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I am a mother of a freshman. We got to US a couple of years ago and I know nothing about the whole procedure.. The high school says nothing, provides nothing, explains nothing, we have to come with questions and bug them real hard for any information. So how and when do you get exposed to all those Universities? There are so many Universities throughout the country and in each state, so how do you know about all those different programmes, scholarships? And if you are not sure wich direction to go - is there any professional help, like tests, advisors (we have none of this in High school)? How do you find and apply for scholarships? How do you know what tests to take (SAT2)? I would appreciate any information... Sorry, i am confused...

By aDad on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 08:48 am: Edit

Donna, a good place to start is by reading the postings on this site. I have found many of them very helpful (some are not). Also go to collegeboard.com, they have detailed information on about 35000 schools.
Good luck.

By the answers on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 04:01 pm: Edit

Usually people start looking at colleges in sophomore or junior year. I would recommend just going online and searching for colleges or programs your child would be interested in. I would also buy some books which talk about and review different colleges. These books have information on what colleges specialize in, admissions standards, which tests they will need to take, etc. After some research, your child will have a rough idea of where they would like to attend. To sign up for SAT's, go to www.collegeboard.com and make yourself an account. The ACT site is www.act.org. When your child applies to colleges, they can apply for need-based financial aid from the college, and also FAFSA scholarships from the government. If your child wants a merit scholarship, go online and try to find some that your child could possibly get. I just went through this whole process. It's stressful, but I was just accepted to my number one school, and believe me, it's all one big relief. But I do know exactly how you feel. If you have any other questions, just ask. I hope I helped.

By fillintheblank on Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 10:47 pm: Edit

Have your freshman study for the PSAT his/her sophmore year-if he/she does well enough, colleges (tons!) will start sending mail-that's a good way to get exposure. Hmmm...otherwise, if your kid has any idea what she/he wants, you can do a search at either the Princeton Review site (www.princetonreview.com) or the College Board (www.collegeboard.com). However, since your kid's a freshman, I'd expect her/his views to change (my freshman year I wanted to go to UT Austin, now as a senior I've applied to Knox, Kalamazoo, and Dickinson). You can also go to local college fairs in your area to be exposed to different schools. I wouldn't worry about specific programs/scholarships until your kid's junior year-by then he/she should have pretty firm views about the type of college she/he wants, or what kind of career. For general scholarships, register (for free) at www.fastweb.com (though realize most scholarships are for juniors or seniors). I'd say your child will definitely take the SAT and ACT (if English is her/his second language, he/she'll probably have to take the ESL as well) for college, so if you want to start preparing her/him now, focus on those two (and the PSAT for the National Merit Scholarship). The SAT IIs are usually required at the more prestigious schools, but it's never to early to start thinking about them-if your child does really well in a class (which was challenging) and thinks she/he will do well on the test, go ahead and have him/her take it right after she/he has finished the school class. Otherwise, don't worry about them until you know your kid is looking at schools that tend to require them. I wouldn't have him/her take the Writing SAT II test until senior year-the more experience, the better. Hope this helps-feel free to ask away with any more questions!