College Admissions Help Blog

Ask Admissions Girl: As a rising senior how should I prepare for college now?

As the school-year comes to a close seniors will soon be graduating and juniors will be assuming their position as the next group to embark on the college admission process. Although things will not kick into high gear until the fall the summer is a great time to get a head start on things.

May: Think about what you will do with your summer. This is your last summer as a high school student so you should do something meaningful that will help build up your resume. Internships, summer classes and volunteering are all great options. May is also the time to take the SAT II subject test if you plan on doing that.

June: If you are planning on taking the ACT (a standardized test alternative to the SAT) now is the time to do so.

July/August: Use some of you free time to start working on you college admissions essays. You will be extremely busy in the fall with classes and the rest of the application paperwork. Writing you admissions essays early will take a huge task off of your plate for later.

It also may not be to early to start exploring your scholarship options. You can follow scholarship updates and search for scholarships on StudentScholarshipSearch.com. Getting a lot of the leg work out of the way with scholarship applications will also be a huge relief down the line. If you think you might be a candidate for an athletic scholarship, use this time to contact the coaches at the schools you are interested in applying to.

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If you are a high school junior you are probably starting to think about how many colleges you will apply to next year. If you list of schools is continually growing you are not alone. It has become quite common for students to apply to a very large number of schools. Applying to as many as 20 schools is not out of the question for some.

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, one-fifth of college applicants nationwide apply to seven or more school. That is twice the rate of a decade ago. This change has happened for two main reasons. One, because it is a lot easier to apply with online applications and two, because many schools have become more selective. So is applying to more than a few schools a good strategy?  The truth is there are pros and cons to throwing you name in a lot of hats.

Pros

• You will likely receive more acceptance letters than you would by only applying to three or four school.
• You will be able to compare a greater range of financial aid packages and then pick the school that gives you the best deal.
• Your chances of getting into a reach school increase.

Cons

• You will have to pay multiple application fees which can be as much as $50 or more each!
• With more acceptance letters in hand you might have a much harder decision to make in the end.
• As more students apply to more schools admissions rates will fall.

With all the changes to the financial aid programs available to college students in 2010 and beyond, what are your plans for paying for college this year? Do you see any more aid available? Are you taking out more federal loans and fewer private student loans? Are your school being more helpful or do the financial aid officers seem overwhelmed??

Sound off in our comments section.

As you go through the college admissions process, do you ever wish that there was a place you could go to get all of your questions answered? The good news is that place does exist in the HowToGetIn.com College Admissions Forum.

Whatever stage of the process you are at the College Admissions Forum can help you. The forum is a community of high school and college students who are going through the same thing you are. If you are a junior just beginning the college search process you can go to the forum to ask your questions about college essay writing and the common application. If you have recently been accepted to college you can head over to the forum to inquire about financial aid and college life. Finally, if you have just moved into school you can ask questions about class schedules and grades.

You can also use the forum to share your wisdom! You can give prospective college students advice and answer questions that relate to your college experiences. So current topics of conversation include:

• Committing to a College
• What is the best way to improve my SAT score?
• College Admission Trends of 2010
• What is a private student loan?

Head over to the College Admissions Forum not to find out the answers to these questions and more!

Ask Admissions Girl: I have been accepted to college. What should I do now to prepare for the fall?

Now that you have been accepted to college there is nothing left to do but wait for August to roll around, right? Wrong! Going to college is a major life transition that takes a lot of preparation.There are three things you should be doing for the next few months to get ready.

Prepare for the costs associated with college: Beyond tuition, there are a lot of costs associated with college. Even if you got a great federal financial aid package you will probably need extra money for college. Now is the time to start planning and for the cost of books, supplies and social activities. Working one or two jobs during the summer and saving most of the money you make is a great way to ensure you will not be strapped for cash come September.

Prepare to move away from home: College will probably be the first time you really move away from home. This change will probably be difficult for both you and your parents. Your parents will have to adjust to you not being around all of the time and you will have to adjust to living with a roommate, eating college food and sharing a bathroom with a lot of other people. Spend the next few months making sure you have everything you will need for college life.

Prepare mentally for academic challenges: Your college classes will be a lot more challenging than your high school classes. Do something academic this summer to get ready for the fall. Maybe you will choose to take a class so that you stay in the school mode or maybe you will choose to read a few books. Whatever you choose to to to exercise your mind, make sure it is something you enjoy.

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Ask Admissions Girl: What is a private student loan?

While deciding which college to attend in the fall you are most likely taking financial aid into consideration. However, if your top school did not provide you with sufficient federal financial aid it is important to know that there are other ways to help pay for your college education. One way is to take out a private student loan.

Private student loans help students make up the difference between their financial aid awards and the total cost of their education. Unlike federal student loans they are based on credit rather than on need. Therefore, most college students will need a parent or other close adult to cosign the loan.

PrivateStudentLoans.com is a great resource for information about this type of loan. This site will let you see what your private student loan options are, compare lenders and even help you apply for a loan.

If financial aid circumstances are forcing you to choose a school you are less than thrilled with, consider all of your options before you make your decision final. You should be happy with the school you attend, but also feel like you can comfortably pay for it.

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As high school students deliberate over which college to attend in the fall I have been doing some research on the college admission trends of 2010. Here are three that I found particularly interesting:

1: It pays to be able to pay: Colleges are being more lenient on students who do not need financial aid. B average students who can pay their way are coveted this year. This is not to say that they do not want A average students who need a little bit of assistance, but most schools are experiencing budget crisis’s and appreciate the money up front.

2: SATs don’t matter as much as A’s: 4.0 GPA students with less than perfect SAT scores are being given a pass. The importance of SAT scores is decreasing. In fact, the number of schools that do not require SAT or ACT scores at all is growing.

3: Public universities are HOT: Highly ranked public universities are first choices for many students this year. This is because they are inexpensive, but very well respected. Which schools fall into this category? Two examples are the University of Virginia and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What other trends have you noticed this year? Let me know by leaving a comment below or sharing your thought in the college admission forum!

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Ask Admissions Girl: When is the college commitment deadline?

By April 1st you should receive acceptance or rejection letters from all of the colleges you applied to. You have probably spent the last year planning for college. Now, with all of you acceptance letters in hand it is time to make one of the most important decisions of your life.

Almost all schools require future students to make a commitment and a deposit by May 1st. This gives you at least one month to make a decision that you feel completely comfortable with.

For some of you, this decision will be extremely easy. If you were accepted into your first choice school and you are comfortable with the financial aid package you received, it will be a no-brainer. It you are torn between two school and you received more financial aid for one of them, that decision should also be easy to make.

For others, the college decision will be a little bit more difficult. Some of you will feel the need to revisit your top two or three schools before you make your choice. Most schools welcome this and accommodate accepted students quite nicely. For some of you it will come down to money and you and your parents will run the numbers five or ten times before you give your final answer.

Whatever position you are in, feel free to take all the time you need. However, remember that if you want a spot in the Freshman class the important date is May 1st! Good luck!

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