college admissions bleg
posted by bitchphd
Does anyone out there work in admissions? My dad has a friend whose son is super-bright, and his mom wants him to go to college, but she doesn't know the first thign about the process. Plus, bonus catch: son wasn't born in the U.S. Apparently his paperwork is in process, and she thinks he should have a social security # by February, but in the meantime I gather she's run into some problems getting him registered?
Second interesting bit of info: the kid's dad graduated from Yale, though his dad really isn't part of their life. So I told her, well, have him apply as a legacy at Yale! She's thinking one of the UCs, so that he can stay close to home--which isn't a bad idea, but I'm trying to encourage her to also consider applying for private schools. Of course she doesn't know about financial aid, so I've advised her to fill out a FAFSA and to appeal any offer they get if it's not enough.
Other details: kid graduates in May, has taken SAT but didn't check the box to have colleges send him information, so they're not getting tons of brochures in the mail. Aside from his absent father, I think no one in the family's been to college.
But anyhoo, so the questions are:
First and most importantly, how does a kid without a social security number go about applying to and registering for colleges? Is there a difference between private and public colleges on this front? (Kid is in California.)
Second, is there any difference, financial-aid or admissions-wise, between an applicant who is transferring from a community college and one who is applying straight out of high school? Mom doesn't want kid to go to community college, but if FA doesn't come through obviously getting a few pre-reqs out of the way inexpesively would be a good idea. Mom's concern is that kid would lose momentum, which who knows (I don't know the kid), but I'd at least like the info to tell her.
Third, am I correct in thinking that there's basically one universal FA form (the FAFSA), and that she won't have to fill out half a dozen forms? And is there any other advice to someone who is basically completely ignorant of this whole process but who has a promising kid that you think I should pass along (other than "aim higher and ask for money")?
Second interesting bit of info: the kid's dad graduated from Yale, though his dad really isn't part of their life. So I told her, well, have him apply as a legacy at Yale! She's thinking one of the UCs, so that he can stay close to home--which isn't a bad idea, but I'm trying to encourage her to also consider applying for private schools. Of course she doesn't know about financial aid, so I've advised her to fill out a FAFSA and to appeal any offer they get if it's not enough.
Other details: kid graduates in May, has taken SAT but didn't check the box to have colleges send him information, so they're not getting tons of brochures in the mail. Aside from his absent father, I think no one in the family's been to college.
But anyhoo, so the questions are:
First and most importantly, how does a kid without a social security number go about applying to and registering for colleges? Is there a difference between private and public colleges on this front? (Kid is in California.)
Second, is there any difference, financial-aid or admissions-wise, between an applicant who is transferring from a community college and one who is applying straight out of high school? Mom doesn't want kid to go to community college, but if FA doesn't come through obviously getting a few pre-reqs out of the way inexpesively would be a good idea. Mom's concern is that kid would lose momentum, which who knows (I don't know the kid), but I'd at least like the info to tell her.
Third, am I correct in thinking that there's basically one universal FA form (the FAFSA), and that she won't have to fill out half a dozen forms? And is there any other advice to someone who is basically completely ignorant of this whole process but who has a promising kid that you think I should pass along (other than "aim higher and ask for money")?
Labels: academia
Posted at 1:55 PM
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