Please see the pinned post at the top of the board for a directory of college search engines. There are two types of searching by major: One is when the kid wants something like "mechanical engineering" -- any school with an engineering department will offer this, so it won't really narrow your school list down. Instead, you can refine by location, cost, and whether your students test scores etc are in the admissible range. If you are so flexible on location and cost that you need to use academic admissibility to refine your list further, I recommend Rugg's. (See the link at the top of the board.) Another type of searching by major is when the kid wants something esoteric -- for example, dmmetler's DD is searching for very specific opportunities not offered by every biology department. My younger DD's interest in planetary science might be in the geology department at one school, in astronomy in another, or in physics (in schools where physics and astronomy are the same department). In this sort of case, you can't use any search engine at all. They're just not that specific. You might try searching the scientific literature for which universities the experts in your field are publishing from. There's really no substitute for just drilling down on college website after website. Shorter answer: If your major is commonly offered, search on location, cost, and admissibility first and assume you will find your major in plenty of schools that remain. If your major is an oddball, no college search engine is set up for that.

My daughter used it for University of Washington last cycle. There were some quirks -- for example, the preview-before-you-submit mode would not display the major she was applying to. (Due to the way UW does majors, this is a critical field to get right when you apply... it caused much consternation!) UW does not use the locker (I do not know if any school uses it for admissions purposes). They also did not use a school or counselor report or recommendations. So, it was just the student part of the app to complete (including the self-reported grades -- which did not cause us any problems). We felt that having fewer activity slots but more words to write what you did per activity suited her better for telling her story. Other than that, and the different essay prompts, I don't think there was anything that would make doing the Coalition App easier or harder than the Common App from the student's point of view. But again, we didn't have the counselor/recommender sections to complete in our case.

The article is 2013, and the data is 2011, so more than just a couple years. The current Survey of Earned Doctorates data is available here https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/ids/sed It's not easy to navigate, but it's there!

It's really hard to chance automatically - I like this chart (from college kickstart) about how to think about admissions likelihood. On the vertical axis, plot how selective each school on your list is. On the horizontal axis, estimate where your child's stats fit in the applicant pool for a school.

I agree with Lori: The school ultimately decides whom to admit and offer merit aid to, so it is the school that decides whether your DD belongs there or if someone else is a better fit and/or more deserving.

1. Many 18 year olds do not know their "passion" -- or they think they know their passion but then take college-level classes and discover a subject isn't what they thought it was when they were in high school (for the better or the worse). 2. There are multiple types of burnout -- the type of burnout caused by overwork and the type of burnout caused by under-challenge (forced to do mind-numbing work) are different. It's not quite clear what's going on here. It could also just be the uncertainty of growing up ("he doesn't' want to start something and not like it two years later") -- unfortunately, there are no guarantees and many/most people do change careers. Sometimes the pressure to "get it perfect on the first try" comes from within and sometimes from parents/peers/culture. I agree that students should have a mix of academics and extracurricular activities.

Kids can't get into college on their own these days -- it is way too complicated. As your child's parent you are responsible for helping him understand his financial constraints (does he have a budget? does he know enough about your income and assets to fill in a net price calculator on a college website?) and helping him explore his options (have you visited any other schools? gone to a national or regional college fair?) As your child's guidance counselor, you are responsible for helping him do career exploration (he did communications for his associates and apparently doesn't like it?), understanding his academic strengths and weaknesses and how those map to colleges and careers, teaching him how to do a college search (through books and websites), teaching him about alternative careers which don't require a four year degree (and any trade-related career days or advising available in your region). This isn't a homeschool-specific worksheet, but it's a good start to understanding whether you are getting the parent-part right. Add to the parent responsibilities those of the high school guidance counselor, or make sure that he is meeting with advising at the community college for that piece of the puzzle. (I went to some of the advising appointments with my community college kid as well to get my own questions answered.) https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/riverside/Upload/Uploads/ghelicopter_parent.pdf

Is the 12000 your FAFSA EFC or the output of DS's school's net price calculator? Is this a public or private college? If the 12000 came from the FAFSA: The first chunk of any financial aid package is usually the federal direct student loan of 5500 (max for freshmen). Will you allow your son to take that loan? I do not recommend that families take on more debt than the federal direct student loan program, but for many families, debt free college is just not a possibility. The direct student loans have been a great deal in the past (in terms of flexible repayment plans, forgiveness programs, and ways to stay in compliance and not hit massive penalty rates), but I am always watching carefully for changes under Betsy DeVos. (The public service forgiveness program is likely to be gone.) In contrast, a school net price calculator will stuff in the loans in the output so you can't deduct that 5500. I know that DS's school has given him a 10K scholarship, but I do not know the remaining costs or whether they might add need based financial aid on top of it. Have you scheduled a meeting with the financial aid director to discuss your situation? Pull up the college on the college board big future website, and select "financial aid by the numbers" -- you should see the average percent of financial need met (you want as close to 100% as possible), how much is loans (you want that pie chart to be more green than blue), and the average debt a student has at graduation (you're looking for 27K or less -- the max federal direct student loan for four years of college). I also recommend checking collegeresults.org for retention and graduation rates. You want at least 75% of freshmen returning for sophomore year and at least 50% of students graduating in four years or it's a high risk school. Expenses for a special needs child are usually a good basis for a financial aid adjustment (a) if the school is generous and (b) if you can document the costs. Depending on the remaining costs of the local option and whether it is public or private, I would also look at applying to at least one of the the lowest cost campuses in your state system that meets your son's educational needs. Sometimes that "in state tuition discount" beats a private university, even if you have to pay room and board or find an apartment and roommate (the latter is often cheaper, depending on the local cost of living). A local school that you can't afford and that doesn't give good aid and that doesn't graduate students is not a bargain. Depending on test scores and grades, sometimes a school that recruits a lot of out of state students with scholarships can be a good deal, too. The poster child campuses for this are Bama and UAH. My daughter just looked in WUE and her best deal was U of Arizona.

The limits and regulations on ABLE are the trade-offs for the tax, SSI eligibility, and estate-planning benefits. If you keep everything in your name, you need to consider your estate planning strategies for what happens if your son outlives you (or outlives your ability to care for him) -- Those strategies are also constrained by various regulations and trade-offs. There is no "uncomplicated" path. (And yes, it stinks that the rules force you to peer into the future to guess everyone's life expectancy, future medical prognosis and bills, and so on.)

Hang on -- both your retirement account (again in an IRS approved account) and the value of the home are not reported on the FAFSA. Those would not cut you off from aid. The value of the home is considered on the CSS/Profile (College board institutional method), but only for some schools. If your FAFSA EFC was 3K you are not too wealthy to qualify for aid. Maybe you just chose to run a net price calculator at a school that meets the remaining need with fistfuls of loans. The federal Pell grants are relatively small (so the federal forecaster will not show much aid, I think the max is 5K ish) but that Pell grant is often supplemented with funds from the college and sometimes from your state (depending on your state). Spend some time browsing debt by degrees (https://projects.propublica.org/colleges/) See if you can find some interesting schools that graduate kids with less debt and try the net price calculators there. This is, of course, assuming he'd like to attend college if he could find one that wasn't "easier than homeschool" and interested and excited him. I'm just trying to figure out whether money is foreclosing his options here.

OK - so is the money you're saving for your disabled son in an IRS approved account (ABLE account)? https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-savings-accounts-able-disabled-people.html) If so, the money in that account is treated the same way as retirement money -- you don't have to report it on the FAFSA! Additionally, if you can document significant medical, occupational therapy, etc. bills for this son, that can be the basis for a financial aid appeal (professional judgment) that can be used to qualify for more aid than the formulas suggest. The reason I sent you to the college board estimator and not the one for a particular school is because the aid packages between schools vary widely. Some schools just have lousy aid. The college board estimator is going to give you an idea if it's worth hunting for need-based aid at all or if only merit aid will work. Am I to understand that the parent contribution for your college-bound son is zero? Or is there any money at all for him?

He sounds like he's not in a school that's an academic fit. Sometimes, it's worth it to travel away from home to get a better education. The best financial aid offers go to freshmen, not transfers, so if he's not sure what he wants, he shouldn't continue college classes past high school graduation. This could cost him financially. The getting good-not-great grades while bored is going to hurt him for merit aid, too. I'm assuming you've run net price calculators, and he's just not going to get the financial aid he needs anywhere? What is the budget your family can afford without financial aid? What is your EFC (google college board EFC estimator)? What is your home state? ETA: Your attitude to "get a concrete plan or we're going to do this" is just going to add to the pressure. Why are you so afraid of him not having a plan? Lots of young people don't have plans.

Check with financial aid offices. If they are holding your financial aid offer until they get the verification done, yes, you need to send them the transcript and anything else they need to verify. If they will send you an offer, subject to verification, then you can wait until your student decides which admissions offer to accept. This is only a problem during high school senior year, when you're not sure which school you're going to attend.

And while you're fixing it up for him, get an eldercare consultant to recommend other improvements and just go ahead and put in reinforced stair railings, grab bars in the bathrooms, etc. If it's all already there when he moves in, you don't have to fight about installing them later.

Yep -- your friend should be saving money towards college just like a birth mom would be.

Yes -- if the school is not issuing the diploma, then the counselor may not make it clear in the report that your student is a high school graduate. However, if your recommendations and activities from the high school are an important part of your child's story and the counselor is willing, it might be best to work together on a joint counselor's report (there cannot be two).

When it's a borderline issue, I generally do primary care first, specialist if that doesn't help.

We use the age-banded option in our 529. While there is more inflation now than in the Obama years, the increase is incredibly small and the Fed always fights inflation before they fight for any other market statistic, I would just do straight income. So, I don't think you necessarily need an inflation-protection investment. The most important thing is to save as much as you can, as money does give you options. If possible, your child should have an after-school job and sock that money away, too.

If you aren't sent it automatically, search on the college website. At the very least, there will be the federally-required Clery report.

I agree with this. Footballmom, you sound very frustrated, but if this has been building up quietly, I think the better course would be to discuss your frustrations and set guidelines and expectations, not suddenly decide to "go on strike." And definitely work with the other parent -- perhaps they can take some of the driving on for you, or set an allowance where you don't have to decide on "extras" on an ad hoc basis. At any rate, a united front is essential. You son will likely complain about your new boundaries.

All fields of engineering are best learned with in-person, well-equipped labs. Theoretical math is a pre-graduate school major, and meeting professors will be important for getting letters in the future. I would not recommend completing an online degree program for any of these fields. Can she get her health under control then apply to a traditional college? (Taking some gen-eds online while she takes care of her health is less of an issue.)

The student can submit their portion of the application before any counselor or teacher recommendation is fully submitted. For many admissions decision portals, you get a login sent to you by the college sometime after they receive your application. But, every portal is different, so you should check each college admissions website, as there are some where you create the portal account yourself earlier. For those colleges, yes, create the portal account as soon as you can if you are definitely applying. It's demonstrated interest!

Transfers are not consistent. Call each college and ask as many questions about the timeline for admissions, housing, and scholarship applications as you want. If your two choices are in the same in-state system, be very careful about accepting #2 if you still want to hear from #1. In some states, accepting an offer from State University at City A might automatically cancel your application to State University at City B.

I would simply ask the college what homeschoolers usually do for this requirement. If they have no clue, some things you can do: Colleges using sites like the Common and Coalition app accept transcripts uploaded there as official, electronically submitted transcripts. You could buy an embosser from a site like homeschooldiploma.com A notary public will notarize anything -- your bank may offer this service. All the notary seal means is that a notary verified the ID of the person signing the paper, but many colleges will accept that as an embossed transcript. When sending a paper transcript, put the transcript in a separate envelope and sign over the flap to show it is sealed.

Rugg's is really good for (1) Kids who are willing/able to travel out of state (if you're limiting your list to in-state, this is overkill) (2) Kids who are not "top students" (if you're National Merit, lists of "top" schools are available for free from a bunch of sites) (3) Kids who have a pretty good idea of what they're interested in majoring in (There are no descriptions, just lists of majors and recommendations of colleges by selectivity, all other research has to be done elsewhere) It gets updated yearly, but I used the same version for two kids two years apart. I would say using a version 2 or three years old is fine. Since your child is a freshman, start with free lists, and consider buying Rugg's when you have a sophomore or junior. http://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-colleges-biochemistry http://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-colleges-biology http://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-colleges-biomedical-engineering http://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-colleges-environmental-science The price of Rugg's does not include free updates. It is a go-to resource for high school guidance counselors who need to make quick recommendations for lots of kids each year. The cost is on par with a round of college admissions testing so it's pretty reasonable considering the work it takes to maintain it.