It never looks like it’s going to work out, until it does (College Application Version)

I had a deep knowing that God would work out where our daughter would go to school and that He would provide the way. He’s provided in what seems like miraculous ways her whole life. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a TON of work on her part and ours, because it was. He works WITH us as we walk the path set out for us. But there were still times this last year in the whole college application process that I was shaking my head in bewilderment at the disaster of the FAFSA process, the requirements that it took to even apply to colleges, the waiting process and the offers that came in. It was discouraging and frustrating at times. There were heartbreaking moments in being so close to a full ride and not getting it to being denied at a school you’re more than qualified for. There were moments where I began to doubt if the aid would be enough in the end. It didn’t look like it would work out like it did until the very end. Per usual, God was not early but He was right on time.

In the end, our daughter got into her top academic choice with the most amazing and shocking financial aid package. We’ve cried many tears of relief and gratitude in the last couple months.

Walking through this process as a kid is a wild ride. Walking through this as a parent is also a wild ride. We were trying to coach our daughter through the process all the while coaching our own selves through it. As parents with the oldest so much of what we’re doing is a steep learning curve. The kids that follow get a more experienced and wiser parent I think. Sorry first born, these are the breaks.

Matt was the point person for this whole process. He was a total rockstar and advocate for our daughter. He is absolutely the reason that she is where she is today and why she’s heading to her top school of choice.

One of the really sweet parts of this process was that we got to take trips together to visit campuses and cities we hadn’t been to. We got to know more about our daughter as she thought through what she wanted for college and her future. We processed through finances and making big life decisions with her while allowing her to also lead the way. We were able to acknowledge that there is a faith element to this and that we can trust God in the process.

I asked Matt to put a list of things together for you so that you can thrive (as much as possible) through this stressful process.

Here are Matt’s top tips for the college application process:

• Apply early action to any school on your list that offers it. This was helpful in getting these applications done early in her senior year and she received acceptance notifications earlier (although we had to wait for financial aid).
• Make sure you have a safety and financially feasible school on your list that you can live with and get excited about. For us this was Oregon State Honors College, which would have been a great option for her. This eased some stress for everyone. 
• Visit a lot of schools if you don’t know what you want. Ou kid had no idea what type of school she was interested in. We tried to make it fun along the way and by the time we were done she knew what she DIDN’T want. 
• If finances are important then make sure your school list includes schools that either offered significant merit for a kid with her stats or solid need-based aid that might make it feasible if she magically beat the admissions odds. I used the College Data app religiously for financial aid statistics.
• It’s a ton of work for the kid. A TON! She applied to 10 schools and that was almost too much. In some ways it really taints the senior year as the whole process takes so much energy. There are so many additional essays for honors programs and institutional scholarships beyond the standard application. Apply for the amount of schools your kid (and you) can handle.
• Prepare all your financial documents (tax returns, medical expenses, rental information, etc.). Each school was a little bit different with the financial documents they required and it was a lot of work to stay on top of it.
• Remember that college admissions at competitive schools is like playing a slot machine. Some times you don’t win because there are too many qualified applicants. The book “Who Gets in and Why” was VERY helpful to calm the whole family down.
• Watch out for schools that don’t stack outside scholarships on your institutional aid. This was news to us and honestly fairly frustrating. We had our daughter stop spending any time filling out outside scholarships and just focus on school and enjoying the last few months of her senior year. 

So here we are, only 5 weeks from dropping our daughter, our first child off at college. The grueling process of getting in is over but the next part of the journey begins for all of us. There will be much processing and grieving/celebrating what is to come. Launching your kids Into the world is both exciting and terrifying. So much changes from here. Here’s to the next part of our faith and parenting journey. Stay tuned for lessons from the next part of this adventure.