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Michael Post is Dean of Admissions at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg. Post, who graduated from the university in 1997 with a degree in psychology, lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and two children. He earned his master's degree in counseling and college student personnel from Shippensburg University and later worked at Shippensburg and University of Maryland Baltimore County. He began as the Mount's Assistant Dean of Students in 2005, named Dean of Students in 2006, and became the Dean of Admissions last November.

Q: How involved should parents/guardians be in the college search and application process?

Post: There is a larger role for parents and guardians than there has been in the past. Parents and guardians can be of great assistance to their students simply by taking the stress out of what might be an extremely stressful process. One example is to help your child set goals and organize the application process. Make attempts to take away as much of the pressure by sitting down early with your student and set expectations as a family about priorities and roles. Is the college search objective to enroll at a big-name school, a small private school? To prepare your student for a career? In state or out of state? Or to simply find a good fit? Then, step back and give your student some ownership of the process.

Q: What qualities a college is looking for in its incoming students?

Post: "Every college is different, so I would advise browsing college websites to see what the "typical" student characteristics are. The one point I would emphasize is that no college looks at any one factor. Each school is looking for a well rounded student. What sets each school apart is that some of them are more selective than other schools."

Q: What should students expect from prospective colleges?

Post: "Students and families should expect clarity. Clear guidelines as to what is expected from them and what their options are to learn more about the school. They should expect to have questions answered in a timely, professional manner. Lastly, students and families should expect to be patient. Each school's process is different, but whether that school receives 3,000 or 30,000 applications, it is a lot to process. Trust in the fact that each school will respond to them as quickly as they possibly can with an admissions decision."

Q: What is the process when students apply for admission, and are there any elements to it that they may not be aware of?

Post: "An application is more than just one document. Typically, schools also require other items that need to be sent as well. For example, some schools require an essay, letters of recommendation, SAT/ACT scores or an application fee. If some of these items are dependent on someone other than the student, be sure to communicate with those people and/or high school offices."

Q: What resources are out there for students?

Post: "I feel the best resource is the College Board web site at www.collegeboard.com . It has great information for students and parents. The other resource is their high school counselor. Students should have a good working relationship with their counselor starting in their junior year in high school."