Can I email the admissions office for my daughter? She's too shy to ask her own questions
She has real questions about the engineering program and won't reach out. I wrote a draft email myself. Is it okay for me to send it?
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She has real questions about the engineering program and won't reach out. I wrote a draft email myself. Is it okay for me to send it?
Our public high school has one counselor for about 450 students. She's kind but we've had one 15-minute meeting in two years. Friends are paying thousands for private consultants, some much more than that. My daughter is a junior, good student, no specific "hook." Is a private counselor necessary or is it mostly anxiety marketing? What should we actually look for if we do it, and what are red flags? We are not wealthy, so if we spend money on this I want it to be on something that actually matters, not peace of mind.
I'm a parent posting because I don't know where else to ask without it getting back to people we know. My son is a senior. He's a good kid with a strong record: 3.9, good scores, captain of his robotics team, works on weekends. Applications are due in a few weeks for early action and he has not written a single word of his essays. Not a draft, not a list of ideas, nothing. Every time I bring it up he shuts down. He says he'll do it, then goes to his room and plays video games. Last week I made a schedule and taped it to the fridge and he just walked past it. When I tried to sit down with him on Sunday it turned into a shouting match and he said I care more about where he goes than about him. That hurt, and honestly I'm not sure he's wrong. His father thinks I should back off completely and let him face the consequences. I think if I back off he'll miss every deadline and end up somewhere he doesn't want to be, or nowhere. We've talked about hiring someone but he says he doesn't want a "college coach." I should also say he is not a bad writer. His English teacher told us at conferences that he writes well when he cares about the topic. So I don't think it's ability. I think he's scared, or he just doesn't want to think about leaving home, which I understand because I don't want to think about that either. What do I do? Push harder? Back off? Pay someone? I've lost sleep over this for weeks. TL;DR: senior son with a strong record hasn't started essays, shuts down when I bring it up, deadlines in weeks, I don't know how much to push.
Parent here, posting because my son asked me to figure this out and I'm in over my head. Our situation: - Household income about $180k (two working parents), W-2, nothing complicated - Two kids: our son is a senior, our daughter will start college in three years - One house, mortgage, modest retirement savings, about $40k in a 529 for our son - We live in a moderately expensive area He's applying mostly to private colleges, sticker prices around $90k a year. We cannot pay $360k for one child, let alone two. Some friends say families at our income get nothing, so don't bother. Others say you always apply. My questions: 1. Is it worth filling out the FAFSA and the CSS Profile at our income? 2. Does applying for aid hurt his chances of being admitted? 3. Is there a way to know what we'd pay before he applies? 4. What happens when our daughter starts college? Does that change anything? We also have no idea how "assets" are counted. Does the house count? Does my retirement account count? Some articles say yes, some say no, and I'm afraid of entering something wrong and getting penalized. For what it's worth, he has a 3.8 and a 1460 and wants to study engineering. We are not expecting merit money at the schools he likes most, but we would be open to other schools if the numbers are much better. I'd appreciate a straight answer. I've read so many conflicting articles that I'm more confused than when I started. Edit: Thank you, this is the clearest explanation I've gotten. Running the calculators this weekend.
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