All About College Applications with Lindsay Phillips

We are back for season three, and diving deep into the college application process with Lindsay Phillips, the College Counseling Mom! Lindsay shares crucial info on financial aid, including the FAFSA, types of scholarships and grants, student loans, and the common application, GPA reporting, essay tips, letters of recommendation, and decision plans. Tune in for invaluable guidance to ensure your college-bound student is set up for success!

Find Lindsay on her website: The College Counseling Mom
Find Lindsay on Facebook: The College Counseling Mom

Email her: [e-mail]

Find more educational material and lifestyle tips: https://www.boothparker.com/
Get Booth's financial newsletter by signing up here: https://www.boothparker.com/coaching#contact

Find Booth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boothparkercpa/
Find Booth on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/boothparkercpa

Email Booth: [e-mail]

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:17) - All About FAFSA
• (06:57) - The Student Aid Index
• (11:11) - Different Types of Financial Aid: Grants, Scholarship, and More
• (14:53) - Student Loans: Best to Worst
• (16:58) - All About the Common Application
• (28:07) - Letters of Recommendation
• (30:02) - How to Layer the Application
• (32:46) - Strategic Considerations for Test Scores
• (37:41) - Different Admission Types
• (42:19) - Don't Limit Your Child's Optionsz
• (46:06) - Outro

This podcast is produced by Rooster High Productions.

Creators & Guests

Host

Booth Parker, CPA

Financial guru by day; domestic diva by night and sharing it all in between.

What is MOM-enomics with Booth Parker, CPA?

Real moms. Real mom financial issues. Real moms in business. Real stories. I am Booth Parker. A CPA, wife, and mom that loves all things home and family. In this podcast, I talk all things money for moms, families, and small business. From tips to ideas to info you just need to know, I break it down so moms can apply it to their own families and businesses!

MOM-enomics S3E1
===

Introduction
---

Booth: ​ [00:00:00] Today on MOM-enomics, we are going to be getting a lot of questions answered for you mamas that have high school age children. So today, I am joined by Lindsay Phillips, better known as the College Counseling Mom. Welcome to the show today.

Lindsay: Hi! Thank you so much for having me. Excited to talk to you today.

Booth: Fantastic. Well, I know for me as the mom of a rising senior, I know I've had a lot of questions about the college application process, and I'm just going to pick your brain about all of these things that you know so much about. And listeners, you may even want to take notes today because I am going to ask her all the pertinent things [00:01:00] and help you get started on your own journey.

Are you ready for me to dig in?

Lindsay: ready. Let's do it.

Booth: Okay, fantastic. So, since my show focuses on a lot of financial topics, I am going to start on the financial side of this college process.

All About FAFSA
---

Booth: So, the free application for federal student aid, better known as the FAFSA, is kind of the starting point for knowing your eligibility for financial aid.

So that being said, I'm gonna kind of run down this whole bullet list of questions, just FAFSA focused that I have for you. Who is it that fills out the FAFSA and whose financial information is reported on it?

Lindsay: So first, thank you so much for having me. I myself am the mom of a senior, so I am right there in the thick of it. And even though I feel like I'm kind of an expert on the college [00:02:00] application thing, it is still, Terrifying. Some days I am super excited and some days I'm in the closet crying. So I am right there with the other mamas in in it, in the thick of it. So the FAFSA. I have some other words for the FAFSA. It's not my favorite but it is kind of one of those necessary evils. So the FAFSA generally opens on October 1 for the upcoming school year. Now, I say generally and I say we hope because if you kind of paid attention to college admissions last year, FAFSA went through a whole update that was supposed to make life easier. It ended up not being that way for last year. And so it didn't open until January 1. They assure me that it is going to be open October 1 this year. So we're going with that with all the fingers and toes crossed that it is a seamless process as much, much as it can be [00:03:00] this coming school year. So. Both the student and the custodial parent have to create an account in FAFSA and you have to link it, okay? And it'll walk you through. It doesn't matter who does it first, whether it's the student or the parent, but both individuals need to set up the account, create their own account, and then link them, okay? So every student should fill out the FAFSA regardless of what they perceive they are eligible for. I talk to lots of parents who say, well, I'm just not going to do it because I know we're not going to qualify for anything. And that's wonderful. Situations always change. And so we want to be in preparation for that, but also many of our merit based scholarships; so, scholarships related to athletics, or music, or academics. A lot of them are going to require the submission of the FAFSA first, so that they know what additional merit aid they need to give [00:04:00] you. So, it's really important for all individuals, no matter what their financial status is to complete this FAFSA form.

Booth: Alright. That you, you answered so many other questions already had just in that, in that, so, on that FAFSA form, what exactly does it ask for, like income and assets, and how does it take those things into consideration?

Lindsay: Yeah, so it's kind of confusing. So the '24-'25 FAFSA form is going to be used for financial aid for the '25-'26 academic year. So that one is not open yet. So if you go on studentaid.gov, it's going to have the '23-'24 FAFSA form, and you don't want that if you have a senior this year. So it's the '24-'25 FAFSA form for the '25-'26 academic year, and to make things even more complicated, it's going to require information regarding your income and [00:05:00] taxes from the 2022 tax year.

So 2022 tax year, '24-'25 FAFSA form for the '25-'26 academic year. Clear as mud, right? So this new FAFSA that they updated last year uses an IRS retrieval tool. This is what's supposed to make things easier for us. So it's going to pull your information directly from the IRS retrieval tool, so you won't have to hand enter or find all of those forms. It's going to do that for you. But you're also going to need records for some other things, such as if you're receiving child support, any interest income, and any forms of other untaxed income that you may have from this 2022 tax year. You're going to want to have information about your savings and your checking account balances and any investments and other assets. So things that are not considered In the FAFSA form [00:06:00] are things like the value of your primary residence and any retirement accounts that you have. They don't care about your debt to income ratio or any medical debt you might have. And if there's a non custodial parent, they don't need that information as well. Now, that is for the FAFSA. So, there are schools who will ask for additional financial aid forms. Mostly called the CSS. Certain schools use that in addition to the FAFSA and some schools do not. And they're going to ask some additional information where you might need the things like your equity in your home, et cetera.

Booth: Okay, okay, that is great to know. So, It uses this financial information and it produces I guess what is called the Expected Family Contribution, often called the EFC. And does that take, does that telling you what it thinks you can afford and you're going to be responsible for?

The Student Aid Index
---

Lindsay: Yeah. So this past year [00:07:00] the EFC was replaced with the SAI, which is the Student Aid Index. They really wanted to complicate things and change the names of things. So you will still see EFC kind of used throughout, especially if you're doing research. Basically means the same thing, but the SAI, Student Aid Index, is supposed to be a little bit more accurate measurement.

So, basically, the SAI is a measure of the family's financial strength and ability to pay for college. So, that is what you're eventually going to end up with when you finish the FAFSA, this number, right? It's not the amount that you're going to have to pay for college, so that's really important to remember, but it is a number that is used to calculate whether or not you're eligible for financial aid. And when we say financial aid, we're talking about federal financial aid. And then there are some state programs as well. So if it is higher than you can afford, which happens for a [00:08:00] lot of families you know, it's not a lost cause. We don't want to just kind of give up, throw our hands up and give up. You can always appeal or ask for additional aid from the institution and explore some other sources of aid that we can talk about in a little bit.

Booth: Does every college admissions office, like at the different schools, did they use that information? And are you going to get the same number at every school with financial aid, or do they all evaluate those numbers kind of differently?

Lindsay: So we have kind of two types of schools, right? We have schools that just use the FAFSA for financial aid. So let's talk about them first. So what they're going to do is they're going to calculate what their COA is, their Cost Of Attendance, and this is going to include everything from tuition. to fees, to room and board, to books, supplies, any travel expenses that they deem would be necessary.

This big number. Then the college is going to subtract this SAI, the Student Aid Index, that it [00:09:00] was determined by the FAFSA, from the cost of attendance. to determine a student's financial need. And so, you know, if you want to put it in a math problem, it's financial aid equals the cost of attendance minus the student aid index. And so this number really helps the college decide how much need based aid the student is going to qualify for and may need some additional support in another location.

Booth: Okay. That is great. Cause the cost of attendance is, is different than just what is published on a school's website. So it can be very -

Lindsay: Absolutely. Yeah, there's a lot of different parts that you know, are figured into that total bill at the end.

Booth: So, You know, you were just saying that for the '24-'25 students, they're using the 2022 financial information. Do you have to refill out the FAFSA every year of college or just that first year?

Lindsay: [00:10:00] Unfortunately, we have to do it every year. It's the gift that keeps on giving. You know, we want you to do it every year because situations change, right? And so you are going to have to do it every year. However, they say that this, you know, we haven't done the second kind of round of FAFSA yet for this new version, but they are saying that subsequent applications are simpler and there's less information that you're going to need to fill in because it's going to pull from the previous year's FAFSA.

So that's good news.

Booth: That is good news. That is good news. Okay, so is there anything we've missed on the FAFSA that you want to add before I move on?

Lindsay: Just be careful with that October 1. I have a lot of families who are like, we're going to do it early, which is great, but you're doing it for the wrong school year. So you really have to wait for that October 1 deadline to, to start that process. And again, I just encourage everybody to fill it out because as you get through this scholarship application [00:11:00] process, a lot of the schools are going to want you to also have the FAFSA, So they can see where you need support and how much support you need.

Booth: Okay. All right. Fantastic information.

Different Types of Financial Aid: Grants, Scholarship, and More
---

Booth: So you just kind of said the magic word, scholarship. So I'm going to lead into my next question, which can you explain the different types of financial aid? There's grants, there's scholarships, there's other things and how they work.

Lindsay: Yeah. So let's start with grants. So grants are a type of gift aid. They do not need to be repaid ever. And so they are typically, you're going to see grants if you are in a financial need of those grants. So they're not merit based, they're financial based. The most familiar grant that you hear of is the Federal Pell Grant.

And so that is awarded to only undergrad students who have significant financial need. and that grant doesn't, never needs to be repaid. [00:12:00] Okay, so that is one of the grants that you hear most of. There are also scholarships that are need based as well. So scholarships are a form of gift aid as well.

They don't need to be repaid. Scholarships can be awarded based on a number of things. So you hear of athletic scholarships. I have a student that is on a music scholarship somewhere. We have specific interests. There are scholarships based on your major. They are more merit based on grades, on test scores, all of that stuff, and none of those scholarships are need to be paid back. We also have the federal work study program. So this is for students who have a financial need and the school sets up a part time job for them to help them supplement their tuition and their fees. That is something that doesn't need to be paid back, but you're paying with your labor, right? And so those are kind of like the gift aids. [00:13:00] Okay, one thing to remember is that most schools, but not all schools, will allow you to stack scholarships. And so that's really important when you're looking at your different colleges to ask the financial aid department Do you allow stacked scholarships? And what that means is if you go and you get a private scholarship from maybe your local credit union, Are they going to look at that scholarship and reduce the financial aid package that they're giving you?

Or are they going to allow you to have both? So that's what we call stacking scholarships. And we don't want you to do all this work if you're going to go to a college that's not going to stack your scholarships. So that's really important to kind of figure out. It's not something that's usually advertised on the websites of the schools.

So it's something that you're going to have to kind of seek out on your own by contacting the financial aid officers who are usually wonderful people to work with. So those are, you know, we want to do grants. We want to do [00:14:00] scholarships as much as possible. You know, student loans. Those are kind of maybe necessary, but a last resort, right?

And so there are different types of those as well.

Booth: All right. So that was next on my list. The, you know, the student loans, I've done some financial coaching and I always try to make them. Absolute last last option but some people do end up needing to get them and I think there's a lot of misinformation or lack of information that people have in all the different types.

There's subsidized, there's unsubsidized, there's private and then they. They're administered differently the way they charge interest or their payback methods. So can you kind of give us I know we could probably spend two hours plus talking just about student loans But can you hit the high points on those things?

So at least people know the basics of what they need to ask for

Student Loans: Best to Worst
---

Lindsay: So we're gonna talk about like kind of the best to the worst, right? So the ones that maybe you just need a little [00:15:00] bit to a higher amount So the first one that you'd want to try and get is the federal direct subsidized loan Okay, and this is available to undergraduate students who have a financial need and In this case, the government pays the interest while you're in school, if there's any grace period after you graduate, and if there's any deferment of that loan. And it's a pretty low interest rate compared to some other loans that you could get for student loans. And the interest doesn't accrue until you start that repayment period. So it's not accruing interest while you're in school and not paying the loan. So that is a Federal Direct subsidized Loan. The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan would be just that next step.

And so that is again available to undergraduate students. It's also available to graduate students and it is regardless of your financial need. In this case, the [00:16:00] unsubsidized loan, your interest is going to begin accruing immediately after you get the money. So while you may not be paying on that loan while you're in school, the amount that you have that you have to pay at the end is going to be higher because it's accruing that interest.

And students are responsible for paying that interest, not the federal government. So that would kind of be your Next least case scenario. The last one is private student loans. We really kind of want to avoid those at all costs, but these are loans that are offered by banks, credit unions, and online lenders. And it's really going to determine the loan of, or the terms of that loan, right? So interest rate can be fixed or variable. You may need a co signer. You probably will for your student. And they have a higher interest rate than those federal loans.

Booth: Okay, good good information to know.

All About the Common Application
---

Booth: So moving on with the actual [00:17:00] application process. So what, what is the Common App? What information is shared on it? And does it work for all schools?

Lindsay: Okay, so the Common App. I called my dad the other day because I was like, I don't even remember applying to college. I don't know if I blocked it out or what. I know I've applied to a bunch of schools. I ended up in a school, but I don't remember the process. And he goes, "Oh, I do. We had to use a typewriter and line it up with the little boxes on the application."

I was like, oh my gosh, that totally ages me. So the Common App is this platform where students can submit their, pick their schools, and submit their information. And it just makes it so seamless for the student, for the parents, the school counselors, the teachers, everyone involved. It's just one platform instead of going to every individual school's website.

So it makes it [00:18:00] easier. Does it work for all schools? Yes, for the most part University of California schools use their own thing. And there are some other platforms that you can use that are similar, but I find that Common App is the easiest to use.

Booth: Okay, so how, like on that common app, how is GPA reported? Because not all schools use the same scale. I know for my son, he transferred his junior year of high school and the schools he the new school had a totally different scale than the old school and it changed everything on his transcript. So how does the common app find commonality in grades and GPA?

Lindsay: Right. So this goes across the board, whether you're using the Common App or another platform, or just going to the school to apply directly. When you apply to school, you are going to provide information about your school. Students high school. Okay. And usually you're gonna provide the information for the school [00:19:00] counselor that is in charge of your students, that school counselor, and that school is gonna provide information to the universities regarding their school profile.

So. You know, when I send a school profile to a college, it has things like the, the grading scale, whether we weight classes based on the rigor of the class. It lists every class that we offer at the school. It provides information about demographics and matriculation to universities given past years average test scores.

It's just this big wealth of knowledge, and it really gives universities an idea of where the student is coming from and the context of that student's transcripts in relation to other students at that school.

Booth: Okay. Okay. Well, that definitely helps kind of level the field. So. Is there a way on the Common App to communicate some type of [00:20:00] anomaly that may have happened to the student on an illness or an injury or something that could explain, you know, a dip in grades for a semester or something like that?

Lindsay: Sure. So there is an additional information section. That's what's called additional information section of the Common App where you can do this. So it's a place for you to provide some different information that doesn't fit anywhere else on the application, right? So, any extenuating circumstances that have impacted your academic performance, this is a perfect place to do that. You know, just some tips for that. You want to clearly explain the situation in a very straightforward manner. You know, I had an extended illness, was hospitalized for some time, and my grades suffered as a result. No, you don't have to give real personal information, but you want to be direct and straightforward.

So there's no vagueness in, in how the admissions officer is reading it. And then you want to also in that section, highlight any positive [00:21:00] outcomes or how you overcame the challenge. They want to see that resilience in students. So, you know, I was hospitalized due to an extended illness, my grades suffered, but the following year I took several AP classes and was able to bring my grades back up. So that would be a way that you could kind of show the positive outcome of that situation. And then you just don't want to repeat information that's already covered elsewhere. So if you're writing something in an essay about that, then you're not going to want to, or you're not going to need to put that in this additional information section. And just going back to what the Common App is. When you put this information in the Common App under Additional Information, it gets sent to every school that you pick. So you're not having to do it over and over again. It just makes it seamless and it sends it everywhere, which is nice.

Booth: Okay, alright, that's great, because it's nice to, you know, explain some things when there might be a question mark on the application.

Lindsay: and, and the, the [00:22:00] Teacher Recommendation Letters and the Counselor Recommendation Letter is also a place where they can talk about dips in a transcript. To kind of explain some things.

Booth: Okay, so the Common App requires a personal statement, which is often referred to as the essay, that dreaded word essay. What tips can you share about doing that essay and making it stand out?

Lindsay: Yeah. Everybody's favorite. The kids love the essay part. So I will say the number one thing that we did that was a game changer in my house in regards to communication and how I communicate with my boys is we created a shared email and password. Okay. So I just use first and last name and then the graduating class.

So jacobphillips25 at gmail. com. So I did this for several reasons. I'm, I'm a self proclaimed helicopter mom, and I need to know the things, and I need to get in there and look, because he doesn't, [00:23:00] he doesn't share everything that I need him to share and he's not great at reading email. So that was one thing that we did that was really helped kind of streamline this process so I can get into the common app and see what he's doing. And I can get into the emails. But another thing that it allows us to do is we have a shared Google drive now where he can be working on his essays and I can be kind of checking in and giving comments and tips. So, you know, one thing that you want to do is you want to make sure you're doing all essays outside of the Common App. You don't want to do it in the Common App itself. You want to do it in, in outside, whether it's Word or a Google Doc. So you can copy and paste, and you have it to rinse and repeat. So if you might have a scholarship that you're applying for later on, and the prompt works for that scholarship, we're just going to rinse and repeat that essay.

We don't want to recreate every time. So, the key to using the essay is you want it to reveal your [00:24:00] personality and you want it to tell a compelling story about who you are. You want it to read like a story, not like an academic paper. Admissions officers have to read so many applications. I cannot even.

Even imagine that process and if you lose them in the first two sentences, you're gonna lose them. And so we want it to kind of read like a story and we want it to have a really good hook at the beginning that, that helps them stay engaged to that personal essay. You want it to leave admissions, admissions officers with a really strong sense of who you are and what you would bring to their campus community.

That's really the key. And so, you know, as for advice for parents, we have a tendency to want to get that red pen out and start revising those essays. And remember, your, the admissions officers are [00:25:00] not in the job of rejecting your student, your child. I know sometimes it feels like rejection. I like to think of it, I like to reframe it and say, the admissions officers need to see if their college is right for your child, not is your child right for their college, but is- they are the expert of their college, do they feel like that college is the right fit for your child? And so they really need to know who this person is and what does their voice sound like? So, you know, we have to kind of step back and not over revise because we don't want it to sound like a 45 year old woman wrote it.

We want it to sound like an 18 year old boy or girl with their level of life experience. So my biggest tip to parents cause I see it all the time is do not write don't over revise your student's essay. I know that is so hard because we want it to be polished and perfect but the [00:26:00] college really wants to hear their voice.

Booth: Okay, that is, that's fantastic, because I'm a math person, so I was really worried I was going to have to get that red pen out. So at least I can take that off my to do list, right?

Lindsay: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, we want to help and we want to you know, what we can do to help is really help brainstorm. We have spent 18 years telling these kids to be humble, to not brag. And now all of a sudden we're saying time to brag, to, time to share who you are, time to talk to yourself. And so they really need help brainstorming.

Like, what do you think their strengths are? What do you think? They have overcome. What are you most proud of in them? And get them thinking about that and, and brainstorming those, those topics for them.

Booth: Fantastic advice. Now, some schools also have, in case that one essay wasn't enough,

Lindsay: I know.

Booth: have supplemental essays. So, what is the difference with those?

Lindsay: Right. So in the [00:27:00] Common App, there's this big rollover that happens August 1. And August 1 is where all the colleges are going to update their supplemental questions onto the Common App. Okay. So you don't want to do any of this before. that August one rollover. But supplemental essays are where institutions and universities can kind of ask questions related to their priorities, what they value. And so, yes, unfortunately you're going to, your student's going to write the Common App essay and then they're going to pick their schools and there's going to be additional essays that they need to write within the Common App for those particular colleges. Now I will tell you, A lot of the colleges use very similarly worded topics and prompts. So again, you want to do these in a Google Docs so that you can rinse and repeat. Because again, we are, our kids are busy. They are super busy. They are way busier than I was when I was a senior. [00:28:00] And so the more that you can use one topic for, for a variety of things, the better you're going to be.

Booth: Okay,

Lindsay: Yeah.

Letters of Recommendation
---

Booth: The next one, letters of recommendations. So, there's generally the, a counselor writes one, and then some teachers write them. So, when a student is deciding What teachers to approach to write these? Are there, you know, some do's and don'ts with that? And then, should a student give that teacher additional information they might, may not know, or let the teacher write what they know about the kid?

Lindsay: Yeah, so every, every school does a different thing. Some of them require a counselor recommendation, some require one teacher, some require two. So I always tell my students it's good to ask the counselor and then two teachers, so you kind of have your basis covered. We want one of the teachers to be a core academic subject. Okay. The other one is flexible. So for example, my senior is involved in [00:29:00] band. He's had the same band director since freshman year, and he's had some leadership opportunities within that band. So that is a great additional person to speak on my student's behalf. So it is okay if your child is involved in arts or maybe has a coach who's also a teacher to write that secondary letter of recommendation. Your teachers know your student in context of that classroom, and there's a lot that our kids are involved in that the teacher may not know because they have 500 other, 500 other students they're involved in. And so your student is going to want to kind of write a brag sheet, and you can find these on Google in a million places, and Common App has a form that your student can fill out as well. So you would just Google the, the brag sheet, and this is where your student can kind of write about some different things. outside of that classroom to provide for the teacher to fill in any gaps.

Booth: Got it, got it. Alright, so [00:30:00] Google Bragsheet and print one

Lindsay: Google Brag Sheet.

How to Layer the Application
---

Booth: Got it. Okay. So, and I, and you kind of alluded to this a minute ago when you were talking about that additional piece of information on the Common App, but I have heard recently to layer the application and not to repeat things on the essay and all, and throughout the application.

So can you kind of elaborate on what that layering should look like?

Lindsay: Right. So the entire application, the goal is to create an entire picture of your human being that you are about ready to send off in the world. And so there's different spaces where you can kind of shine light on what your student is involved in and what their accomplishments are. So, you know, you have the application form where there's going to be grades and test scores if you're submitting them. But it's also, there's a whole section about activities and achievements that your student has been involved in. Community service, work, sports, [00:31:00] club activities. And so, that is really where you can provide kind of a, a light on whether they were a leader and just the different descriptions of activities that they were involved in.

That's all housed within the application. And you don't need to do that elsewhere, because you've already talked about it, right? The Essays is where you can really delve deep into specific experiences, any personal growth, or unique perspectives your student may have. And then the Letters of Recommendation is a separate part where they can Your teachers and your counselor can highlight qualities and anecdotes that don't appear anywhere else. They also are great in providing context, just like that school profile that we talked about. Your student may be excelling in an area within that school that maybe is a weak spot for that school. And so the counselor is able to provide who is this human being [00:32:00] in relation to everybody else on their high school campus.

So that is really important as well. So you just don't want to repeat information, right? If your student is the captain of the baseball team and that's one of their activities listed, We don't necessarily want them to write an essay about being captain of the baseball team. And we don't want a letter of recommendation that again, talks about them being captain of the baseball team. Because when an admissions officer reads that, they're going to think, okay, great. They were captain of the baseball team, but what else? What else? And so you kind of want to paint this big picture of who the student is as a whole human being.

Booth: All right. Fantastic. Just want to make sure all the bases are covered.

Lindsay: I know it's a lot. It's a lot y'all.

Strategic Considerations for Test Scores
---

Booth: Yeah, it is. So you mentioned test scores just a second ago, so I'm going to kind of roll into that because many schools are still test optional, and so I know, like, me, I feel like [00:33:00] if you don't report scores, you're telling the school that they're low.

So is that, should they report them even if they are low? Where does it come from? All kind of fall in with the test scores right now.

Lindsay: I mean, all the admissions officers that I have spoken to through the years say no. They don't make an assumption that the test scores are low just because you send them. However, Don't necessarily assume that your scores are low and that's important to remember. Again, it's about context. If your student received a 1200 on the SAT and that's in the 90th percentile for their high school or their district or their state, then that 1200 looks a lot different than maybe a 1200 from a really academically oriented boarding school in New England.

And so it's all about context. And so, you know, speaking to some schools [00:34:00] that have decided to go back to requiring the test, they really are, they're saying, Lindsay, you know, it was hurting our students who are coming from maybe lower socioeconomic areas or rural areas, because We're not comparing them to everybody else.

We are looking at what did they do in relation to what opportunities they've had and where they're coming from. And so that's important to remember as well on whether or not you're, you're deciding to send them or not. Every school has what's called the Common Data Set. It's kind of hard to find on their websites, but you can google the school's name.

So let's say University of Notre Dame Common Data Set, and you're going to get an option for the most recent year that's available. And that one PDF gives you so much information about the school and is a great resource for families. But one of the things on there is the the test you. [00:35:00] kind of standard.

Are they requiring the test? If they are, if it's optional, how many people are actually submitting the test? And what is the middle 50 percent? But it's important to remember that scores are so skewed right now. When you look at the middle 50 percent of a school, you're looking at the middle 50 percent SAT score of students who sent their score online. Not necessarily of the population of the students there. And so it's, it's, it's hard for parents to decide. And so I would encourage you to, you know, speak to your high school counselor and say, all right, where is my student in relation to the rest of students in the state? Is, is this something that we should be submitting or not? But also on your score reports, when you get them from college board or from ACT, it's going to give you the average for the. and for the school district. And so that's really important information as well. [00:36:00] But schools tell me it doesn't hurt you if you're not submitting them. I can't tell you if that's 100 percent true or not.

You know, but it is a hard decision on whether or not you should send them.

Booth: It is, it is for sure. And kind of along those same lines is the AP exam scores. So I know some schools will accept certain scores towards credit. So do you only report the ones that will apply for credit or do you report them all?

Lindsay: You only report the ones you want to report and that can go in two different ways. So you can report scores that are, you know, good scores, proficient scores at that school. You can find that information under usually the transfer information for the, for the college. And that you want to get credit for.

So you may not want to take the credit for AP biology. You may say, you know what? I took biology. I scored a three on the AP exam, but I know that I want to take lots of biology [00:37:00] classes and I want that foundation at the university, then maybe you don't send the score because you don't want the credit doesn't mean you didn't do well, it just means that you want to. You want to take that Intro to Bio class with 500 other of your freshman buddies.

Booth: Oh gosh, those big lecture halls. I remember those days. Yes, indeed. Mine was actually chemistry as a finance major.

Lindsay: You know what, those are important classes for students to have. They can help, you know, I was pre med when I started, and that chemistry lab on Thursday night for four hours changed my major real quick.

Booth: For sure, for sure. Oh goodness, the old test scores. Okay,

Different Admission Types
---

Booth: I'm going to roll into a different topic. So, can you explain the difference between Early decision, early action, regular decision, and the binding and restrictions on the different types.

Lindsay: Yeah, and I'm going to throw one more in there. Rolling [00:38:00] admission.

Booth: Yeah, I forgot that one.

Lindsay: so let's start with rolling admission. Rolling admission means that you apply to school early. So sometimes August 1 is, is when you're going to apply to that school. And you're going to find out From that school within like two to four weeks.

So that's rolling. They kind of make their decisions as things come in. I love rolling admission. It may not be the student's top choice, but there's something that happens when that student gets that first acceptance and they walk a little bit taller and they're like somebody, at least somebody wants to I love rolling admission schools.

I'm a big proponent of those as kind of that first application that you, you send in. We then have early decision and early action. So early decision is a binding decision. You're saying to that university, I want to go here. This is my first choice. And if [00:39:00] I get in, no matter what else comes my way, I'm going there. And and so you really want to reserve it to your dream school if you have one. And what happens is you're going to put in your early decision. Your, your counselor is going to call you and say, are you sure? Because they have to say that they've had that discussion with you. And if you were to get accepted from that university, you're going to have to call all the other ones you've applied to and withdraw your application.

Okay, so that's early decision. You know, the acceptance rate is a little bit higher when you apply early decision. But it really kind of limits what you end up doing if, so unless you have that one dream school that you know I would avoid early decision. It's usually, it's, it's affiliated more with your private universities and your public universities. Early action is your student is applying early. They're going to hear back early, but it's not binding. And so you have until May 1 to make that decision. [00:40:00] I love early action. If it's, if a student has a school on their list, that's early action. We're applying early action. Cause I'll tell you, That January 1 deadline for regular decision is tough. Senioritis is alive and well, and it is hard to get them to, to continue on that process. So the more we can get done in October and submitted, the better we are. Plus we want our kids to enjoy their senior year. It is so fun and there's so many different activities. And if they know where they're going earlier than later, everyone's going to be happier in the household.

Booth: For sure, for sure. So that being said, you just mentioned January 1st for regular decision. All schools have, aside from that rolling admissions, do they all have the same deadlines with early decision and action in regular or does it differ by schools?

Lindsay: So it's going to differ by school. Usually your early action and your early [00:41:00] decision deadlines are November to November 15th. My alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill has an October 15th early deadline. They're one of the earlier ones. And so it's going to be really school specific. So, you know, again, I'm a firm believer in let's taking off as much as we can from our kid's plate this senior year.

So one thing that you can do as a parent is kind of create a list, a spreadsheet. for your student. List their colleges that they're interested in. List the type of admissions decision, whether it's rolling, early decision, early action, and then those deadlines. And help your student prioritize and tell them, you know, okay, we're going to do this application first and this application second. Because in the common app, It alphabetizes it and students have a tendency to go, you know, from top to bottom by alphabet, and that may not make sense for the order that you want them to apply. And so that's just an easy thing that parents can do. You're gonna You know, play your [00:42:00] student's administrative assistant for the year during this process to kind of take off as much from their plate as possible.

Booth: That is fantastic. I think I have asked every question that I had. Is there something that comes up a lot that I haven't even touched on that you want to add?

Don't Limit Your Child's Optionsz
---

Lindsay: You know, to, to bring it back to your, to your focus, which is finances, you know, this is a huge decision. And I have so many families and students who come to me and they say, well, Lindsay, We are going to stick with public schools, in state public schools. We know that we can't afford or don't want to afford to send our kid to a private university. And I would just encourage you to, to take a pause because there's a lot of different financial sources out there through scholarships and our private universities Provide a lot of additional aid and can really bring down that tuition price To make [00:43:00] it more comparable to your in state schools So I just you know the in state schools are great public universities are amazing I'm the product of public universities, but it may not be your students best fit And so don't eliminate a school just because the sticker price on the website is too high Nauseating.

Okay. There, there are ways to work around it and just explore your options. You know, another thing is be honest with your student in, in terms of the financial of the house. Some students think, well, there's just no way my parents can afford it. And, and the parents have done a really good job planning for those expenses. and sometimes not. And so you have to be honest with your student and have a real conversation about what is going to make sense for your exact family and situation. You know, there's lots of scholarships out there, so I encourage families to kind [00:44:00] of seek those out as well. And just enjoy the process.

It, it can be so stressful and If you're like me, I can sound a little naggy when it comes to different deadlines and things, and so sometimes I gotta take a walk and say, regroup and remember that this is something to be celebrated and it is a time of Self discovery for your student. They're going to hear things from your mouth that you've never said to them about them. And that's one of my favorite parts of this senior year and college part. You know, we, we know we're proud of our kids. And we think that they know that they're proud of, that we're proud of them, but sometimes they don't hear it or they don't know specifics. And so I have found that in this whole process of senior year and college acceptance and college applications, it's really a time to share that with your student and your child and [00:45:00] say, I have seen You come from this to this.

I have seen you overcome these challenges. This is what I am most proud of you for. These are what I think are your strengths. And so have those conversations with your student and just relish it. Because And I'm going to cry now because I'm so, I just um, you know, it's such an important moment in your whole family's life.

And you can feel that shift and you can, you know, I tell kids all the time, like you're gonna find your mom is just staring at you randomly and don't ask her why, just know that it's because she feels this shift happening. But it's an exciting shift that's happening. So just enjoy it.

Booth: Fantastic. Fantastic information. I know. I don't want you to get me crying either because just, just the thoughts of all of this are overwhelming. So

Lindsay: It is, it is,

Booth: The most valuable information. So I know everyone who was listening, they [00:46:00] probably hit pause a hundred times to make their notes, but this is an overwhelming process.

Outro
---

Booth: And if anyone listening is interested in getting some more one on one insight and information, I will have Lindsay's contact information linked in the show notes if you wanted to reach out for some one on one guidance. But Lindsay, I just want to thank you so much for your time today and for this wealth of knowledge you have shared with everyone.

Lindsay: Thank you so much for, for having me. Again, I'm in the trenches with all of you. It is a scary, overwhelming time and all the things and we're gonna do it together. Moms United.

Booth: right. That's right. All right. Well, until next time, see y'all later.

​

[00:47:00]