How to narrow down your list

Right about now, as high school seniors are waiting to find out where they’ve been admitted (the agony!), juniors—and their parents—are gearing up for their own college searches. But if you’ve done even a bit of research, you know that the choices can be overwhelming. After all, there are thousands of postsecondary schools in the U.S. How will you help your child find the right one?

There’s no easy answer, but with hard work, a good bit of planning and these smart strategies, you’ll both survive.

Check out nearby schools. Even if your child swears she will never, ever go to college close to home, visiting colleges in (or near) your town will help her get a feel for different types of schools. If possible, schedule visits during the school day and make sure she sits in on a class, takes a tour and talks to current students. After her visits, ask what she liked, what she didn’t—and why.

Start listing. Have your child use a free online college search service, such as the College Board’s College Matchmaker (at collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp) or the Princeton Review’s Counselor-o-Matic (at princetonreview.com/com.aspx), to get a list of schools that might fit his academic profile, interests and personality. If your child doesn’t know if he wants a small school or a big one, for example, have him search with slightly different criteria to build his list.

Call for back-up. Encourage your child to schedule a meeting with her guidance counselor to discuss the list. The counselor should have resources such as aptitude tests, guidebooks and literature about different schools. He or she should also be able to talk with your child about colleges that aren’t on her list but might be good fits. And here’s a tip: In the fall, college admission counselors visit high schools to give small, informal presentations to interested students. Make sure your student knows where to find the schedule of these visits.

Narrow down the list. Easier said than done, right? Not really. Chances are pretty good that location, cost and available academic programs will shrink your student’s list from a gazillion to a few dozen schools. Then, send her to the Internet to request information from the schools that remain. Here’s another tip: If your school or district has a college night, you and your child should go. It’s a great way to get a better feel for what makes each college distinctive.

Get the scoop. Soon you’ll start to realize that college brochures sound—and look—alike. Smiling students sit under tall oak trees everywhere! The brochures are good for basic info, but if you’re trying to decide which schools to visit, encourage your child to ask the college admission officer to arrange a chat with a current student or professor (or both). They tend to be the best sources of info about what’s really happening on campus.

Visit. You’ve heard it a million times, but it bears repeating: No amount of research compares with a few hours on campus. If possible, go when classes are in session. If you can’t afford to take your child on a college tour, contact admission offices and ask if they offer financial assistance to help prospective students visit. Some schools have a small amount of money available for high-quality candidates.

Talk to your child—and be patient. It seems obvious now, but in the throes of the college search, you might forget to check in with your student. She is making one of the first huge decisions of her life, and she will change her mind a dozen times (if you’re lucky). Even if she doesn’t act like it, she wants your help—even when you embarrass her by asking a perfectly harmless question during a campus tour. It’ll happen, she’ll forgive you and you’ll both survive. We promise.

Sanity-Savers
Create a timeline. Have your child write all deadlines, testing dates and other important info on a monthly calendar. Work with him to establish internal deadlines for tasks such as writing essays and requesting letters of recommendation.
Get organized. Buy a file box and half a dozen manila folders. Label the folders: Testing, Financial Aid/Scholarships, College Visits, Transcripts, Essays/Resume and College Info. Whenever your child gets a piece of paper that you think might be important—even if she insists it’s not—file it.
Back it up. Give your child a simple USB flash drive, and tell him (repeatedly) to back up the work he does for college applications on the computer. If the hard drive dies the night before his applications are due, he won’t have to recreate everything he’s done.