Stress-free college applications

This week we asked our parents: As summer ends, a new crop of high

school seniors is getting ready to apply for college. What

suggestions do you have for these seniors and their families as they

get started on this pressure-packed endeavor?

One solution to maintain sanity in the process of selecting a

college is to hire a professional educational consultant who

specializes in college counseling. Finding the right college for a

child can be very time-consuming and stressful during the busy senior

year. Consultants have information and recommendations on most

colleges and universities and can help set goals and explain

requirements, deadlines and how to complete the applications and

write the essays.

Consultants interview students and parents and are able to design

a strategy based on the student’s interests and transcripts. Parents

also need help in understanding scholarships, financial aid programs

and eligibility.

My oldest son had an awesome consultant when he was applying for

college. He applied to two out-of-state schools but selected a

private university in California and had a wonderful experience. He

attended a year-long study abroad program in London that had caught

his eye during the college search process.

I regret not using a consultant for one of our daughters, whom I

let be in charge of the application process. She spent three years at

one state university, then transferred to another, which had the

major she wanted to pursue. We really did not spend enough time

analyzing her interests and visiting schools before she applied.

Now we are ahead of the game with our youngest daughter. She has

been meeting with a college consultant since she was a high school

freshman, and we will be visiting colleges this month. The consultant

has helped plan her high school courses, including summer school, so

that her load is lighter during the school year when she is very

involved in soccer and other activities. The consultant knows my

daughter’s goals and interests and has given us many ideas to think

about.

Selecting the best college for each child is hard work, especially

if you have a lot of other things going on. Spending a little money

up front on a consultant to help find a school where your child will

have the best opportunity for success is a good investment.

* WENDY LEECE is a Costa Mesa parent, former school board member

and member of the city’s parks and recreation committee.

The first suggestion that I would make is this: Start early.

That won’t help anybody who’s going to start college in the fall,

but that’s a lesson I’ve learned this year as we’ve prepared to send

off a college freshman. He waited until beyond the last minute, and

we’ve had to scramble ever since.

My college freshman also waited too long to start seriously

considering his options, so they were more limited than he would have

liked. He ended up at a good school, and it will all work out, but

more choices and more perspective would have been nice.

Start early with all the forms and applications. There are more

than one can imagine, and even though most are now available online,

many are still painful and seem to be highly subject to being sent

back for revisions.

One in particular, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid,

is quite possibly the worst online form and system ever devised. It

requires multiple passwords and easily allows for one to enter

incorrect information. Then the office mails back a letter weeks

later to let you know that you’ve improperly entered some bit of

information.

By then the passwords have expired, so you get to reapply for a

password to reapply for financial aid, and the new password takes a

few days to receive. I’ve seen IRS tax codes that make more sense.

Anybody who can get that application right on the first try should

get bonus financial aid.

At my house, the pressure seems to be mostly on the parents. My

kid isn’t feeling much pressure yet, but I figure that he’ll get his

share once we drop him off at school and drive off into the sunset.

Thus, I’ve decided that I will wade through these last few weeks

and make sure that he actually gets into school, and then I’m turning

it over to him.

It feels a lot like when I camped out for two days to get my kids

into the magnet grade school they first attended -- it’s just another

step in the long process of making sure that your kids get what they

need to get the education they’ll require.

It’s painful, but it’s worth it.

* MARK GLEASON is a Costa Mesa resident and parent.