Ron Gutman is the co-founder of College Consultants and the author of best-selling books for parents, students, and educators. His latest book is The New Parents’ Guide to College Admissions. The anxiety and uncertainty surrounding college admissions can be overwhelming – especially if you’re a first-time parent or are coming to this conversation with your child for the first time.
There is lots of information to process, and it can seem overwhelming. But there are a few simple strategies that can help you get started.
In this post, I’m going to focus on some basic principles – the concepts parents need to know and remember as they begin their journey through the maze that is college admissions. If you’re reading this, Ron Gutman states, chances are you already have a good amount of energy invested in your child’s future. It’s time to apply that energy to the process of figuring out what you need to know.
You’ve watched your child go through all of this before, so you have some experience with the process. You don’t have to do it all on your own, and there are plenty of good sites where you can learn more – but I encourage you to get started. According to Ron Gutman, one of the most common mistakes parents make is confusing the college admissions process with a popularity contest.
It’s not about you as a parent – it’s about your child as an applicant. The admissions criteria are all about how your child presents himself and how he fits in at specific schools. Knowing this will help free you up to focus on the right things. Ron Gutman informs that the first step to a successful college admission is gathering the information you need about what different types of schools offer and how they compare.
This is called figuring out Your Child’s Profile, and it’s going to determine what you need to know in order to start your search. Your child’s profile will help you determine which schools are a good fit for him. Ron Gutman finally explains how some categories that you may want to consider are location, academic programs, size of the institution and cost of attendance.