1. Steps to College Search
Kevin McDonald
School Counselor
Irondequoit High School
November 2016

2. Getting Started – Looking for ideas
Colleges find out about you
PSAT’s
SAT’s/ACT’s
AP’s
Websites you have used
Admissions events
Student starts getting information from a college because they fit a particular profile. Expect to get:
Brochures/glossy advertising
messages
Offers of informational books or special services

3. Getting Started – Looking for ideas
You Find Out about Colleges
Seek them out, but where?
College fairs,
College representative visit to your high school,
Athletic/Academic Camps.
Talk to those around you
Alumni
Teachers/Counselors
Word of Mouth

4. Getting Started – Looking for ideas
You Find Out about Colleges
Print Resources
Online Resources
Naviance
Bigfuture, College Navigator, etc.
Colleges’ websites (.edu)

5. Narrow the Field How To? Consider the following:
Location (how far from home?, urban/suburban/rural)
Size
Type (liberal arts, specialized colleges, religious affiliated, single gender, military)
Majors
Extracurricular activities
Selectivity
Cost versus availability of financial aid

6. Narrow the Field
Visit!!

7. Narrow the Field - visiting options
Open Houses
Spring and Fall
Often coordinated with breaks and/or on weekends
Comprehensive
Difficult to get one on one attention
Great opportunity to see most of a campus.
Group Sessions
Smaller than Open House
General Overview
May be scheduled for a specific major

8. Narrow the Field - visiting options
Individually Scheduled Visits – Call and make an appointment
Options to consider
Tour – student led. Do ask the tour guide about their feelings about the school: food, dorm life, social activities, workload, etc.
Sit in on a class
Meet with an Admissions Counselor – this is an opportunity to complete an interview. Check if required.
Ask and answer questions – be ready to discuss your academic background
They might ask you “Why are you considering the college?” “….or major?” “what are you going to contribute?”.

9. Narrow the Field - visiting options
Overnight stay
Best to complete when trying to make the final decision (2nd semester)
First hand experience with dorm life, food, etc.
Typically limited to Sunday night through Thursday night.
Specialized Visits
Art Portfolio Reviews
Specific days for faculty to review your past work
Music/Theater Auditions

10. Narrow the Field - visiting options
When?
Try to visit when colleges are in session (fall or spring semesters).
Summer is fine, but the level of activity is less.
Combine with other family trips.

11. Narrow the Field - visiting options
Parents
Let your child do the talking.
Have your own set of questions. What is important to you may not be important to your child.
Take the tour with your child.
Talk with students who are NOT the tour guide.
Talk with other parents.

12. THE GOAL………
….is that by Thanksgiving of a child’s senior year they are applying to their colleges (3 – 7 schools). ….and that by May 1st they are paying their deposit to one school.

13. Questions??