It’s time for seniors to get that admission ball rolling, and now’s the time to start.
One of the things I wish would be easier to understand are the different types of admission available at all schools. (I also wish there was one standard financial aid award that looked the same nationwide.)
I worked in the admission office of my alma mater for 12 years and we had rolling admission. This means that we’d accept applications as they came in, without an application deadline.
In other words, if you applied in September of senior year, you could get admitted just as easily as if you waited to May of senior year. The perks to rolling admission is that you don’t have to worry about a deadline date.
However, the downside is that your child doesn’t have a deadline. It’s often easier to make sure your child actually gets the application done when there’s a hard-and-fast deadline.
One more thing worth mentioning: There’s no shame in turning to professional help to help you get admitted to college. However, it’s important to choose wisely, so read reviews of Speedy Paper services or similar platforms to make the right choice that meets your needs. Selecting a reliable assistant can boost your child’s confidence, reduce stress and help you stick to a plan. It can be a great asset, especially if companies offer reasonable perks like SpeedyPaper discount codes or original approaches and solutions.
There are no right or wrong answers (kind of like choosing a major) but there are definitely types of admission that match best with your child’s personality. Let’s dive into seven different admission types and figure out which one is best for your student.
Various Types of College Admission
Let’s go over seven common types of college admission practices: Regular admission, rolling admission,
Regular Admission
Regular admission allows students to apply to as many schools as they would like. There’s an application submission deadline, which will vary between institutions. However, regular admission deadlines typically fall in early January and admission offers are sent out in late March or early April. Your student has until May 1 to either accept or decline the admission offers. Colleges that offer regular admission typically have an early college admission option (detailed below) so make sure you and your student are aware of all the deadline dates!
Best for: Students who want flexibility with their admission decision and don’t want to have to commit to a school early.
Rolling Admission
As I mentioned before, our college participated in rolling admission. Rolling admission means a college releases admission decisions regularly — sometimes daily — instead of sending them all out on one target date.
An admission committee will only review your child’s application as soon as all required information (such as high school records and test scores) has been received, rather than setting an application deadline and reviewing applications in a batch. Colleges that use a rolling admission policy usually notify applicants of admission decisions quickly.
If you apply earlier, you’ll receive your decision earlier. iming is important when applying to schools with rolling admissions. As classes fill up, fewer spots remain.
The average turnaround time for rolling admissions decisions by colleges is about two to six weeks. Rolling admissions decisions are non-binding, which means that your child will not be required to attend that school. Your child will not need to decide whether to enroll until May 1, often referred to as National Candidate Reply Day.
Best for: Students who are unhurried throughout the college search process or who want to take their time to compare schools and financial aid awards.
Open Admission
Open admission means a college accepts any high school graduate (no matter what those grades look like) until all spaces in the incoming class are filled. Two-year community colleges immediately come to mind — most community colleges have a two-year open admission policy. Note that a college with a general open admission policy may have certain admission requirements for specific programs.
Best for: Students who don’t have stellar academic performance, those who want to save money by going the community college route for two years.
Early College Admission
You may have already heard of the terms “early action” and “early decision” and may be a little curious about what they mean, particularly for parents of underclassmen. The tricky thing about some early admission programs is that your child may be required to attend that school. It’s great for the colleges because they get early commitments from students. However, crafting a compelling and effective application can be challenging. That’s where services like OrderEssay.com can help. If your student needs to buy admission essay support, these services provide tailored guidance, helping to highlight strengths and ensure their application stands out. If you need help with the process, consider using college admission essay writing services to help you.
Let’s go over these types of admission in a little more detail.
Early Action (EA)
Early action means your student has the option to submit an application before the regular deadline. It’s a great way to get an admission decision from a college much earlier than usual.
One of the most flexible parts of early action plans is that they are not binding, which means that your child is not required to attend that particular college through this type of admission. Some colleges have an early action option called EA II, which involves a later application deadline than the regular EA plan.
To sum up:
Your child can apply to more than one college through early action.
A student can commit to that college right away or wait until spring to decide.
Your student can also decline the offer.
Best for: Students who have done their homework for the college search. The advantage to early action is that they know they’ve been accepted to college as they apply to other schools during the regular application period. In other words, they want to know they can relax a little bit. For additional support, services like EssayService’s help writing college essays can ensure students meet their goals with well-crafted applications.
Early Decision (ED)
Early decision means your child can submit an application to his or her first-choice college before the regular deadline. Your student will get an admission decision earlier than usual. Early decision plans are binding. This means your child must enroll in the college immediately if admitted and accept the financial aid award offered. Some colleges have an early decision option called ED II — a later application deadline than a school’s regular ED plan.
To sum up:
Your student can apply to just one early decision college.
Your child must go to that college if accepted and if you’re awarded enough financial aid. The decision is binding.
The early decision II (ED II) deadline gives your child more time to decide whether to apply early.
Your child must withdraw all other applications to other schools if accepted early decision.
Best for: Students who choose to go the early decision route know they want to go to one school and one school only. As a family, you must be comfortable with the financial aid award and know that your student can’t entertain any other offers from other schools.
Single-Choice Early Action or Restrictive Early Action
Single-choice early action, also known as restrictive early action or restricted early action, is another non-binding option. This means your child is not required to attend if accepted. However, if your student applies using this method, your child may not apply to any other school during the early action period only. This type of admission incorporates features of both early action and early decision. To be quite frank, it’s less restrictive than early decision but more restrictive than early action. Whew!
To sum up:
Your student can apply early to only one college, similar to early decision. Everything else in this admission type works the same as early action.
Applying to other colleges is still acceptable during the regular admission process.
Your child doesn’t have to decide until spring.
Best for: Students going the Ivy League route. This isn’t a common admission type unless your child is applying to a highly competitive school.
Early Evaluation
Admission offices may advise your student in writing of the likelihood of admission — whether it’s likely, possible or unlikely — no earlier than October 1 of your child’s senior year in high school. If a school indicates it’s likely, it’s similar to an acceptance — as long as your child keeps the same academic and personal record reflected in the completed application. The college will send a formal acceptance on the appropriate notification date.
Let’s say your student is lucky enough to get one or more such written communications. If your child has made a decision to go to one school, he’s encouraged (but not required) to notify all other institutions and to withdraw all other applications.
Deferred Admission
Permission from a college that has accepted you to postpone enrolling in the college. The postponement is usually for up to one year. Here are the steps to taking a gap year:
Make sure your student applies to college before the gap year.
Get accepted at that college.
Next, your child will need to send an email or letter to the director of admission at that college to explain exactly what he or she plans to do during the gap year. Check out the Gap Year Association for college and university policies concerning gap years. Double-check for the most updated policies at your child’s school.
Submit the enrollment deposit. This amount will be different at every school.
Determine the effects deferral will have on your child’s financial aid or scholarships. Many schools will allow you to keep the same financial aid and scholarships but it could change year to year. Check with the admission office at your child’s school.
Have your child find out whether the institution offers some form of gap year fellowship or subsidy program. Yep, it’s possible to get funded for a gap year!
Note that the school has the right to deny your gap year. If that happens, your child has a few options:
Your child can decide to attend the college as scheduled and not take the gap year.
Your student could wait and reapply to college until after the gap year. The downside is that your child may not be able to start college for another two years, which could end up making the transition a bit more difficult. Transcripts, test scores and letters of recommendation may also be more difficult to come by.
It may make sense to apply to multiple colleges and ask about gap year policies at each one.
Did you know your child can earn scholarships as a kindergartener? Yeah! Unbelievable, right?
It cracks me up to think of my son sitting down at a computer next year, typing away at a computer to fill out a scholarship application. (He’s four.)
I checked in with Michaela Schieffer, an independent college counselor with MoonPrep.com. She says, “While starting a separate savings account for college is the solid solution, you also have creative options to grow that account. I recommend beginning the search for external scholarships as early as possible. External scholarships can be used at any college, and are available as early as age 10 through graduate school. Since most of these early scholarship awards are dispersed in a check rather than directly to a college, this is a great way to augment your savings in a college account.”
Such solid advice! Here’s a deep dive into scholarships — at any age.
What if My Child’s a Senior?
Now, most people’s energy doesn’t turn toward thinking about scholarships until their kids get close to high school — and most students even wait till senior year to start thinking about scholarships.
Is it too late to apply for scholarships when your student is a senior? No, of course not! Start looking at whatever age your child is right now and start looking, whether you’re starting as a rising senior, eighth-grader or sixth-grader. (And if your child is a rising senior, start now!) You can also look into how to help your senior combat scholarship overwhelm.
Don’t forget, your child can still look for and apply for scholarships during college as well. There are opportunities everywhere.
Here are some ways to get started on the scholarship search, no matter your child’s age.
Start Searching Now
Whatever age your child is right now, start looking for scholarships.
What’s the first thing you do when you’re looking for information? Sure, you Google it. Check out FinAid’s Scholarship List as an example.
Don’t forget to check out scholarships in your community. These are lower-hanging fruit because the community you live in is more likely to award scholarships to one of their community members. Here’s how to look.
Ask your child’s school counselor. School counselors are the heroes of community scholarship knowledge. Your child’s school counselor should be able to hand you a list of scholarships available in the community. If your child’s not in high school yet, ask in the school office at your child’s school for any information about scholarships.
Tap into your own local connections. Ask wherever you go — the dentist, the chiropractor — to find out whether scholarships exist, even for younger kids.
Research past scholarships. Ask for old scholarship programs or scholarship awards night programs from local high schools. Don’t be afraid to ask for several going back a few years.
Branch out and ask about scholarships in another local area — or two. Don’t stick to your neck of the woods. Ask for scholarship programs at other high schools in your county or area. A local business might be willing to branch out, particularly if students in that area aren’t taking advantage of a particular scholarship. The business also might be willing to offer a county-wide or area-wide scholarship.
Watch out for scholarship scams. Nothing is scarier, right? Don’t miss this post about avoiding scholarship scams.
Gear Your Child Toward Scholarship Types
First, let’s consider the ways scholarship committees award scholarships. They want to see your child do a few things.
Develop Specific Skills
Put yourself in a scholarship committee’s point of view. You’ll notice that lots of scholarships awarded are based on entrepreneurial skills, art skills and more. Has your child worked to develop a specific talent or interest? Whatever it is, nurture it, then use those skills to his advantage when you’re looking for scholarships.
Here a few skills your child can develop over time:
Fine arts prowess
Athletic talent
Leadership skills
Academic excellence
Team player skills
Analytical skills
Communication skills
Consider Ways to Serve
Wouldn’t that committee rather give a scholarship to a kid who actively provides value to a specific cause or organization? It’s one thing to be in clubs and hold leadership positions. But what if your child can make a serious impact? Doing something that makes an impact can make your child extremely valuable in the eyes of the scholarship committee.
Does your child have a hankering to serve others? Here’s an example. Annie Wignall Foskett was 11 when she created the Care Bags Foundation. She began collecting essentials (soap and shampoo, etc.) for kids in foster care and crisis situations. Foskett jumped into action by creating fabric care bags filled with these essentials. Fast forward 20 years later. The foundation now serves displaced, abused and disadvantaged children all over the world!
Obviously, it’s better to develop a child’s burgeoning desire to serve organically, rather than trying to do it just for scholarships or personal gain. However, if your child has a great idea, nurture it. You never know how much a great idea can take off!
Here are some ideas you and your child can think about developing:
Help disadvantaged children
Assist senior citizens
Raise awareness and help for animals
Take care of the environment
Help the hungry
Assist the homeless
Reduce crime and promote safety
Enhance the local community or state
Help disadvantaged schools
It’s a great idea to do some research to find out what the needs are. A great way to launch a major project is to start by volunteering. Encourage your child to check at school, at your family’s place of worship or city council to determine what type of help is needed. Encourage your child to just get started wherever he or she gravitates toward, such as a homeless shelter or nursing home, and ask whether it takes volunteers.
Does your child have to build his own nonprofit or create an amazing foundation like Care Bags? No. Showing extraordinary compassion toward a particular cause is also a phenomenal way to gather scholarships
Develop a Vision or Trajectory
Help your child develop a vision for his or her life. I know, it can seem impossible for most young people. How can they possibly know everything that’s available to them? Most kids have a limited worldview because they haven’t had the life experience that comes with age. However, it’s a great idea to have some sort of idea of what that could look like. Does your student gravitate toward social justice issues? Writing? Entrepreneurship? What does that life look like?
My aunt knew at a very early age that she wanted to be a teacher. She was probably in second grade when she declared she wanted to influence children for the rest of her life. Guess what? She became a first grade teacher and taught for years! I’m amazed by that story and like to share it because you might not be too young to figure it out.
Build on Other Traits
What other characteristics does your child have? Is your child a minority or have a disability? Is your child left-handed? You already know there’s a scholarship for just about everything you can think of. I have a personal example that applies to this. My school counselor knew that I’m deaf in my left ear and partially deaf in my right ear (yes, it’s true!) and got me in touch with our local vocational rehabilitation office. The organization gave me some extra scholarship money over the course of my four years at college. (State vocational rehabilitation (VR) offices help people with disabilities prepare for, obtain and retain employment.)
I wouldn’t have even known it was a possibility if she hadn’t mentioned it. Sometimes it’s about talking to everyone you know — and searching online for that information.
The University of Washington has a great list of scholarships for those with disabilities if your child qualifies.
Get in the Habit of Looking Often and Take Action
It’s never too early to start looking for scholarships, but it’s important to also look for them all the time. Be on a constant search for scholarships that fit your child’s profile. Encourage your child to look, too. Here’s a quick example of what you could do:
Look for scholarships on the first and 15th of every month. (Set a calendar alert so you remember to do it.)
Select at least two scholarships to apply for every month. (Your child can do this!)
Create a Trello board to keep track of scholarships researched, applied for and received. It’s really helpful so I stay organized. I do this for my blog and align my editorial calendar with the following:
Articles to Write
In Writing
Editing
Ready to Input
Inputted
Review in Six Months/One Year, etc.
Create an account for the scholarship money. (But learn the scholarship rules — some scholarships don’t allow you to just “take” the money. Some may have specific requirements, like a preference to pay the school directly.) However, if a scholarship committee allows you to cash a scholarship check, consider whether you want to invest the money in a diversified fund — particularly if your child wins the scholarship years before the start of college. Consider contributing your own money to that account as well (regularly and often!) so there’s a robust amount earmarked for college.
Constantly review what’s going well during the scholarship search. If a process needs to change, make that change early on.
Don’t Get Discouraged
Not getting results? Keep going. Keep moving forward!
I know I already mentioned this, but don’t wait till high school to start looking for scholarships, particularly if your child is truly doing some exceptional things. If he’s creating his own app to feed the homeless in Africa, you bet scholarship committees will want to hear about it — even if your child’s only eight.
When it comes down to it, it’s a very generous world we live in — and people want to help promising kids go to college!
Make an Impact on the World
Here are a list of scholarships your child can apply for, divided by age. Check out this list of best scholarship websites as well.
I’m camping in Colorado right now (er… we’re glamping). That made me think of living in a dorm room, so an idea for college dorm hacks on the cheap was born!
Plus, August is screeching around the corner! You may be spending loads of money on college tuition but might draw the line at accessorizing your child’s dorm room. (That can get so expensive!) Here are some tips, tricks and dorm room hacks to make sure room decor and accessories don’t cost an arm and a leg.
1. Organize with Plastic or Wire Storage Containers.
Space is limited in a dorm, so what’s the first thing you need to get squared away? Yep, storage. There’s no better way to do that then to get small plastic or wire mesh containers. (I suggest getting smaller items. Giant plastic storage containers are great but who wants to dig and dig and dig to find stuff at the bottom? These can go under beds, in closets, even under bathroom sinks if your child isn’t sharing a bathroom with a huge number of students.
2. Use Duct Tape as a Cure-All.
Duct tape is the savior of so many things, whether for cords that beg to be strapped to the back of a desk or for a really old textbook from the “really used” book bin. It can bind a loose textbook or even hold the inside of a winter jacket together if your child’s really desperate. Duct tape is cheap and can (literally) do anything. I remember watching a couple of guys duct taping the bumper of a car back together — it lasted that way all semester during my junior year.
3. Decorate with Fabric Decor.
Residence hall rooms are usually pretty dull and uninspiring. White walls, carpetless floors — they’d make even the most savvy decorator cringe. You don’t need to be an expert designer to work miracles. Grab some fabric and cheap frames at a hobby store and frame the fabric. Your student can choose from a variety of wild and fun patterns and spend next to nothing. Your kiddo can even skip the frames and stretch fabric on canvas if it’s cheaper. Cinder blocks may never have looked so beautiful!
4. Use Carpet Remnants Instead of Rugs.
Skip the rugs — they’re so expensive! See if a flooring store will give you cheap (or free!) carpet remnants. They can be way softer (and homier!) than the usual utilitarian floor in most residence halls. Carpet remnants can be used or tossed at the end of the year.
To go an even cheaper route, find someone you know who’s getting new carpet and ask for remnants of the (new) carpet. They might even give it to you for free.
5. Make Good Use of Dryer Sheets.
Yep, you can totally use dryer sheets for laundry, but there’s another way to save money. Your child can put them on the fan or even the air conditioning unit! Regular air freshener is expensive and your child is not allowed to have candles and wax melts in most residence hall rooms.
6. Use Scarves as Curtains.
Curtains can get super expensive, so why not use a colorful medley of scarves? It’ll at least block out those tacky rolscreen windows with built-in blinds. Your child can opt for sheers or solids and make it as colorful as she wants to. You may even want to sew some together if you’re not too concerned about getting them back.
7. Forgo Plastic Hangers for Wire Hangers.
We all know there’s super limited space in dorm room closets. The metal bar for clothes may only be a foot or two long, so use wire hangers instead. I learned this trick at my parents’ business. My dad owned a dry cleaners and we only used wire hangers at our house. Trust me, they take up way less space and you can buy them cheap.
8. Use Hair Ties to Create Double Clothes Hangers.
There’s a reason I listed clothes storage twice — it’s a big problem in dorm rooms. Instead of buying more hangers (that won’t fit in the closet anyway) twist hair tie ponytail holders all the way down to the neck of the hanger, then loop them there so you can hang an extra shirt or pair of pants in front. You can also use pop tabs if you have a lot of those laying around, but hair ties are often bunched up in all sorts of drawers (they are in our house, anyway!)
Another piece of advice: Make sure your child doesn’t take every single piece of clothing she owns to college. It won’t fit and she likely won’t wear all of it, anyway. If you can, plan to take just one seasonal wardrobe at a time. For example, take fall gear to school in August with one light jacket. If you live close enough, you can meet up with winter gear in October or November, or have it shipped if your child is going to school far away.
9. Use a Storage Cart for Bedside Essentials.
Thrift store finds like a storage cart can be perfect to store bedside essentials. It’s a great place to stash a laptop because your kiddo’s too tired to make it to the desk in the middle of late-night studying. Your child can also store books, phone, snacks and more on it if there’s just the teensiest bit of energy to slide these materials off the bed.
10. Rehome Some Things from Home.
There’s no reason your kid needs to buy brand-new things to make a residence hall room cute. There’s plenty of stuff lying around that could migrate to school. Why not paint Grandma Flora’s lamp that hasn’t been used since 1975? Rehome pencil holders and use old paint cans for storage — once they’ve been decorated?
Now’s the time to get creative! What else can be reused? A duvet stashed in the back of the closet? Who says everything needs to be brand new?
Final Tips
Dorm room hacks shouldn’t be as hard as helping your child figure out her college major. This is easy stuff. Do you live close to the college where your child is planning to attend? You may be able to tour your child’s future residence hall room. If you’re a little further away, you may be able to have someone from the admission office take photos of the room ahead of time so you and your child can plan some great ways to decorate that cinder block room.
Don’t forget a few other essentials:
Surge-protected power strip: You’ll need one to set up your child’s electronics and protect them from electrical surge damage.
Long phone charging cord: There are a limited number of outlets in rooms, so an extra-long charging cable can come in handy.
Mattress pad: Don’t forget this little detail! The pad makes the mattress comfier and feels like home.
Trash can: Residence hall rooms don’t come with trash cans in most cases. You can pack things in a trash can when you’re packing up your child’s school items, too!
Command strips: Don’t be destructive when you’re hanging things on your kid’s walls. They’re perfect for hanging heavier things, too!
Masks: Don’t just bring one mask — they’ll need to be washed every other day or so.
Hand sanitizer: Don’t forget to have an ample supply of hand sanitizer on hand for your child.
Disinfecting wipes: Buy disinfecting wipes or make your own. It’s easy!
I loved it when families came for college tours. They were excited, happy and sometimes even nervous. However, some families weren’t sure what questions to ask because everything (everything!) was new to them.
I compiled a list of must-ask questions to ask on a college tour for admission counselors, financial aid professionals, professors, coaches and more. You may think of others that pertain directly to your child’s situation, but this should give you a great start!
The student tour guide offers the most candid look at what a college is like. Spend as much time as you can with your child and the tour guide and make sure your child asks questions, even if the tour guide probably isn’t going to be your child’s best friend. Yes, the student is groomed to give canned responses to some questions but talking to the tour guide is the best way to get a feel for a college.
What’s your favorite thing about this college?
What’s your least favorite thing about the college you attend?
Where might my child spend a lot of time if he/she is a student here?
Why did you choose this college?
What are the students like?
Which residence hall is your favorite? Where did you live your first year?
Where do you live now? Why did you choose to live there?
What is the food like?
What is your major?
Is this a suitcase college? (Do people go home a lot on the weekends?)
What activities does the college have available for students?
Is it easy to get an internship here? Have you had an internship?
How available are professors?
How does the college handle communication?
Have you found it difficult to handle the costs of college?
What are your plans for after graduation? Do you plan to go to graduate school? Get a job?
Is it easy to get a work-study job on campus? Why or why not?
Where do first-year students typically get assigned for work-study? Can they request a work-study job?
How have online classes gone due to COVID-19? Has that been a seamless transition?
Are the classes rigorous? Have you found them manageable?
How do you manage classes and athletics? (If the student is an athlete and your child is a prospective athlete as well.)
How many tours did you go on before you chose this college?
Is this college far away from your hometown? How do you manage going home during breaks?
Is it easy to get involved in extracurricular activities?
Was it easy or difficult for you to get accepted into this college? How many other colleges did you apply to?
What do you do for fun and what is the social scene like?
What was the most surprising and difficult thing about adjusting to college life?
Admission Counselor Questions
You can call an admission counselor an “admission counselor” or an “admissions counselor.” What does an admissions counselor do? Check it out before you go on your visit! Generally, this is the person who will help you throughout the college search process. Your child will be assigned an admission counselor based on geography. You can search a map of the United States on any college’s website and find your child’s admission counselor. Here are some great questions to ask your child’s admission counselor. (I spent 12 years in college admission and I loved it when families asked me these questions!)
Admission Requirements and Process
What’s the application process?
What is the admission process, from start to finish, and what should my child expect after an application?
What ACT/SAT scores does my child need to attend your college? Is it optional?
Do you superscore test results (take the best score of each subject test on multiple ACT or SAT dates)?
Can my child self-report my standardized test scores?
Should my child aim for a certain grade point average? What are the requirements?
Does my child need to submit an essay or letters of recommendation? If so, what are the requirements?
Are there any other admission requirements we need to be aware of? What types of supporting materials does my child need to provide?
Does my child need to do an interview with an alumnus or college staff member to be admitted?
Are there different admission requirements for various departments or majors?
How can my child make his or her application stand out?
What are the most important admission factors at your college or university?
Do you accept the Common Application, the Coalition Application or the Universal College Application or do you have your own application?
What types of deadlines do you have for your applications?
Do you charge an application fee? How do we pay it?
Can we get a waiver for the application fee if the fee is a hardship for our family?
Do you have an applicant portal my child will need to use?
What are your recommendations for teacher evaluations, if required?
What does your ideal applicant look like?
How do you look at extracurricular activities and work experience in the admission process?
If my child applies early decision or early action to another college or university, can he or she apply to another college?
Do you defer admission to some students? If so, why, and what can my child do to be admitted?
Can my child defer admission once admitted?
Is the rigor of my high school taken into consideration when my child applies?
Who will read my child’s application?
Will it help my child to take advanced, accelerated or honors courses?
Can my child add/remove something from his application once it’s submitted?
How does my child track the status of her application?
Does your college ever rescind an admission offer?
If my child is rejected Early Decision, can he apply Regular Decision?
Does my child need to submit mid-year reports of her grades?
Are my child’s chances for admission to your university’s graduate school greater if she attends your university as an undergraduate?
How should my child submit transcripts from any college courses?
Are admission requirements different if my child is homeschooled?
Will my child’s financial aid award be different if she applies for admission under Early Decision, Early Action, etc.?
When do application decisions become available?
Is there a maximum number of students admitted from a particular country, region or school?
How should my child submit standardized test scores?
How do you determine which credits transfer?
Is admission competitive? How competitive?
Future Visit Details
You may want to come back! In that case, check with the admission counselor you’re talking to so you can find out which options are best. Check out my ultimate guide to Here are few questions you could ask:
Which visit days should my child attend throughout the year?
How do we arrange an on-campus overnight visit?
What’s the best way to arrange future visits in general?
What does a visit schedule look like if my child chooses to arrange future visits?
In your opinion, is it best to do a group visit day if we choose to visit again or is it best to do a personal campus visit?
Do you have competitive academic scholarships my child can interview for (and come back to campus another time)?
Academic Details
Why not ask the admission office about academics? Admission counselors can offer a candid overview of academics at the college they’re working at because what do they do all day long? They talk to current students who work in the admission office (and also hear their complaints and what they celebrate).
Do professors have an open-door policy? How accessible are they?
Are teaching assistants or professors the ones who teach the classes?
What is the average class size?
What is the student to faculty ratio?
Can you tell me about the [insert name] major? What are your most popular majors and classes?
How are classes selected?
Are there required first-year classes?
My child’s favorite subject in school is [insert favorite subject]. How can that translate to a major here?
How rigorous are classes here?
Tell me about academic support services here.
Does your college provide services if my child has a disability?
What is your graduation rate?
How many students go on to graduate school or become employed after graduation?
How many students get jobs in their majors or a related field?
What types of internships are available for students?
Is it possible to do research as an undergraduate student?
Is your school on the semester or quarter system?
Does your school offer pre-professional majors?
Are tutors available?
Demographics, Social Life and Other Activities
What types of clubs and organizations can my child get involved in?
What are the most popular clubs and organizations?
What’s the social life like on campus? What do students do for extracurricular activities?
What would you change about this college or university?
Do students usually attend sporting events, theatre events or more?
Is it possible for my child to start his or her own club or organization? What is the process to do that?
How many students study abroad? Is it a popular thing to do? How is study abroad structured here?
Is it easy to manage a collegiate athletic career and academics? How do coaches approach academics and athletics here?
What security measures are in place at your institution?
Is on-campus housing guaranteed?
Is my child required to live on campus?
How does the meal system work?
Is it easy to find a student job on or near campus?
How is housing assigned?
Can my child live on campus during school breaks?
How safe is the campus and the surrounding neighborhood?
What is the percentage of students of color on campus?
What is the percentage of students who live on campus?
Can you tell me the male-to-female ratio on campus?
How does parking on campus work?
Where are students who go to your school from?
How does your college or university accommodate students with food allergies?
What role do parents play in your community?
What is your freshman retention rate?
Financial Aid Professional Questions
You might want to meet with a financial aid professional as well — and that’s a great move. However, if you can’t get an appointment with someone in the financial aid office, admission counselors are well-versed in most financial aid topics and should be able to walk you through an award letter or answer basic questions about scholarships and loans. Here are some questions you may want to ask:
What is the tuition, room, board and fees at this school?
How much does tuition increase each year? Do scholarships increase to match the change?
What scholarships can my child qualify for? How does my child qualify for them?
Are there any merit-based scholarships available at your school?
Can my child receive grants? If so, what are the requirements?
How do loans work and how should we apply for them?
Can you explain in detail how a financial aid award is set up?
What amount will my child receive, using your school’s net price calculator or a financial aid estimator?
What are the interview or audition requirements for certain scholarships?
Can my child apply for talent-based scholarships?
What will happen if our family’s financial aid situation changes while my child is at your school?
Will my child qualify for work-study? How does work-study work here?
Does my child need to report outside scholarships? Will merit-based scholarships be “taken away” if my child receives a large outside scholarship?
Where should we send checks for outside scholarships?
Do we need to complete a CSS Profile?
How will we know if the FAFSA has been submitted correctly?
When will my child receive the financial aid award?
What is the deadline for applying for financial aid?
My child is undocumented. Is my child still eligible for financial aid?
How does financial aid work if my child studies abroad?
Can veterans or children of veterans receive financial aid at your school?
Can we apply for financial aid in future years if we do not apply the first year?
Will you help me file the FAFSA in person?
What kind of need-based aid can my child get?
How is work-study awarded?
How will the financial aid office help our family break down the costs?
What does the average student receive in financial aid from your school?
Are there other extra expenses we’ll need to be prepared for, like activity fees, biology lab fees, etc.? Can you give us a list of those additional expenses?
Faculty Member Questions
Many colleges and universities will grant you time with professors — you just have to ask. It can be intimidating for your student to meet with a faculty member but it’s well worth it! After all, your student may have that professor for classes. A professor can change the trajectory of a your student’s career and life. Here are some questions you and your child can ask:
Which classes do you teach?
What is your favorite class to teach? Why?
Why do you teach here?
What is your teaching style?
How often do terminal degreed professors teach the classes?
What are your top expectations at the beginning of any semester?
Do you help students with connections for internships and jobs after graduation?
Are undergraduates able to get research opportunities?
How do you measure success in your classroom?
What does a typical syllabus look like in one of your classes?
How does advising work? What’s the process to put together a student schedule?
When are your office hours? Is it easy for students to get their questions answered?
What is your average class size? For introductory classes? For advanced classes?
What are your most successful students doing now?
How do you communicate with students?
Do you put an emphasis on interactive or group work or put an emphasis on lectures?
How do you choose the textbooks a student will use during the semester?
Do you consider yourself to be approachable?
What should my child do if he or she is having trouble in your class?
Do you have teaching assistants (TAs)?
Are there any supplemental instruction (SI) sessions my student can go to during any given semester?
How have you handled online learning during COVID-19?
How much time do your students spend studying and completing assignments during the week?
Are your classes reading and writing intensive?
What types of issues do students bring to you during office hours?
Is there a capstone project or internship requirement for your program?
What does a typical path to graduation look like? What exact classes are required?
How long does it take the average student to graduate? Four years? Five years or more?
What is the academic community like in your department or program?
What resources are available to me?
Is service learning or similar opportunities for hands-on learning a priority in your classes?
Do you help students determine their career path or calling?
Do your students make connections between their academic studies and activities outside of class? Can you give us an example?
How do you work with students who choose to study abroad? Is there a best time during the academic program?
What other majors and minors do students usually combine with this major?
Do you do any other research or other projects that can affect what you teach here?
What are students surprised to learn when they’re in your class?
What do you do when students realize your major isn’t a fit?
Coach Questions
You want to be sure that a college is a good fit for your child athletically if your child is an athlete — but make sure it’s a great fit academically and socially as well. Note that you’ll want to ask the admission office questions about grades, admission, SAT, ACT, academic scholarships, etc. — coaches should not answer admission questions.
A quick tip: Don’t bring up athletic scholarships right away — a coach wants you to demonstrate a team commitment first. Here are some questions you and your child may want to ask a coach.
Why do you coach? What is your coaching philosophy?
What are the holes in your program that my child can help fulfill?
How do you recruit?
What are you looking for in the right recruit?
Can you describe your program’s values?
What does a typical day look like for a player during the season?
How about the off-season program? What are the expectations?
How do you encourage your players academically?
What are the academic requirements for your program?
What do your players do during their free time?
Can you tell me your team’s total GPA and graduation rate?
Do the players typically live together on campus?
Is it easy for players to catch up after missed class time for games and meets? How do they usually do that?
My child wants to major in X. Is it possible to major in this and still play for your program?
How much of an impact do you see my child making on the team right away? Later on?
What does my child need to do to be evaluated by your staff?
Can you tell me more about your assistant coaches? What are their philosophies?
When does your coaching contract end? Do you see yourself here another four years?
How would you describe the team chemistry?
What are the current strengths and weaknesses of your team?
Get Your Questions Answered
I’ve included a lot of questions on this list! You’ll keep yourself pretty busy if you ask every single one of these questions on your college visit. However, note a few, write them down, take this link with you on a visit. Maybe this list will also inspire your own questions on your visit!
Here’s a little-known fact: There’s no law that says you have to pay for college using student loans. In fact, I encouraged everyone I came in contact with during their college tours to get as creative as possible as they carefully mapped out how to pay for college.
As interest rates drop, it’s natural to think that there may be other options to pay for college. Only one percent of parents used a home equity loan to pay for college, according to a 2015 Sallie Mae study called How America Pays for College.
But what if you did tap into your home equity to pay for college? It’s worth exploring! However, also know that it might not be the right fit for you at all. Let’s explore your options.
What is Home Equity?
The words “home equity” sound complicated, but it’s actually really simple — home equity refers to the amount of your home that you actually own. As you make payments on your mortgage, you reduce your principal, the amount you owe on your loan. As you do that, you build your home equity. You only own the percentage of your home that you’ve paid off. Your mortgage lender owns the portion of your home until you pay off your loan.
See, simple! Are you with me? Here’s an example:
Let’s say you bought your house for $100,000 with a 20% down payment of $20,000. You automatically get $20,000 in equity on closing day. Every mortgage payment helps you build more and more equity, as long as your home value doesn’t drop.
What happens when you’ve fully paid off your mortgage? That’s right — you’ve got 100 percent equity in your home, and that’s a beautiful thing.
How Do You Determine Your Home Equity?
Don’t know how much equity you have? That’s okay. I didn’t really know how much equity we had in our home, either, till we refinanced. The mortgage payment was one thing around my house that actually took care of itself — unlike our kids, garden and landscaping. We had it set up on autopay and it truly didn’t need a lot of attention. (I know, not the best approach. It’s always good to know exactly what your home equity is at any given time.)
Here’s how to figure out your home equity:
Log in to your lender’s website or call your lender to determine how much you owe.
Figure out how much your home is worth. Subtract your loan balance from your estimated home value. For example, let’s imagine you owe $100,000 on your home and you believe your home is worth $200,000. Subtract $100,000 from $200,000. This means you have an estimated $100,000 in equity in your home.
Keep making your monthly payments if you want to continue to build your home equity. Simple, huh?
Types of Home Equity Loans and Lines of Credit
Resist hitting the snooze button here. Let’s very briefly go over a few points on home equity loans, cash-out refinances and home equity lines of credit (HELOC).
Home Equity Loan
A home equity loan is exactly the same thing as taking out a second mortgage. You repay the loan with equal monthly payments over a fixed time period (just like you did with your original mortgage) and you receive the money as a lump sum amount. Your home is used as collateral to protect your lender in case you’re unable to pay back the money you owe and you default on your loan.
The amount you can borrow usually depends on your lender, but is usually limited to 85 percent of the equity in your home. The actual amount you’ll be able to get also depends on your income, debt-to-income ratio, credit history and the market value of your home.
Cash-Out Refinance
A cash-out refinance is different from a home equity loan. To put it simply, you borrow more than you owe on your mortgage and pocket the difference.
When you get a second mortgage, you add another payment to your list of payments every month. A cash-out refinance is different — you pay off your old mortgage and replace it with your new mortgage.
Here’s how it works. Imagine your home is worth $150,000 and you’ve paid off $50,000. This means you still owe $100,000 on your home. Let’s also say that you want to use $10,000 to pay for college.
A cash-out refinance lets you take a portion of your equity and add that $10,000 to your new mortgage principal. In other words, your new mortgage would be worth $110,000 — the $100,000 you still owe plus the amount you want to borrow for college. You’ll get the $10,000 a few days after you close on your new refinance.
Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
A HELOC is a second mortgage just like a home equity loan. However, you don’t get your money in a lump sum like you do with a home equity loan. Instead, think of a HELOC more like a credit card. HELOCs allow you to draw from your predetermined loan amount as you need it.
You can draw from your HELOC between five and ten years and just need to pay interest on the money you take out. Let’s say you have $50,000 equity in your home. You can take out money as you need it for college during the draw period and will only pay interest on the money as you take it out.
When do you pay off the loan principal? Not until the end of your draw period. The repayment period usually lasts 10 to 20 years and you pay both interest and principal on the amount you borrow.
Another difference between HELOCs and home equity loans is that the rate is adjustable over time, which means it changes over time depending on the prevailing interest rate.
Mouse Traps
Ha ha, do you like that section header? I named it that because we currently have a mouse in our van and even worse, my husband can’t find it. I am driving a van that has a mouse currently living in it. I bet it has babies. I bet it has a whole brood of baby mice.
It’s horrifying. I keep expecting a mouse to jump onto my lap as I’m traveling 55 miles per hour down the highway. I’ll be holding a mug of tea, my mug will fly out of my hands and I’ll wrench the steering wheel in horror and crash into the ditch, sending the mouse and everyone in the car flying through the air with second-degree tea burns.
Anyway, I digress.
Cons of Tapping Home Equity to Pay for College
Even if a home equity loan offers a lower interest rate than private loans or even federal loans, a low interest rate isn’t the only reason to go after a home equity loan. Here are some major downsides to using a home equity loan to pay for college:
Your home is used as collateral. What happens if you can’t pay back the loan? Your house can be whisked away by the bank — just for a college education. That’s a pretty big risk.
Home equity loans don’t offer much flexibility. Federal student loans offer forbearance and deferment options. In other words, your student may be able to temporarily stop making loan payments. (The main difference between the two is if that deferment means no interest will accrue on your child’s loan balance. Forbearance means interest does accrue on your child’s loan balance.) In some cases, federal student loans can be completely forgiven — your child doesn’t have to pay them back at all.
Interest rates might not be lower. Compare student loan interest rates to home equity loan interest rates. Which ones are higher?
Pros of Using Home Equity to Pay for College
Ease. As long as your credit score and debt-to-income ratio is good, tapping into your home equity is fairly easy to do. Note: It usually takes 30 to 45 days to get a home equity loan, HELOC or cash-out refinance, though that depends on the lender.
Tax benefits. Interest is tax deductible on home equity loans, HELOCs or cash-out refinances.
Interest rates might be lower. They might be lower than private student loans. However, it’s worth looking into if a private student loan carries a 5.25 percent interest rate and you can get a home equity loan with a five percent interest rate. Even a quarter of a percentage can make a difference.
Other Things to Consider
Having a lot of equity in your home isn’t a guarantee that you’ll get a home equity loan, cash-out refinance or HELOC. You still need a decent debt-to-income ratio and credit score to be able to tap into your home equity and you’ll also need to get a home appraisal. I’ll briefly chat about debt-to-income ratio and credit score and how that can impact your ability to tap into your home’s equity.
Your Debt-to-Income Ratio
Lenders use something called your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio to determine how your monthly debt payments compare to your monthly income. Your DTI should be around 43 percent. You can calculate it yourself:
DTI = Total Monthly Debt Payments / Gross Monthly Income
Add up all of your monthly debt payments, including your primary mortgage, student loans, car loan, credit card bills, alimony, child support, etc.
Divide the sum by your gross monthly income (your income before taxes and deductions).
Multiply by 100 to find your DTI.
Here’s an example. Imagine all your debts total $2,000 and you earn $5,000 a month before taxes, your DTI would be 40 percent.
Your Credit Score
Lenders will also be interested in learning more about your credit score. Simply put, if you want to obtain a home equity loan, your credit score should be 620 or higher. However, if other qualifications (like your DTI) are higher, a credit score a little lower than this might be overlooked. However, the higher your credit score, the lower your interest rate will be.
Next Steps
Reach out to various lenders to determine whether one of these options are right for you. Ask about:
Closing costs
Annual fees
Home appraisal expenses
Taxes
How long it will take to pay off your loan
Length of time to get a home equity loan, home equity line of credit (HELOC) or cash-out refinance
Private student loan options
The total cost you’ll need to repay
You don’t need to stick to the same lender that provided your primary mortgage. Reach out to other lenders (challenge yourself to look into five!) because others might offer better interest rates and terms.
Determine Whether to Tap into Home Equity for College
I tell everyone who will listen that I recently refinanced my home. The interest rate I got was so low I couldn’t believe it — I didn’t think interest rates could possibly get lower than 4.25 percent — our original interest rate. Now I’m the proud owner of a 2.25 percent interest rate mortgage!
So. Here’s the problem. You might start snoring hard every time you hear the words “home equity.” But don’t! It’s easy to plod along, which is what my husband and I were doing until I heard a podcast host say, “You need to look into refinancing. It could change your life.”
I stopped, mid-plod. “Whaaaaa???”
Now, a refinance is different from a home equity loan. But the point is, it’s easy to get complacent and not look into all your options. If I hadn’t listened to that podcast, we’d still be stuck with an interest rate that wasn’t right for us.
Do some careful searching to make sure that tapping into your home’s equity is the right way to go. Sure, interest rates might be lower than private student loans, but remember, your home is on the line.
