Melissa Oldham
5/5
We joined ACA in my son's sophomore year as we started talking about college. In his mind college was years away and it seemed too soon to be thinking about college. But I'm so glad we started then because there is a learning process of what you want to do/major in, what is Common app and how to use it, how to research colleges, etc. They build that foundation and when it came time to pick classes for junior year, he had a college advisor to guide him on course selection. In spring of junior year/ summer before senior year the college app process really kicks in and this is where the immense benefits of ACA's system really shine. They have a timeline and chunk out what to start working on and in what order even before college applications are open, what information the student can be putting into their common app profile and then working on essays over the summer, so by Aug. 1 when applications open, they are ready or nearly ready to submit. My son recognized this huge benefit as his senior year started and immediately got busy with schoolwork, but he had already completed most of his college applications. He was seeing his friends just now starting the college app process while also starting their senior classes and extracurriculars /jobs at the same time. My son said he was really glad he had done all that over the summer! Thank you Access College America for the system you have in place and the advisors to guide/nudge our students along. We as parents are thankful that we can have a 3rd party advising us as well as our son and we are all on the same page about what to do next. I also feel it gives our son a sense of maturity & independence in this process, not having mom and dad hovering but independently meeting with his advisor, and implementing their advice, really making the college applications his own.
