Dear Parent (s)
The more informed weare about your child, the better able we will be to guide him/her through the college selection and application process. Please answer the prompts below and feel free to share with us your thoughts about and goals for your child beyond the scope of the questions, using additional sheets, if necessary.
Thank you,
The College Counseling Team
Child’s name:
1)How would you describe your child’s academic career overall?
2) What type of college environment do you think your child would be most likely to thrive in academically and socially? If you have a particular college or colleges in mind, please list them here, as well as why you think they would be a good match.
3) Is there anything in your child’s personal or family background that would be helpful for me to know? For example, have there been any long absences from school or non-school occurrences which may have affected his/her performance in school?
4) Please think of one or two major milestones in your child’s development and list them here as well as some explanation as why you see them as important.
5) Do you plan to apply for financial aid? YesNo (please circle one)
6)Parent’s education:
Mother’s undergraduate degree
Mother’s graduate degree
Father’s undergraduate degree
Father’s graduate degree
7) Siblings
Please list any other children who are presently in college or have graduated.
Name of siblingName of school or college
Name of siblingName of school or college
Name of siblingName of school or college
SECTION 2
I will ask your child many of these same questions, but I would like to get a sense from you of what you see as the best college match for your child. With this in mind, please answer the following questions keeping in mind I am interested in what you think would best suit your son or daughter based on your knowledge of him or her.
Size of undergraduate population
Small (under 2500)Medium (2500-7500)Large (7500 and above)
Location of campus
California Mid-Atlantic New England Midwest West
Southeast Southwest Foreign countriesNo preference
Level of Academic Challenge
Intensemoderaterelaxed
Affordability
18K25K36K42K50K or more
Academic Options
Small discussion groupsresearch possibilities large lectures
internships before senior yearinterdisciplinary study
Academic Program of study
Liberal artsBusinessEngineering
Pre-professional (architecture, pre-med, etc)
Tentative Major, if any:
What are the most important things I (and colleges) should know about your child?
What are your child’s greatest strengths?
What are your child’s most notable weaknesses?
What do you consider to be the outstanding accomplishments of your child during the past four years? Why are these significant?
Please define your child’s learning style. Consider the differences between schools that emphasize teaching compared to research, discussion to lecture and independent work to group projects.
Do you feel your child’s academic record accurately reflects his/her ability? If not, what do you attribute that to?
Has your child started any projects outside of school and carried them through to completion? Please describe.
What are five words you would use to describe your child?
What has been the most challenging experience your child has faced in or out of high school?
Do you have any specific concerns about the college planning process?
Are there any other things you would like to discuss with the college counselor?