By Tom Wahl
Last month, we discussed dealing with college rejection. This month, let’s look at dealing with collage acceptance. There’s a lot to think about.
1. Soak it in. Military kids, take a moment to feel proud about your hard work paying off. You made it! And now you are on your next journey in life — one that will greatly impact you.
Heading off to college will come with new challenges. Don’t be intimidated, though. As a milkid, you are resilient; these challenges and new environment will be a breeze.
2. Make it official. Now that you’ve enjoyed that moment of pride, don’t forget to complete the acceptance paperwork.3. Find out more about the school. Parents and students should join any “admitted-student” Facebook page (schools usually have separate ones for parents and children).
Also, don’t wait till August for your campus orientation. Visit the school again if possible. Most colleges will have an admitted students’ day or weekend, and these events are worth attending for both parents and students. Students can learn more about areas of study, talk to professors, sit in on a class, look at the dorms, get familiarized with the campus layout, and possibly even meet their future roommate.
Kids can also use the visits as a chance to discover clubs, facilities, and activities. (It’s important to know ahead of time whether to bring rock climbing shoes, golf clubs, or skis, for example.)
Visits can help parents get comfortable with where their child will be spending the next four years. This familiarity will be nice when your child calls while walking from Building A to Building B, and you can picture where they are.
A piece of advice: Let the student do things on their own (even encourage it), whether wandering the campus to even hanging out with other admitted students. You can always rally for dinner later.
If you can’t make it to student orientation, visit the school on your own. Kids can still email professors to ask for a time to visit, get familiar with the campus, and research student activities.
Before making the trip to the school, check out these tips from The Princeton Review.
4. Milkids, prep for the big move. Learn how to do things you’ll soon be doing on your own: laundry, making a bed, changing a tire (if you’re bringing a car), setting up a checking account, etc.
Consider adding Uber or Lyft to your apps. These not only offer inexpensive fare (think of three to four kids dividing a fare), but they also offer safety in case you’re uncomfortable walking back to your room or need to leave a situation.
Speaking of apps, you’re going to need money in college for different things. Look into Venmo or Zelle, which are good apps to use to pay your portion of a bill or to get money from your parents. You might have access to USAA, which transfers funds easily between accounts.
Review the list of items of what you can and can’t bring to the dorm. You don’t want to show up with a microwave and find out that you need to rent one from the school.
Finally, here’s a good resource for planning your college move.
5. About that bill ... If paying for college is still an issue, here’s a good site for military related scholarships. Also, feel free to appeal your financial aid package. Other admitted students might have declined their package and freed up some funds.
[RELATED: MOAA Educational Assistance Programs]
6. Help other students. Don’t forget to say "No, thank you" to the schools you’re not attending. This will free up spots — and financial aid — for other students.
7. Second thoughts? If you don’t like your admission choices, there’s still time to apply elsewhere. Here are schools still accepting applications.
