College Admissions Help Blog

Happy Wednesday everyone. I hope most of you are enjoying some time off this week and gearing up for 2010!

This week I want to talk about reach schools. We are all in the process of making goals and resolutions for the new year and if you are in the college application process of applying to college maybe one of your goals is to get into your first choice school. However, for many high school students their first choice is a far reach. Some students wonder if they should even bother applying to these reach schools. My advice to them is apply because otherwise you will never know if you could have been accepted.

Did you hear about the Connecticut quadruplets who all got accepted to Yale recently? These four sibilings all applied for early admission to the ivy league school and were all welcomed to the class of 2014 right before Christmas. They all had outstanding grades and SAT scores, but I am sure they all had other unique characteristics and talents that helped them get in as well.

When you apply to college admissions counselors primarily look at your grades and SAT scores, but they also look at what else you have done throughout your four years of high school. Community service, excellence in sports or music, student council involvement and other activities are all taken into account. I am not saying that everyone has an equal chance of getting in to Harvard or Yale, but if you have done all the right things and worked really hard you might have a chance of getting into a school that is stretch for you.

Happy New Years everyone! I hope 2010 brings lots of college acceptance letters, scholarships and financial aid to all of you!

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If you applied to your first choice school Early Decision you should be getting some mail this week! I am sure you have already been stalking the mail man every day anticipating an acceptance letter. I remember getting my early decision acceptance right before Christmas my senior year of high school. I could not have been more excited!

When you apply early decision three things can happen: you can be accepted, you can be rejected, and you can be deferred.

If you are accepted, congratulations! You deserve it! You have worked really hard for four years and not you can celebrate all of your hard work. You can go through the rest of your senior year without having to worry about any more college applications.

If you are rejected, keep your head held high and carry on! It really is not the end of the world even though it might seem like it right now. Make sure you send out the rest of your applications immediately, and remember that there is another school for you out there.

If you are deferred, all hope is not lost! There is still a very good chance that you will get in. Right now it is important for you to send out the rest of your applications and  finish out your senior year on a strong foot. Your first choice school will want to see that you have maintained your good grades and followed through with all of your commitments.

Whatever the outcome ends up being trust that your college search has served you well and remember that you will eventually end up at the right college or university.

Happy December! It certainly is the most wonderful time of the year; unless of course you are a high school senior applying to college. Now it is officially crunch time.

Applications: Ideally all of your applications should be done as of the first of the month. If you applications are not done you probably still have time, but you might want to get everything done soon so you can enjoy the holidays.

Financial Aid: You should also start to think about the FAFSA this month. Although you cannot submit the FAFSA until after January 1^st, there are things you can do now to prepare for the filing process. Check out FAFSA4cater.com. This will help you determine if you will be eligible for any federal financial aid and what you estimated family contribution might be. You can also apply for a FAFSA pin number. This pin number will be your password to access all of your federal financial aid information in the future.

SATS: Take the SATs if you are registered for them this month. It will probably be your last opportunity so make it count!

If you are a junior in high school your college search activities should also ramp up this month. If you took the PSATs this fall you should review the results with your parents and guidance counselors and decide what you should do to prepare for the SATs. It is also a great time to talk to friends who are home from college on winter break to find out about their experiences so far!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is spending some quality time with family and friends this week! In the spirit of the holiday, today we are talking about giving back.

High school students often ask me what they can do to make their college applications stand out and what kind of activities colleges like to see. Doing well on standardized tests like the SATs and ACTs is important as is getting good grades, but nowadays college admissions officers like to see applicants who are extremely well rounded. Volunteering and giving back to the community is a huge part of that.

Volunteer work has become a standard at many high schools across the country. Some students have to complete a certain number of community service hours to even graduate. However, even if it is not required every student should do something to give back and make a difference. It is rewarding, it makes you feel good about yourself, and it can help you get in to your first choice school.

The best part of volunteering is that everyone can find something that they like to do.  If you are an animal lover you can volunteer with your local MSPCA. If you are passionate about cancer research you can volunteer with the American Cancer Society. If you want to be a teacher you can volunteer at a local elementary school. There is a need for people with all different talents so find a cause that you can really feel good about helping out.

Volunteering is also extremely helpful when applying for scholarships. There are thousands and thousands of scholarships out there for students who play an active role in helping their community. You can find some of these scholarships on StudentScholarshipSearch.com and through your high school’s guidance department. Many organizations, like churches, even give out scholarships to students who do a lot of volunteer work for them.

So this Thanksgiving I challenge every student to take on a new community service project whether it is required or not. I guarantee that is will give you a lot more to be thankful for.

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For some students, there is no question about where they want to go to college. I was one of those students. I fell in love with one college and I knew that if I did not apply or get into any other school I would be happy.

For students like me most colleges have either an early decision or an early action application option. Early decision and early action allow students to apply to the college of their choice early in November and usually find out if they have been admitted before Christmas. Early decision is binding, meaning that you have to attend the school if you get in. Early action on the other hand is not binding. It allows you to receive an admissions decision early, but still decline the offer if you so choose. This option also gives you the opportunity to apply to more than one school early.

With early decision and early action you have the possibility of being accepted, rejected or deferred. Deferment means that the school is not sure if they should admit you and you will be reconsidered with the regular pool of applicants.

Early decision and early action have many benefits. First of all, they usually have a higher acceptance rate than regular admissions. Secondly, if you are accepted you will not have to worry about the college admissions process for your entire senior year of high school. After you find out you will be able to concentrate on other things. Finally, if you only apply to one school you can save hundreds of dollars in application fees.

If you decide to apply for early decision or early action it is extremely important to have a plan B in place in case you do not get in. When I applied I made sure I had three other applications ready to go out in case I did not get in.

For me early decision worked out great.  I applied to my first choice school in November and found out that I got in a few days before Christmas. The rest of my year was stress free and I was able to concentrate on my school work and applying for scholarships.

If you are currently a senior in high school and applying to college you are probably well into the process by now. November is a month when deadlines slowly start to creep up and it is important to make sure you have all of your ducks in a row.

Early Decision: If you are planning on applying to a school for early decision or early action your application is probably due soon! Most schools have early decision deadlines in November so if you are planning on some good news around the holidays do not be late with your application. If you are applying to schools with rolling admissions it cannot hurt to get those applications out this month too since decisions are made as applications are received.

College Essay: Put down your pencils, time is almost up! You should be finishing up your college essays this month. You want to make sure you have time to proofread them before your applications go out. Also, it is not a bad idea to have your parents proofread your essays too!

SATs: You still have time to take another round of SATs this month if you are not happy with previous scores. Just make sure to have your scores sent to all the right schools.

Letters of Recommendation: This time of year teachers and coaches get a lot of requests for letters of recommendation. Make sure you have your recommendations lined up and that you will have them in hand in time to include with your applications. Also, make sure to thank the people who write your recommendations.

Finally, make sure you keep your school work on track. It might be hard to think about with everything else that is going on, but you are on the home stretch of your high school career and it is important to finish strong! On the bright side November comes with Thanksgiving break so take time to breath and enjoy yourself!

As juniors and seniors in high school you are probably well on your way to planning your college career. Getting ready for college can be extremely stressful on top of everything else you have to worry about, but luckily most high schools have resources to make the search and apply process a lot easier.

Many high schools host college information nights for juniors and seniors, and their families. Information nights give students and parents a broad overview of the college application process. Guidance counselors are on hand to provide direction and answer questions. Sometimes a school will even bring in a college admissions counselor to lend advice from their perspective. These events are particularly helpful to families who are sending their first child to college, but everyone should consider attending since things change so frequently.

The following is a list of topics that are usually covered at college information nights:

SATs and ACTs: All of your questions about when and where to take the SATs or ACTs will be answered. You will find out what the test dates are, where they are being offered, where to send your scores, what scores you should aim for and how many times you should take a particular test.

Visiting Colleges: You will learn how to schedule college visits and when the best times to visit are. You will find out what questions you should ask when you take a tour and how many schools you should visit to make the right decisions.

The Application Process: College applications are more than just pieces of paper. Someone from the guidance department will outline everything you need to include with your applications from the essay to the application fee.

The College Essay: Someone will go over the basics of writing a college essay. They will cover how to choose a topic, how long the essay should be and who should see your essay before you send it off.

Letters of Recommendation: Most colleges require that you submit letters of recommendation with your application. A guidance counselor will explain who these recommendations should come from, how many you should submit, and what they should say about you and your achievements .

FAFSA and Financial Aid: Financial aid can be the most confusing part of applying to college. Someone from the guidance department will go over when and how to fill out your FAFSA, what kinds of federal student loans and alternative student loans exist, and how to search for scholarships.

Institutional aid is something all students should consider when deciding on a school. Many schools provide need-based and non need-based aid to their students. This type of aid is usually referred to as institutional aid and varies by school. The importance of institutional aid has increased in recent years as educational costs have increased.

Your application for admission to a school might not automatically trigger consideration for institutional aid. You should always read the school’s catalog to find out what aid the school offers and what additional forms or applications are required.

Sometimes institutional aid is granted to full time undergraduate students in a particular field, while other times you will find institutional aid in the form of an inter-school fellowship. Regardless, every dime you can get today that you don’t have to repay tomorrow is huge. So be sure to check on the institutional aid at all colleges you are considering.

One of the most important summer’s in your life is the one leading up to you senior year of high school. That’s the time to begin visiting college campuses and narrowing down your wish list. Then, in the fall, you can apply to your top choices.

It’s important to note that many school’s do charge an application fee ranging from $25 to $100 so it could end up costing you a few bucks if you have several choice schools in mind. That said, it is advisable to hedge your bet so to speak and apply to more than one school.

Some schools will grant you a conditional acceptance within a few weeks after receiving your application. Conditional just means they must verify the prior learning experiences you claim. But if you don’t hear anything for a few months don’t panic. The admissions process is very slow, which is why most apply nearly a year out and don’t discover if their application has been accepted for four to six months. Just be patient.

Slow and steady wins the race – just like that stealthy turtle that outsmarted Bugs Bunny.

Did you know you may be eligible to earn college credit just for you life experience?

A life-experience portfolio is a comprehensive presentation listing and describing all learning experiences in a person’s life, with appropriate documentation. The basic document is then used in assigning academic credit for life-experience learning.

So if you’ve learned a language from traveling abroad, had articles published in a newspaper, or gained specific business knowledge by navigating up the ranks there is no reason to have to sit through those language, journalism, and business classes covering topics you’ve already mastered.

Contact your school’s guidance office to see if they offer life-experience credits.