A little help for my friends...

Recently, I've had several friends ask me lots of questions about how we found the right school for Cal. We have a population sample of only one so far, but we've made more than 20 visits to schools up and down the east coast. We've read books, taken notes, created spreadsheets and followed some fantastic blogs on the topic. With three more student/college matches left to be made in this family, there will be many more visits, observations and discoveries over the next few years. I'll use this forum to share some resources, describe our college visits and update you on our successes and mistakes. I don't have a lot of blog experience, so we'll see how it goes, but hopefully friends will be able to read our updates, post questions, and add experiences and advice of their own.

A few things that are really helpful in getting started:

• The Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward B. Fiske is an invaluable resource throughout the college search process. You can start searching for the ideal college right at home by reading about the best schools by major, cost, location, size, etc...
• Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents by Zac Bissonnette and Andrew Tobias and Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College by Andrew Ferguson were two books that revealed to me how much an open mind will matter in this process. MANY schools have the potential to be a good fit for your student, and you don't have to break the bank to send him/her to a great school.
• My friend Jane Kulow has an excellent blog you should explore. Jane is a couple years ahead of me in this pursuit and got me started with the books mentioned above. She has insight to most of your questions like "How close is too close to home?" and "How long should college take?" and she's visited more colleges than we have. She often posts college-related pieces gleaned from the pages of current periodicals. Go to drstrangecollege.wordpress.com.
• Does your student have schools in mind already? Check out their websites and sign up for their admissions blogs. UVA has an excellent one filled with important updates about the application process, tools for improving the likelihood of creating a successful application, and reminders about looming deadlines. Go to http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/.