Back to School

It's that time of year again when parents shop for school bargains and young adults start readying themselves to start a new school, go to the next grade or simply meet new friends. Some states, especially in the South, have already rung the "start of school" bell and others are merely weeks away. As parents and children work towards the same goal they do it in two different ways. Parents are concentrating on lesson plans, academic vigor, college prep, AP scores, athletics etc. And kids are all about the new fashion, and maybe academics. Of course, the kids who are looking towards getting into ivy league schools are probably coming back from a foreign country or adding to their extracurricular transcript by working as camp counselors, volunteering at various organizations like Habitat for Humanity etc. By mid-October both will probably be on the same page once the first set of grades come home. High school graduates are packing for college and wondering if they made the right choice in school. They have their room assignments, college id, money on account for food, book voucher and all the electronic equipment they can fit into a two room dorm. For seniors in high school its all about visiting colleges, applying early action, early decision and getting those AP scores in.

Here is where it gets tricky. From June to September colleges and universities are busy seating their classes. Some may have already seated their freshman class by August and some may take until the start of classes in September to do just that. Whatever the case maybe the summer, although many think admissions offices are closed during this time, is a very busy time for admission officers. In other words, the seniors that I'm referring to here are college students for 2008. So the second part of this is that at the same time that colleges and universities are seating their freshman class they are also recruiting for the following fall semester. Sounds confusing? Its not really but to parents it can be extremely so. The key here is that there is always two classes being recruited at anyone time. The big difference is that for several months the immediate freshman class is the most important but there is a plan in place to attack the next year's class, i.e. open house.

So, all those of you out there who are worrying about getting you child into a good college next year need to start your work now. Its not about waiting until April its about visiting colleges now. Its about attending information sessions. Its about talking to admission officers and its especially important that prospective students meet with their guidance counselors and start getting their act together. Don't let the bus leave you at the station.