June is quickly coming to a close and I have two things on my mind: scholarships and college visits. This means updating the Master Calendar almost every day, as I discover scholarship deadlines and schedule various campus visits. In case you are looking for Part 1, here it is.
Homeschool to College: Our Journey, Part 2 covers scholarships and campus visits
I started a running list of scholarships and decide to spend one hour a day researching and refining it. The student applies for scholarships, but the homeschool mom does the research. After all, a homeschool mom is a guidance counselor.
Google is listening to my conversations with various members of my family. All of the sudden, my social media feed is flooded with Sponsored posts from different scholarship gurus who offer free webinars. I book two of them and learn a lot: The Scholarship System and PrepExpert.com.
No, I will not sign up for these done-for-you programs which cost anywhere from $700 to $4,000. As a scrappy homeschool mom, I am happy doing the research and implementing the findings; let the chips fall where they may.
Lining up colleges to visit is easy. I go to their website and look for Campus Visit or something similar. There is a calendar and I book whatever is available which fits our calendar.
Plan of action
We will not visit all the colleges on our list, but the closest ones. In this day and age, the virtual campus tour can be pretty eye-opening. Yes, there is a difference between being there in person and just knowing about it, but I have two research tools which can help close the gap a little more: 1. Day in the life of a [insert college name] student on YouTube and 2. The university’s social media.
One of my favorite YouTube channels to watch, Elliot Choy
Beware of Burnout
Researching is fun, but I have to pace myself. Burnout sets in after a few hours or days of research and one must take regular breaks. Do I need a snack? Some water? A walk? A nap? Self-care matters. I also talk to my husband and my senior student daily about what I am finding, to refine our plan of action accordingly.
Sifting Through, Not Sifting Out
It is becoming clear that my teen is not keen on attending one particular institution. It is on our list because it is in Tennessee, it has a strong CS department, it offers merit-based scholarships, and it has a resounding name. But he does not like its location and we know for a fact that it is crazy liberal. They say so on their own website and social media. Their students even complain they would like to run into a Republican student now. They admit 99% of their students are heavily leaning left. Yikes!
Nevertheless, this school will remain on our list. I don’t want to look back five years from now and ask, “What if… we had left this university on our list?”
In Conclusion
This is the kind of musings I am going through as I contemplate senior year and college admissions. What are you going through? Leave me a comment below and let’s help each other out.
