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For Parents

For Parents

Welcome, parents. Feel free to use the resources on all of the resource pages of my site. They are targeted at your student, because I hope she or he is taking the majority of the responsibility for her or his college search and application process.

Your support and encouragement throughout the college admissions process is really valuable. You don't get to relive your student's final high-school years, so it's a good goal to minimize stress and conflict between you and your student related to college admissions. Here are my tips about how you can be most helpful during the college process.

Understanding the College Admission Process 
If you went to college, you might think that admissions today is similar to when you went through the process. Actually, it's way different, and constantly changing. 

Only a small percentage of the colleges in the U.S. are highly selective, and most colleges do accept the majority of their applicants. I firmly believe that every student can find a good fit school. By following a step-by-step process of pre-college planning, researching colleges to find good matches, creating an application timeline, presenting a compelling and consistent picture of the student across essays and recommendations, and doing appropriate follow-up with college admissions officers, your student increases his or her likelihood of being accepted to a great fit school. These books will help you understand the current admissions landscape:
Financial Aid
Many parents have saved diligently for their child's college education, but with the total cost of Oregon public universities at nearly $25,000 per year, and the cost at many private colleges above $70,000 per year, your college savings may not be adequate.

If you are willing to invest the time to read one resource about financial aid, this book should be it: The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education You Want for the Price You Can Afford by Carol Stack and Ruth Vedvik.

Some parents start saving for college when a child is born, and others deal with the impending costs when their senior's financial aid packages arrive. Wherever you fall in the spectrum, advice from a professional can help you figure out your best options for maximizing the amount of financial aid your child may receive, and review options for funding or making up the cost gap for your student's college education. If you seek help in this area it is best to speak with a Certified College Planning Specialist. 

The Parental Transition
Launching a child on his or her college experience may unleash a range of emotions. You may feel overjoyed for your student, but sad not to have him or her in your household. You might feel excited about the opportunities that lay ahead, and nervous about the pitfalls. Whatever your feeling, this milestone causes a big change in the parent/child relationship. Here are some resources to help you adjust:
Comprehensive college counseling  
Westside: Jodi Walder,  jodi@collegeadmissioncoach.com , (503) 720-7114,  
Eastside: Emily Standish, emily@collegeadmissioncoach.com , (503) 267-4605, 
Portland Metro: Debra Sankovitz, debra@collegeadmissioncoach.com , (503) 901-0059,
Global: Rachel Coleman, rachel@collegeadmissioncoach.com 
​SW Washington: Jen Namba, jennamba@gmail.com , (831) 588-1533
College Admission Coach, LLC makes no representations, warranties or guarantees about admission to any school. 
Content copyright 2009-2020. College Admission Coach, LLC. All rights reserved.


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