Focus on What is Important When Researching Your Target Schools

One of the biggest challenges for students applying to undergraduate and graduate schools these days is the overwhelming amount of information available about their target schools. The modern marvel of the Internet has made it easy for applicants to learn everything from student faculty ratios to a professor’s office hours and research, but sometimes it’s easy to get sidetracked with all of that information and lose sight of what is truly important.

Once one’s parents get caught up in the application process, things can become even more complicated.

“School X doesn’t give any financial aid – we shouldn’t bother applying there.”

“School Y doesn’t have an active enough Model UN club – you should only apply to schools that are really active in the Model UN scene since you want to get into international relations in the future…”

If possible, try to focus on what matters to you. According to Compass College Advisory Center, it takes 300-plus hours for parents to help their child through the admissions process. A large part of that time is likely wasted on worrying about details which are not critical.

If you’re just starting the college selection process and are feeling overwhelmed, here are a few tips:

• Set up a weekly meeting with your parents to discuss college, or graduate school research. Don’t allow every dinner discussion to focus on grades, test scores and recent rumors you’ve heard about specific colleges.

• Visit a few schools in person to get the feel for which schools suit your personality and interests. When you and your family visit a school you’ll get a better sense about the environment, the student body, the balance between work and play, and even how the professors treat their students. These are all important factors, but can’t truly be experienced unless you take a visit to your target school.

• Keep a running list of notes on your favorite colleges – the pros and cons – in a shared folder in Dropbox. This will let your parents see which schools you are researching and what you like about them from wherever they are.

• Do your best to determine which colleges are reach, target and safety schools and focus your visits on the reach and target schools first. Prioritize everything accordingly.

• Take a deep breath. You will survive. Your parents will survive. You will get into a school that suits you, make it through the entire application process without killing each other, and be able to look back on the entire application process and laugh in just a few short months.

Keep your personal limitations in mind when you are applying for schools. Especially if you are still taking classes, are working full or part-time – sometimes it can be very easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work you have to do to make your application as perfect as possible.

And of course, if you’d like help thinking through your application strategy and talking through your priorities – you can always reach me at david@transcendadmissions.com.