Career & Major Exploration 
Test Preparation
College Search 
Campus Culture 
College Visits & Interviews
College Admission Essays
Academic Resumes
Application Supplements 
Financial Aid 
First Generation Students 
Neurodiverse Learners
Gap Year & Study Away 
For Parents

---

“Jen was fantastic! She was pivotal in preparing my daughter to navigate the daunting college application process. Working with Jen provided my daughter with “in the know” practical tools, and a step-by-step guide. We started working with her when my daughter was a junior in high school, and by the time applications were due in her senior year, the majority of the application was complete. The stress relief, both for my daughter and myself, was worth every penny. Jen always went above and beyond to support her, including making herself available outside of “office hours”. It’s evident that Jen truly loves her job and is an expert in her field. I would highly recommend Jen  and the College Admission Coach organization!”
-Jenifer, parent   ​

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:

• Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid into College by Andrew Ferguson 
• The Gate-Keepers: Inside the Admission Process of a Premier College by Jacques Steinberg
• Where You Go Is Not Who'll You Be by Frank Bruni 
• The Truth About College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting in and Staying Together by Rick Clark and Brennan Barnard

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:

• College Parent Central is a website designed to give you information about specific aspects of parenting a college student 
• Grown & Flown is a website covering issues related raising kids ages 15-25
• Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn & Madge Lawrence Treeger 
• The Happiest Kid on Campus: A Parent's Guide to the Very Best College Experience (For You and Your Child) by Harlan Cohen. Parental advisory: this book contains information that may make you uncomfortable. It's important for you to know, but you might squirm. If you read it and it isn't too far outside your comfort zone, please buy the parallel book for your student before he or she goes off to college, The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College also by Harlan Cohen

Book a consultation