9 ways to help your grandkid select a college

THE RESEARCHER Grandparents can also assist by searching for scholarships, identifying admissions deadlines and exploring the details of the majors a grandchild might be interested in.

Grandmother Margaret Porigow, 72, who worked in undergraduate admissions at the University of Pennsylvania for over 20 years, attends Sara Harberson’s Application Nation college guidance

webinars to stay on top of the latest information to relay to her daughter and granddaughter. “I was able to guide [my granddaughter] when she entered high school as to what courses she

needed to take in order to meet the application requirements at competitive universities,” she explains. She also researches financial aid and scholarship possibilities to see if her

granddaughter qualifies. Another thing to keep in mind is that a grandparent’s background and experience might help their grandkids get scholarships. For example, there are scholarships

available based on grandparents’ affiliations, such as college legacy, ancestry and ethnicity, and military service. THE TOUR GUIDE One of the most enjoyable parts of the college selection

process is visiting different campuses, and it can be a wonderful opportunity to bond with your grandchild. “I think when you go on a college tour with your parent, it’s a different

experience than going with someone else,” says McAnaney. While there can be tension during a visit with a parent, visiting with a grandparent can be a fun and more lighthearted experience.

Plus, some parents are so busy that they may welcome the grandparents taking college tours off their plate, she says. Harberson, however, wants grandparents to be mindful of how they

approach the tour. “I like to think of a parent or grandparent being the quiet observer, so that when the student is ready to talk about things … the parent or grandparent is there to be

that sounding board,” she says, adding that it’s important that grandparents keep their personal opinions to themselves so the student has space to figure out if the college is right for

them. THE ALUMNI While Harberson cautions against parents and grandparents pushing their alma mater on their kids, leaning into the legacy works for some families. The Scroggins family

prides themselves on being a four-generation Aggie (Texas A&M University) family, starting with Garlin Scroggins who graduated in 1948. None of the grandchildren even considered applying

anywhere else, since the school is such a strong part of their family culture. The kids grew up tailgating at A&M football games, attending school ceremonies and constantly visiting

the campus with their grandparents. “A&M is really the only place any of us would ever want to go because it is such a big part … of what we do as a family and how much time we spend

down there,” says Todd Scroggins, 49, Garlin's grandson, who graduated in 1997. Indeed, adds his wife, Danielle, 48, who graduated the same year as Todd, all our kids felt so

comfortable that they were never homesick, because they considered the school their second home.