It’s a bit like investigative journalism to find the ideal college. You need to do lots of research and ask questions. Then, you have to go on the ground and get firsthand experience.
College visitsBetween the end of junior year, and the beginning of senior year, it is important to start noticing the changes in the parents and students lobes. It is possible to take road trips, and many. G-chats, online scouring and virtual tours are not enough to replace the real experience of visiting dorm rooms and dining in actual dining halls.
A strategy should be developed by parents to ensure that they visit college campuses as often as possible and get the best out of every tour. You will be instructed by Dr. Richard Bavaria who is senior vice president for education outreach for Sylvan learning tutoring authority Sylvan.
* Cast a wide net. If your high schooler has not done so, encourage them to compile a list. Ask them what they value most about college life: academic strengths, academic weaknesses, religious affiliations and other offerings, campus/enrollment sizes, sports, extracurriculars, campus/enrollment growth, dorm life, and religious affiliations.
You can classify schools as target, dream, or safety schools based upon your child’s academic results and test scores. You can reduce the initial list to a manageable number of colleges you wish to visit.
* Get SAT/ACT prep support. Unsatisfactory test scores can make it difficult to find the right school for your dream student. Sylvan Learning will help you get SAT help.www.sylvanlearning.com) tutoring experts. It is harder than ever to get into top schools.
“The number of early admission applications has increased dramatically, with some universities seeing double-digit jumps. To begin the college process, most students applying to competitive colleges now take the SAT/ACT more than once,”Bavaria.
* Go while college is in session. Weekends and holidays can be dead zones in college life. Your student won’t get a true view of the campus. To ensure that potential applicants can see the entire campus, call ahead and confirm that college is open for tours.
* Ask smart questions. Encourage your child to ask questions of all people, including professors, advisors and librarians. To compare the answers, ask the same questions to different professors and students. Remember to address important topics such as safety and financial aid, which may be overlooked by parents. You can trust them to ask about food selections or social activities.
