ZT: 关于选择大学 - 我的看法 By big_benz

http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/znjy/1513152.html

新的大学申请季节很快将开始.  跟大家谈谈我的经验.  声明一下: 我的二个孩子木有上常春藤。 因此，如果您想要听藤爸藤妈，请您绕道走.

请记住 - 是您的孩子申请大学，不是您.  whenever you have a problem, come back here.

1st thing to do is to talk to your kid about financial.  It will be great if you could afford the full price.  If not, you must let your kid know how much you can afford NOW.  The last thing you want to happen is that you can't afford the "dream school" you kid gets in.

2nd, give him/her your suggestions - why they should consider so and so.  Make sure you aim high.  My recommendation is 5 reach, 2 match and 1 safety.  For many parents, especially those who are doing this the first time.  One big mistake is to aplly to too many matches. But, do not force him/her to apply to certain school they don't want to.

3rd, talk to you kid about schools they like.  work together to pick some EA or ED.  You MUST do at least one EA.

4th. stand back and let your kid lead.  Give him or her a credit card for application fees.  Tell him/her: we are here to help.  The only thing we will do is to make sure you submit all the material on time.  Find out all the dealines and make yourself a excel file.  Do not wait until the last minute to check on the status.  Since your seniors will be very busy doing school works and E/C.  They will forget things. 

DO NOT READ their essay!!!! 

5th.  Establish a good relationship with your kid's GC at school.  Find out the teachers who will be writing recommedation letter etc. 

Optional - take them to visit some schools.  They said the kid will love the very first school they visit the most.  So choose that carefully.