Sending a student off to college is quite a milestone—not just for them, but for you. If you are currently feeling a mix of pride and panic, you are in exactly the right place. The college admissions landscape looks very different today than it did when many of us were applying, and it is completely normal to feel a little overwhelmed by the noise.

The goal of this site is to serve as a starting point with information to help you learn more about the process and everything involved, so you can best support your student throughout their four-year high school journey. While your student is focusing on their grades, extracurriculars, and applications, this space is dedicated entirely to you.

We want to help you guide your student through the process.  Here you will find "Big Picture" topics to consider during your student's journey, as well as videos for parents/caregivers that can give you some insight on ways you can support your student from the start of their journey to college decision day! 

Grab a cup of coffee, take a breath, and explore! 

College prep is a multi-year exercise in letting go. 

Ultimately, the goal is for the student to independently manage their own life and schedule by the time they step onto a college campus.  Here is a roadmap for thinking about the 4 years of high school.

• Freshman Year: Parents are the driving instructors. You are heavily involved in checking grades, managing the calendar, and suggesting activities.

• Sophomore/Junior Year: Parents move to the passenger seat. You are there to help navigate, but the student decides when to study, handles their own communication with teachers, and researches schools.

• Senior Year: Parents are in the backseat. The student is driving the application process. You are just there to help pay the toll (application fees) and make sure they don't crash.  

College can be expensive!  Do not wait until the spring of senior year to figure out how to pay for college or to discuss family finances related to college costs.

• Talk About it Early: Be candid with your student by sophomore year about what the family can realistically contribute.

• Use Net Price Calculators: Every college is required to have a "Net Price Calculator" on its website. By junior year, run your family's financial numbers through these tools to get a rough estimate of what that specific school will actually cost you.

• Understand the Difference Between Sticker Price and Net Price: A private college might have a massive $75,000/year sticker price, but generous institutional grants could make it cheaper than your local state university.

It is incredibly difficult for a 17-year-old to remember what volunteer work they did when they were 14, and at 14, they may not even think it is important to write everything down in one place.

One way you can help them is to help them develop a habit of writing it all down in one place.

Create a Master Resume Document

• Start a shared Google Doc in 9th grade. Every time the student wins an award, finishes a season of a sport, logs volunteer hours, or gets a summer job, have them write it down in the document.  You can do the first few entries together to get them in the habit of using it.

Track the Details

• Include dates, hours spent, and any leadership roles. When it comes time to fill out the Common App activities section in senior year, having this "brag sheet" is a lifesaver.  This sheet can also be useful for students to give to the teachers they have asked to write their letters of recommendation.

There is so much information about college rankings and bumper-sticker prestige.  Just because a school is highly ranked, that doesn't mean it is the right fit for your student.  As you and your student explore college/university options, here are some questions that you can think about 

Academic Fit

•  Will the student be challenged and not constantly overwhelmed? 

• Does the school have the major the student wants?

• If applicable, is the school's 

Social Fit

• Does the student want a massive campus with big sports, or a small, intimate liberal arts college? 

• Do they want an urban or rural school?

• How does the student feel about the campus after visiting or exploring their virtual tour/website?  Do they know how to get answers to their questions?

Financial Fit 

• Does the school's cost align with the budget without putting the student into significant debt?

5. Protecting Student Well-Being

The college admissions landscape is more competitive than ever, and teen burnout is a very real epidemic.

• Guard Their Downtime: Extracurriculars are great, but so is sleep. A student who gets a "B" but is healthy and happy is infinitely better off than a student who gets an "A" but is running on fumes and anxiety.

• Normalize Rejection: Help them understand early on that college decisions are often based on institutional needs (e.g., the school needs an oboe player this year, not another biology major), not a judgment of the student's worth.