The Journey to College Begins

Last Updated on April 27, 2018 by Jill Schwitzgebel

This website comes after years of urging and encouragement from fellow parents whose children are on their journeys from high school to college.   When I began the college search with my oldest kids several years ago, I quickly realized two things: that there was a lot I didn’t know and that this was going to require a lot more time than I had anticipated!  It was not much longer before I realized that I actually really enjoyed researching colleges and wished I had even more time to dedicate to it.  And shortly after that, I became frustrated because I realized that most other parents had NO idea where to begin or how many options were out there for their students.  I hated seeing how many incredible kids were being shortchanged, due to not knowing how many options there are for them.  Sometimes,  it was due to a belief that their parents could not afford a certain prestigious college. Sometimes, there was a belief that their child could only afford to go to the local large state university, even though their child felt overwhelmed by a school that size. (Did you know that in many cases, despite a huge price tag, a small private college will provide enough financial assistance that the true cost of attendance is only as much as a state university in many states?)

As a parent looking at many years of college tuition ahead, and with two in college at the same time for at least four years, the thing that motivated me to really research as I helped my kiddos find colleges that interested them, was saving money.  I knew we were going to need all the help we could get to make this affordable for our family.  And I knew that I had kids with incredibly diverse interests and needs.  I had one kid that thought that a big football school in the middle of nowhere was the only way to go…until seeing some small colleges, including one in the middle of a city that later became the top choice.  I had one that believed they needed a well-known music conservatory attached to a university, until they visited a liberal arts school with an incredible music program and met an engaging professor.  And so the journey began…