! It's tough, but doable!

 

[undertheradar]

While the Western exchange can be used, not all majors are accepted in the reduced rate tuition program. A combination of test scores, transcript and gpa was used by several of the schools when my son was looking. In 2008, the UC system advanced the application deadline and overall school enrollment sizes are being reduced as California shrinks the state budget. While getting info from the counselors is nice, we constantly were reminded of reduced staffing when it was a challenge to get appointments with the couselors. You should be planning all tests, Fall college visits, and get every application filled out and mailed in advance of the deadlines. Your best bet is to get involved in the process now and stay on top of it.

 

[dairyou]

Has he taken the ACT or SAT yet? The next two SAT test dates are October 10 and November 7th. The next ACT dates are September 12 and October 24th.

Have you heard of Collegeconfidential.com? It's a great commmunity. There is a Class of '10 thread on the Parents board - it is pretty intense but you can learn so much.

He should be working on his applications now, with the goal of getting them in by November 1st. As soon as school starts, if not before, he should ask one or two teachers if they will write recommendation letters for him. Some popular teachers get asked for so many that they can't do it all.

He's take both ACT and SAT. He scored an over all of 28 on the ACT and 1600 on SAT. He just took the SAT again so we're waiting to see what his new scores are

 

[dairyou]

All your posts have been very helpful. Yesterday I made a "College Timeline" to follow and included a To Do list section.

I'm pretty excited to see how his life will change. He's a good boy with a terrible attitude so I think going on his own will be good for the both of us. I'm excited to see him finish his high school years and move into his college years

 

[momrek06]

He's take both ACT and SAT. He scored an over all of 28 on the ACT and 1600 on SAT. He just took the SAT again so we're waiting to see what his new scores are

Wait...isn't 1600 a perfect score on the SAT's? My DS' are all graduated from college w/Masters...so it has been yearrrrrssss since they took SAT's...they scored in the 1300's...soooo unless there have been major changes to the scoring of the SAT...your DS has done very well. Why take them again?


I would contact his h.s. guidance counselor for college planning advice. The h.s. counselors will give your son all the data on all the scholarships and grants available to him to apply for. AND many h.s. have evening seminars for parents as their child prepares for college.

DH & I hired a college planner for our DS'. CP knew every single detail possible on just exactly how to apply to the college of your child's choice.

 

[dairyou]

Wait...isn't 1600 a perfect score on the SAT's? My DS' are all graduated from college w/Masters...so it has been yearrrrrssss since they took SAT's...they scored in the 1300's...soooo unless there have been major changes to the scoring of the SAT...your DS has done very well. Why take them again?


I would contact his h.s. guidance counselor for college planning advice. The h.s. counselors will give your son all the data on all the scholarships and grants available to him to apply for. AND many h.s. have evening seminars for parents as their child prepares for college.

DH & I hired a college planner for our DS'. CP knew every single detail possible on just exactly how to apply to the college of your child's choice.

Wow, that's a great idea. It's almost like a wedding planner. Were you happy with your CP? How did that work?

Deb

 

[sbell111]

Oh I really don't think that was ever true. I lived there, and though I left the state for college, there was always going to be a charge if I'd gone to a UC or comm college or anything in between.

My dad worked for UCSC for ages, and one of the benefits was that his college aged kids were going to get a lovely discount on their education, should they choose to go there, but then they chose to not go. If it had been free, a discount wouldn't have been a big deal.

So I think your friend was very misguided.

California residents don't pay any tuition, but they do have to pay fees which run around $3k at CSU schools and $8K at UCLA per year. This is considerably less than in-state tuition and fees at other state schools around the country.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Wait...isn't 1600 a perfect score on the SAT's? My DS' are all graduated from college w/Masters...so it has been yearrrrrssss since they took SAT's...they scored in the 1300's...soooo unless there have been major changes to the scoring of the SAT...your DS has done very well. Why take them again?


I would contact his h.s. guidance counselor for college planning advice. The h.s. counselors will give your son all the data on all the scholarships and grants available to him to apply for. AND many h.s. have evening seminars for parents as their child prepares for college.

DH & I hired a college planner for our DS'. CP knew every single detail possible on just exactly how to apply to the college of your child's choice.

ETA....It is a 2400. I have it sitting in front of me. And anyway they only want your Critical Reading/Math score anyway.

My dd got a 550 Critical Reading /510 Math/660 Writing (which they don't count).

Top scores are 800/800/800, and sbell is right it will depend if the student did the writing.

 

[sbell111]

Wait...isn't 1600 a perfect score on the SAT's?

I think that it depends on whether they did the writing portion.