For Parents of Prospective Students

Where to BeginParents often play a major role in their child's college exploration and selection process. However, unless you have recently gone through this process with another son or daughter, you may not know where to begin to provide the help they need. How to arrange interviews, financial aid and application deadlines, admission guidelines and housing options may all seem confusing and overwhelming.

All these different activities do not have to be difficult. In an effort to help you and your child navigate through this seemingly mysterious process, we have developed two 10–Step instruction sheets. Simply click below to link to information on how to select an institution of higher education and how to interview at a college. These step by step instructions should be helpful for students as young as ninth grade and throughout your child's high school career. Feel free to print these pages so that you can continue to refer to them.

   10 Steps to College Selection                      10 Steps to College Interviewing

The College VisitWe at Davis & Elkins College welcome and encourage parents to accompany their child when visiting the campus. The College recognizes that you have questions and concerns of your own as you send your child off to earn an education.

The campus visit is one of the most important activities in the college selection process. This is your child's opportunity to get to know the people and get a feel for the environment that we offer our students. D&E offers several student visit options including individual, Visit and Shadow Day programs. We can arrange for your child to meet with faculty, tour the campus with a student, talk to an admissions and financial planning representative and discuss extracurricular activities with coaches and advisors.

Although our campus visits are geared toward our getting to know the student and the student learning all they can about us, parents are welcome to participate and ask questions. We understand that students may not remember to ask all of the pertinent questions and have different interests than their parents when evaluating the campus.

To arrange an individual visit to Davis & Elkins College or to register for a Visit Day program, please contact Matthew Summers at 1-800-624-3157, ext. 1230 or by email at summers@davisandelkins.edu. Dates of scheduled programs are available in the admissions section of this Web site.

The Application ProcessThe Office of Admissions processes applications for admission on a rolling basis–evaluated when they are complete versus all at the same time. Students are notified of the Enrollment Management Committees decision as soon as the application has been evaluated. Although the College does not have a specific deadline for American students to file an application, the sooner the better. The earlier an application is completed and the student admitted, the sooner they will be able to learn of scholarship offers, register for classes, complete required housing and health forms, and so on.

A student applying to enter Davis & Elkins College as a freshman must:

• Submit a completed paper or on-line application to the Office of Admissions - application should be completed by the student not the parent
• Submit a $35.00 application fee
• Request their high school guidance office submit their high school transcripts directly to D&E's Admissions Office
• Request that ACT or SAT scores be submitted directly to the Office of Admission by the student's high school guidance office or the testing service
• Submit letters of recommendation (optional but encouraged)

Transfer students also must have all college work they have attempted forwarded directly from their        college(s) attended to the Office of Admissions.

General InformationDavis & Elkins college has a wide variety of career, academic and personal services to aid students in their transition to and journey through college. Information on these services, the Honors Program, the Supported Learning Program, student life, athletic and academic offerings are all available on this Web site. The Campus Drive section of the site provides information on daily activities and a video and still pictures also are available for viewing.

If you have any questions about Davis & Elkins College or general questions about the college selection process, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Admission at 1-800-624-3157, ext. 1230 or email us at admiss@davisandelkins.edu.

Best wishes for a successful college search!