College Selection?

[riser4]

Anyone with change for a nickel going to be at WPI parents weekend? I dont think we are going to any official events other than dinner at his frat, just going to see our kid. Hes a junior, but could stand to see our smiling faces as he made things a little more difficult for himself than he needed to. FAFO. He's trying to avoid double secret probation. He needs to learn from his mistakes. Fortunately he gets really good grades.

[The SnowShow]

We’re still a few years away from this but I’m starting to do a lot of thinking about what would be best for our girl.
Some questions, both general and specific:
-how important do you all think it is for your kid to go to college away from your home state?
-how much stock do you put into school rankings, like Niche and US Report?
-how hard is it to get into a U of CA school being from out of state? I can’t believe how many good ones there are now.
-what do colleges look at the most these days? GPA, extra-circs and SAT? What things should I make sure she does during her four years of high school to help with her “resume”?

[Going Coastal]

I have #3 of 4 graduating this summer and #4 graduates HS this summer. Best advice I would offer as a parent is be realistic with their ability to live on their own if they go to school far away from home. Except for 1yr in Seattle with a kid at UW, they have all been at least a long plane ride away. Two completely spiraled but eventually figured things out with some severe growing pains that no parent really wants to experience. #3 has always been independent and mature, and she has done really well on her own even though she is the furthest away and came home the least. None of the outcomes were a surprise to us, and now that we are in the lower 48 we will try to keep #4 close to home.

Despite getting accepted to some good schools my parents wisely didnt think I had the maturity to not waste their investment in my future, so I got shipped off to boot camp after fucking up the local community college and it was, without any question, the best thing that could have happened in my life.

You know your kid, so trust your gut with what you think they can handle. Either way, that first drop off was tough and it felt like I was leaving them to the wolves, which I really was when I reflect back on it.

I have no advice on the other stuff. 2 of my 3 went to highly regarded schools and it seems to have opened more opportunities for them. Outside of those opportunities, i think their future success will be more driven by the type of effort that got them into competitive schools to begin with.

We’re still a few years away from this but I’m starting to do a lot of thinking about what would be best for our girl.
Some questions, both general and specific:
-how important do you all think it is for your kid to go to college away from your home state?
-how much stock do you put into school rankings, like Niche and US Report?
-how hard is it to get into a U of CA school being from out of state? I can’t believe how many good ones there are now.
-what do colleges look at the most these days? GPA, extra-circs and SAT? What things should I make sure she does during her four years of high school to help with her “resume”?

[yeahman]

Both of my kids used work-related experiences from their jobs to write the application essays. They purposefully avoided writing about covid because it seemed everybody was. I think the essays are important.

The one who got into Gonzaga and Seattle U did not have a stellar GPA (3.7) or SAT but did a lot of extra curicular. She was in the DECA business/marketing club for four years and went to state and national comps. And capt. of the tennis team her senior year, though not a standout player. Tennis is a great sport for kids who don't fit into the sports mold otherwise IMO. Track too. So many different events to fit different body types. Anyway she got about half her tuition paid in scholarships which made mom and dad VERY happy.

My other daughter had a 4.0 GPA and good test scores but chose to go in state (U of Montana). We did convince her to apply to the honors college, which she reluctantly did. She got a nice scholarship too and is just generally a very low-cost kid. She loves UM and Missoula. Had no inclination to apply to better schools and we didn't push it.

So anyway, there's lots a kid can do improve their chances if GPA and test scores aren't standout.

[skaredshtles]

We’re still a few years away from this but I’m starting to do a lot of thinking about what would be best for our girl.
Some questions, both general and specific:
-how important do you all think it is for your kid to go to college away from your home state?
-how much stock do you put into school rankings, like Niche and US Report?
-how hard is it to get into a U of CA school being from out of state? I can’t believe how many good ones there are now.
-what do colleges look at the most these days? GPA, extra-circs and SAT? What things should I make sure she does during her four years of high school to help with her “resume”?

Let your kid take care of it.

[singlesline]

We’re still a few years away from this but I’m starting to do a lot of thinking about what would be best for our girl.
Some questions, both general and specific:
-how important do you all think it is for your kid to go to college away from your home state?
-how much stock do you put into school rankings, like Niche and US Report?
-how hard is it to get into a U of CA school being from out of state? I can’t believe how many good ones there are now.
-what do colleges look at the most these days? GPA, extra-circs and SAT? What things should I make sure she does during her four years of high school to help with her “resume”?

Depends on your home state. Also on your kid's life experience and goals. Generally I think kids benefit from getting *away* from home and experiencing something different but that doesn't have to mean another state.

College rankings do measure something real, but:
1) think of it like a tier-list, with theirs that get larger as you go down the list. Top 15-25 are in a different league. Then maybe the next 50, then the next 100, then the next several hundred, etc.. Two schools being a 10 positions apart is largely meaningless and far less important than cultural fit/programs/desired locations and shouldn't influence decisions...but being ranked in totally different tiers does matter.
2) How much it matters depends heavily on intended path. If you want to be an investment banker on wall street, you should probably go to a top tier school. If you want to get a PhD and go into academia, you should be in the top 2. Some jobs matter because of what programs are respected or what schools are recruited from. but a TON of other jobs it doesn't matter at all. Although since people rarely *actually* know their path when applying to college, high ranked schools are a safe choice--if you fall in love with biostatistics after a freshman seminar you're going to have a much harder path to grad school if you went to University of Central Bumfuck because it was cheap than if you just so happened to already be at Johns Hopkins or UC Berkeley
3) The best state schools in a given state break this rule as long as you want to stay in state (or sometimes region). Attending University of Oregon can open a lot of doors in Portland that University of Virginia won't open even though UVA is a much higher ranked school.
4. Unless you are flush with cash, I think the tiers of rankings also provide a decent guide as to when it is worth paying $$$ for a private school (or a public with very high out-of-state tuition). Everyone wants to be able to give their kids what they want and what fits best, but you're an idiot if you're going to pay $300k over 4 years to send your kid to Beloit College in Wisconsin (unless 75k/yr is nothing to you).

I can't really speak to admissions these days other than that they have become an overcomplicated mess. Used to have some friends who worked admissions at major universities but they have all moved on. A lot of schools moved away from relying on standardized tests (including my former roommate spearheading test optional policies at my alma mater...) and I think there's starting to be a bit of a reckoning on that as the results have not been what they hoped.
It is also a totally different game if you are talking about the upper tiers of schools vs everyone else--if high ranked schools aren't in the picture, then most of the admissions struggle goes away. A lot of local state schools have pretty clear rules based policies and it is more important to hit those metrics than to deal with resume fluff.

I think part of why they have become a mess is too much parental involvement and pressure...like sharedskittles said, let the kid figure that stuff out. Great for you to be prepared with knowledge to be able to answer their questions and give requested advice...but let them navigate high school on their own. Kids who are genuine and true to themselves *usually* do fine in college admissions even if they don't have a hyper-optimized resume.