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Capstone Educational Consultants

Helping Students with Test Prep, Tutoring, and Navigating the College Journey

Choosing a College

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Smart Advice For Parents

With technology at our fingertips it’s tough to filter through what is smart advice for parents of high school students and what is not. One thing is for certain, getting a little insight from a fellow parent and expert in the field may help you become more confident in starting this college process with your own students – and maybe a little smarter on the side.

As I listen to the concerns of parents in the community, my own friends starting the journey, and the messages heard and learned from my colleagues working with families just like yours all across the country, I’ve determined a few important things to consider:

Narrow the Noise

There’s a million voices saying this, that and the other about why, where, and what you should do. When it comes to preparing for your student’s journey to college the noise is loud. This is a tough place to be indeed. Listening to all of these voices from friends, family, websites, rankings, and news can be overwhelming. It’s one thing to ask Alexa for today’s weather, sports scores, best album in the 80’s or where to find the prettiest beach in the world. But she may not be the best resource for finding the college that makes the most sense for your son or daughter.

We recommend finding a trusted source, an actual person like those with professional membership in the Independent Educational Consultants Association and/or Certified Educational Planners. Trusted sources like these provide opportunities for parents to search for pre-qualified, pre-vetted, experienced college planners nearest their location.

Choose Wisely

Not only is it important to choose a trusted source for information on the college admissions process, but it’s also very important to choose a list of colleges for the best reasons.

Knowing your major in college before you graduate from high school may be a difficult task for many given their uncertainty with careers and how they relate to college.

Be sure to help your student become more self-aware through interest inventories such as the Strong Interest Inventory®. Identifying areas of interest and recognizing the role they play in career choice is fascinating at best. Did you know there are careers held by people of your gender and similar interest and they are incredibly happy? Studies have shown that people who are satisfied in their career choice and who share similar interests with others could be an excellent indicator of success and satisfaction should they find themselves in that same or similar career. That’s what the Strong Interest Inventory will do for you and your student!

Keep the Student Central

The journey to college can sometimes be overshadowed by a parent’s initiatives — with good intentions. Keeping the student central in the process builds responsibility and good judgement. Whether it’s writing the college essays or completing the application, students should be kept front-and-center in the process. They should own it and every click of the keyboard and stroke of the pen should belong to them.

As parents, I’m the first one to say we all want to see our children succeed in all they do. Finding and applying to the right college is no exception. So, with that in mind, encourage them every step of the way — just don’t do it for them.

By keeping the student in the “driver’s seat,” students find their voice in the process. This single effort to keep them central will allow them to better identify with who they are and become better at recognizing when a college makes sense for them.

Enjoy the Process

It’s easy to get caught up in the “hype,” excitement, worry, and frustration of the college admissions process. The powers-that-be have not made it very easy for anyone. Addressing questions like when to start, where to look, how to know, and what to look for are all central to the process. It’s easy to get hyper-focused on these questions and driven like Indiana Jones on a quest for answers. But, this flood of information makes for a frustrating process — definitely no fun!

This is why students and parents should take time to enjoy the process from start to finish. There will always be twists and turns along the way, but there’s a very important education that inadvertently could be missed if eyes are looking in the wrong direction for the right answers.

Staying active in activities, Friday night football games, and maintaining good grades while completing college applications can quickly take the fun out of the journey. But, these are actually some very exciting times and preparing for the next chapter of life is nothing to get frustrated over. When life starts to feel more like lemons, take a moment to remember those things that mean the most. What do you enjoy doing the most? Have a favorite book or activity? Do you find the best version of yourself while volunteering? When your student starts to feel overwhelmed, have them step back and reflect on these basics. At the end of the day, this process is supposed to be enjoyed — days filled with self-discovery and building tomorrow. Have fun with it!

If you would like to talk more about the college journey for your student, schedule your FREE consultation instantly here!

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College Decision in 5 Easy Steps

The college decision is painstaking, especially when there are several colleges on the list, all great and all of them want you! It feels good to be invited to the party, but getting to this point for many is painful.

Families can quake at the college decision and this adds strain to the experience that should be exciting and hopeful. In order to help families process this college decision moment better, I’ve identified five easy steps to consider. These steps will not take you to the perfect college, because regardless of how much work is placed in finding a good-fit, no college is perfect. These steps will, however walk you through a process to better understand the important factors in making the college decision and assist families in identifying practical results.

Assess the Options

Now that the college applications are in, students are anxiously waiting for decisions. Colleges are contacting students by mail, by video, by email and sometimes even in-person to share their decision. These decisions come in a variety of flavors with some having a bit of a sting. Accepted – Deferred – Waitlisted – Denied The degree of rejection grows the further down this scale the decision is made. It is important to know and remember, no college decision determines a student’s worth. The most important thing is to rally and move forward.

At this point, it’s key to focus on your options. What colleges are still in the mix? Clearly, there are those to which the student was accepted. And this is super! But the colleges to which you were deferred or waitlisted should not be tossed aside just yet. Getting deferred means the school’s decision is not a “yes” or a “no” and by placing the student in a “deferred” category offers the school another opportunity to evaluate the student. This is a good time to consider revisiting the school and submitting NEW information on your academic progress and/or achievements. When waitlisted, it’s important to know the school is waiting to see how the class fills before offering a decision on your admittance. A waitlisted decision often comes after May 1 and could intersect with other decisions a family is trying to make.

Evaluate the Schools

There are many scenarios students could potentially experience in the college decision process. When a student is trying to decide between two or more equally competitive colleges, it’s important to step back and take a fresh look at each of the colleges. Dig deeper into what initially attracted you to them in the first place. Why were they a good fit and how does that reason weigh in your decision? Are all the colleges on your decision list selected by you for the same “good-fit” reason? Explore each one and give it a score and see how each one differs from the other.

Compare and Contrast

During the evaluation process, take a moment to compare and contrast what you learn. Strategically zero-in on programs of interest, potential majors, clubs, organizations and other areas of student-life important to you. What about housing options? Career centers? What are the outcomes for the major you’re considering? Do students at one of your colleges have a greater chance of getting hired after graduation than the others?

Calculate the Financial Aid

This step may actually come before all the others depending on your college list. The actual cost of attendance can differ greatly between colleges depending on their location (in-state vs. out-of-state), public vs. private and many other factors. Regardless, it is important to determine the actual cost in attending each institution.

Each of the accepted schools will soon provide a Financial Aid Award Letter to outline the varying amounts of aid available federally and institutionally. Once each of them is in your hands, begin the process of actual cost as one factor of consideration.

Be Rational

Keeping an even keel in the college decision process is critical. Getting emotionally connected without a logical approach can make the decision overly complex. For instance, consider if, at one college, you know friends from high school will be going. But at another college, you are considering there will be no friends from high school. It is always tempting to run toward the direction where we feel most comfortable, but it may not be the best choice. So be rational in your decision, keep a level head and think through your college decision from as many angles as you can. It’s one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make!

We are confident you are going to make a very informed college decision and celebrate with you on this great adventure!

If you would still like some direction, or know someone else in need of consultation, feel free to get in touch!

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Choosing A College Once You’re Accepted

Choosing a college once you’ve received your acceptance letters is arguably more important than selecting the colleges in the first place. It goes without saying at this point, but congratulations on your acceptances! But that was the easy part — now it’s time to decide!

A decision typically comes between selecting one of at least two different things. In this case, it may be you have several colleges to choose from. Either way, between two or between many, narrowing down your decision is big. Here’s a simple process to consider:

Compare Apples-to-Apples

In order to fairly consider between two options and choosing a college, it’s important to place them on equal playing fields. Identify those things about each college that make them different. These things could be size, financial package, location or one may have a spot on a team whereas the other one doesn’t. In doing this exercise, you’ll be able to evaluate their similarities, such as academic program, campus amenities, faculty involvement, internship opportunities to name only a few.

Evaluate the Oranges

Whereas before you were focusing on the colleges similarities, in this exercise, you’ll focus on those things that differ: Apple-to-Oranges. Take a look at those things that make each college different from the other and determine the level of importance they each play in your attending college. Finances may be a determining factor, so it should be valued much higher to you than say having a spot on the team with no scholarship offered.

Visit the Campus

Take a trip to see the campus before making your final decision. Exploring the campus, seeing the students in action, sitting in on a class and speaking with faculty, coaches and reading up on the campus newspaper are excellent ways to broaden your understanding and perspective toward a place you’re considering to spend the next four to six years earning a degree.

Ask Questions

Before visiting the campus one last time, make the effort to do your homework. Find out everything you can about the campus, academic programs, student opinions and student organizations before you step foot onto the campus. Prepare in advance a short list of questions that address your curiosities and interest to better understand the academic programs or other aspect of the college.

We hope this helps you tackle this very important decision with more precision and ease.

As always, feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions or need some help sorting through your options. And, for more insight into college admissions, please “LIKE” our Facebook page!