Step One Done?

 As we enter the second week of November, I think we have FINALLY ended phase one of the college process.  We have visited all the campuses that my son is/was seriously considering and we are entering the application phase.  

We haven't visited that many campuses, but we have visited enough.  Thankfully most of the visits were less than a 2 hour drive away, which means they could be one in a day.  There was only one campus that required an overnight visit, as it was around a 4 hour drive.  (I suppose it COULD have been done in a day, but that's really pushing it.  I don't like to really push it.)  We've visited some campuses more than once.  (Although I say we are done, there is one campus that we are going back to this Friday so that my son can meet with a professor and sit in on a class.)  There is a top three list, and an application plan.  We are really moving forward.

None of the colleges that my son is applying to would be recognizable to most people.  The people who live in the NY tristate area MIGHT recognize some of them.  I have to say that I hadn't heard of most of them before we started the search.  As I've said before, I don't think name recognition is worth anything.  It's not about the name, it's about the fit and I think my son would fit well in any of the top three, despite the fact that each is uniquely different from the other.  I think he will get a good education at any of them.

So we have moved onto the application process.  I pushed my son to apply to one (which is currently in position 3 on "the list") before the end of last week because the school was waiving their application fee until Sunday.  Free is my favorite price, especially when it comes to college applications.  Now I know why so many colleges have contacted my son (either via email or mail), even those that don't seem to have any programs that would really interest my son.  Those fees can really be hefty.  His 4th choice school has a $75 application fee and his 5th choice is $35.  From what I can see, $75 is a very popular price and that quickly adds up.  Which is why I am making sure that he ONLY applies to those colleges that he is really sure about.  Thankfully, his top three won't cost us anything.  As I said, one had a period where the fee was waived, another has no fee for undergrads and the last (in the top three) will waive the fee if you follow the admissions counselor on Instagram.  (I made SURE my son did that.)  It is my hope that one (or all?) of the top three will send a letter of acceptance and we won't have to pay any application fees.  (Fingers crossed).

I'm sure there will be many more hoops to jump through (sigh) and costs to figure out.  Even though all of the colleges that he has or will apply to are relatively economical (at least when it comes to college costs), there's still a lot to figure out.  As scary as that is (and it IS scary), it's down the road a bit and I don't want to get ahead of myself.  (Would I really be getting ahead of myself?  Aren't I already behind?)

For now I'm going to celebrate the fact that two applications are in and that the college tour is done.  After all, in this crazy world and process, we have to take the wins where we can find them!