Resources to Save You from
College Admissions Madness

with substitution ideas for every ingredient in case you can’t find it!

…plus a bonus Student Checklist For A Letter Of Continued Interest. This year, colleges may offer more spots from waitlists than in the past. You may have heard that colleges want to see that your child saved the world from global pandemic with her extra time during quarantine; not so! Download these student checklists, and feel your stress melt away.

My colleague, Natalie Borrell, a school psychologist and academic life coach for teens, has graciously offered to us her expert tips because not one of us expected online school this semester (combined with our teenager's assessment that the paper due tomorrow will only take a few minutes and can surely wait until after dinner, binge-watching TV, and Zoom chatting). Thank you, Natalie!

Please share this download plus the guidelines I provide in College Admissions Cracked (starting on p.175) with your student who is doing all this writing!

Please take this pledge:

1. I promise beverages will be available (morning java, evening wine, afternoon tea, or anything else comforting) during this discussion.
2. I understand we all need a safe space away from the outside world’s judgments and therefore promise to be perpetually kind and supportive of all my fellow travellers on the college admissions journey.
3. I will proudly wear my Parenting Medal of Valor (metaphorically speaking) at all times (see p.185).

Now you may download!

...with a bonus Thank-You Note Checklist (you’re welcome).

You can print this out and place it under your child’s nose a week (or the night or an hour) before a college interview. I’m a parent too, so I’ve added a Thank-You Note Checklist for Students hoping that the directive to write a note after the interview will seem like a “suggestion” from me instead of nagging from you. The book includes more such student checklists, but hopefully, this will help you get started.

READ MORE:

...will calculate for you, so you don’t have to do math!

You can use this tool to compare college costs either before your child applies or after notifications roll in. Erika and I have added some dummy numbers to show you how it's done. Substitute your own numbers into the calculator. I’m going to throw in Erika’s Fruit Crisp recipe for comfort in case you have either math anxiety (like I do) or stress about the formidable cost of college (don't we all).

...includes checklists and tabs for everything.

Wait until you see all of the bells and whistles Debbie included on her impeccable spreadsheet. You'll see some categories that were important to Debbie's family, but you can add and substitute your own. Debbie doesn’t mess around when it comes to organizing. If you want to see something truly dazzling, you should see Debbie’s vegetable garden and kitchen. I’ll share some of her recipes for baked goods in my CPR Newsletter, so you can use them to help smooth out college visit road trips with your teenager.

...and how you can avoid many of them.

The process of applying to college can cost thousands of dollars before you pay one penny of tuition. I’ve broken down for you the many hidden expenses you’ll encounter, and I've provided advice for cheaper or free options.

...to organize like a Luddite.

Here’s the simple form offered in College Admissions Cracked, only in a downloadable format. You can print it out, and there's space to fill in all the essential information about each college with an old-fashioned pencil! I've included info for one fictional college, as an example. PSA: If you’re a tech-type, you may prefer Debbie’s Dazzling College Planning Spreadsheet.