The road to college acceptance can be demanding but getting into your college of choice will make the hard work worth it. Your main job right now is excelling in schoolwork and participating in extracurricular activities that will help you build the skills that colleges want. But your junior year is also the time to start taking serious steps to secure a spot in a college that fits you.
Consider the application process as a taste of the responsibility to come your way as a college student. Yes there are a ton of deadlines rolled into this process but with a little bit of planning there’s no reason you can’t conquer the college admissions process!
DIFFERENCES IN DEADLINES
Take a look at your list of colleges of interest. Do you know the application deadlines? In some cases the application deadline may come as early as November of your senior year. If that sounds early it’s because many schools offer options including early action or early decision. (See “College Application Choices and Strategies” on page 58.)
The biggest benefit of applying early action or early decision is that you’ll get an accelerated application-and-decision process. This can put your mind at ease months sooner than a regular decision process. “You receive your decision sooner you’ll get an estimated financial aid package sooner and you get priority registration for events,” says Brittani Uberti, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission for Chatham University in Pittsburgh. “It accelerates the whole process for you so you know earlier on where you stand.”
Keep in mind that early decision should only be used if you are certain that you want to attend a particular school since you have to make a binding agreement to attend that school if you’re accepted. Early action usually isn’t binding but you have the advantage of finding out early if you’ve been accepted. If you’re not accepted by an early decision you’ll hear by the regular decision date which is usually sometime in the spring of your senior year.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Whether or not you apply early it’s crucial that you have plenty of time to work on each step of your applications. The first step is getting the application. Start by searching for schools through the Common Application (www.commonapp.org) which provides applications for more than 400 colleges and universities around the country. If your schools of choice don’t participate you can find the applications you need on each college’s website and apply online as well.
Every application requires a transcript of your high school grades. It’s up to you to request that your high school send transcripts to your colleges of choice. If you’re applying early action this deadline could be as soon as November 1; the deadline date for regular decision applications could be as early as the beginning of January.
You’ve (ideally) taken part in extra-curricular activities and community service for some time now and you should continue to be an active participant devoting meaningful time since your application will ask you to highlight these activities.
“When I’m looking at an application one of the things that I look for is not just that you’re in a bunch of clubs but that you are really involved in a few things,” Uberti says.
In addition to participating consider how you’ll present this information. The essay will be a key part of your application. “The essay is the place to go into more detail,” says Jeff Chamberlain, Director of the Fredrik Maijer Honors College at Grand Valley State University (MI). “Responses need to be written well but the more creative and enthusiastic applicants are the better. We’re always looking for the things that distinguish applicants. Specific illustrations are most helpful.”
For some students the essay can be among the most challenging aspects. One way to combat this is by starting your application process early giving you plenty of time to develop ideas rewrite and review.
Some schools are going beyond essays asking students to share their strengths in more creative ways. For example prospective Chatham students may submit portfolios with their application. “Some students will do a PowerPoint presentation some will do a scrapbook and some will do samples of work that they’ve done to show how they’ve really integrated their extracurricular activities into their academics and vice versa,” Uberti says.
Other factors likely to be required by colleges will include letters of recommendation. In the fall of your senior year talk to teachers and counselors who know you well and ask if they would feel comfortable writing a letter of recommendation. Make sure they know when you need the letters and ask them to mention in the letter your interest in the specific college.
THE BIG TEST
There is of course another criterion crucial for your application: test scores.
Start preparing to take the SATs or ACTs (depending on your colleges’ requirements) at the start of your junior year. (You should have taken the preliminary test or PSAT in October of your junior year although you may have taken it in October of your sophomore year.) The PSAT is a great rehearsal for getting a feel for the pressure of taking the SAT and can provide a strong start to a fall and winter of test prep and studying.
Most high school students will then take the SAT or ACT in the spring of their junior year so that they have the option of retaking the tests again in the fall of their senior year. The College Board lists SAT dates at http://sat.collegeboard.org/home while ACT Inc. lists dates at www.actstudent.org/regist/dates.html).
FINDING FINANCIAL HELP
There are lots of options out there to help you out financially. To apply for aid from the federal government you’ll need to fill out the FASFA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). It pays to apply for student aid from the federal government which can be distributed in the form of grants work-study or federal loans.
In the fall of your senior year start gathering the necessary information (and offering your parents frequent reminders about completing their tax forms) so that you can have your documentation ready to go. As soon as possible after January 1 of your senior year you’ll want to complete and submit FASFA forms; the easiest way to do this is by visiting www.fafsa.gov to apply online.
However you’ll definitely want to try to get scholarship money since you don’t have to pay that back. See our article on “Cash for College” on page 36.
BEFORE YOU SIT AND WAIT …
Once your applications have been submitted you may be tempted to sit back and wait for the acceptance letters to come rolling in but it’s a good idea to call your colleges of choice to make sure that they’ve received all of the necessary materials; you don’t want a missing piece slowing down your journey to college life.
Megan Headley is a freelance writer in Fredericksburg Va.
YOUR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TIMELINE
From the Spring of Your Junior Year
SPRING OF JUNIOR YEAR
• Time to register for and take college admission exams including the SAT the SAT Subject Tests and the ACT. Check with your colleges’ requirements to see which tests you should take.
SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR
• Take on a summer job internship opportunity or study-abroad program to add more substance to your applications and gain skills you need to succeed in college.
• Narrow down the list of colleges you are considering. Begin to visit the schools that interest you.
• Start researching available scholarships. Some deadlines fall as early as this summer so start putting your list together now and adding those deadlines to your calendar. A good place to start is www.studentaid.ed.gov/scholarship.
• Visit college websites and www.commonapp.org to find applications and the deadlines for early action early decision and regular decision.
FALL OF SENIOR YEAR
• Meet with your school guidance counselor to make sure you are on track to graduate and fulfill college admission requirements.
• If possible visit your preferred colleges while classes are in session.
• Ask guidance counselors and teachers if they will submit a recommendation letter to your colleges of choice.
• Request that your high school transcript be sent to your colleges of choice before the application due dates.
• Start work on your college essays.
• Prepare and timely submit your college applications.
WINTER OF SENIOR YEAR
• Your FASFA form (www.fafsa.gov) can be filed any time after January 1.
• If required by your colleges of choice request that your midyear transcript be sent out.
• Make sure you submit all information by required deadlines for scholarships.
SPRING OF SENIOR YEAR
• Review your college acceptances and make your final decision.
• Contact your school of choice and address any questions about the aid that school has offered you.
• Notify your school of choice that you’ve selected them and timely submit any required deposit.
