Through your application, admissions counselors have a glimpse into you as a potential student. Depending on the size of the school, admissions counselors will look at the following factors with varying importance.
o Academics( GPA & SAT score) * A large school with thousands of applicants will sort students by these major factors first and THEN look into more personal aspects.
o Extracurricular Activities – This is where you show your leadership through your interests and hobbies.
o What matters to you?
Essay: your essay should be unique and thought-provoking. Admissions officers read thousands of these so how will yours stand out?
I suggest you get head start by writing your essays the summer before senior year! You
will be thanking yourself this fall when all of your friends are stressing over college essays and you will be one step ahead. This summer while you’re lounging by the pool or on that long car ride to the beach, start writing the first draft of your much-needed college essay.
Here are some generic essay topics that you will see on almost every application senior year:
“Describe your future goals and/or plans.”
“Describe an experience that has greatly influenced your life.”
“Discuss an issue of local or national concern and its importance to you.”
“Out of all the activities you participated in during high school, which one is the most significant and why?”
“Who is the most influential person in your life and why?”
For each essay keep these points in mind:
1. Essays should be interesting!
a. Admissions officers read thousands of essays each year; how will yours stand out?
b. Think of an attention-grabbing first sentence that will pull someone in. Here is one I used:
“ Failing the test for my driver’s license was the best thing to ever happen to me.”- in this essay I wrote about how I learned perseverance on my journey to pass this test. I went on to discuss how I transferred this lesson to other areas of my life and activities which I participated in.
2. Most colleges will specify their desired essay length.
3. Remember to get your essay edited by at least two other people, but keep in mind, it is supposed to be original so use your own ideas!
4. Colleges want to see growth. How did you tackle a problem, overcome it, and apply the lessons learned?
Once you finish, you can often recycle parts of your essay and “ Copy and Paste” where needed. In other words, you may not need to write an entirely new essay for each college or scholarship! Having a basic essay to pull from will definitely make life easier for you senior year. However, make sure that you tailor each essay to fit the question the being asked by the college or scholarship.
Letters of Recommendation are critical in the college application process. Here are some quick tips to ensure that you get the BEST letter for your application.
1. Identify teachers/ administrators/ coaches that you have had a good relationship with throughout your high school career. This is very important because you do not anything negative to be written about you in your application.
2. Request their letters of recommendation EARLY! You do not want to be in a position where you have to beg for a letter at the very last minute. The recommender may rush, and may not be able to put all of your accomplishments into their writing.
3. Be professional and request their help through your OWN letter with a resume attached. ( See an example on the next page.)
4. Be prepared to supply your recommender with a letterhead from your school if you are requesting more than one. Many organizations and schools will require this. Also, be clear if this is a digital or a paper recommendation.
5. If you are submitting a PAPER letter of recommendation, you must have the recommender sign the back of the envelope once it is sealed. Why? This is to show that the letter has not been opened or viewed by you!
6. Never use a copy of a letter. Always have an original signature!
7. Make sure your teachers are aware of your deadline. Tell them that you will need the letter at least two weeks before the actual deadline.
8. On your application, it will ask if you want to “waive the right to view your recommendation..”
– Always say “YES” and waive the right to see your recommender.
– If you check “NO” this means that you want to view the recommender’s letter. Admissions officers may view this as a signal that you do not trust your recommender.
Education is not free, this we all know. Here is a crash course in financial aid designed to help you understand how it all works.
Definitions To Know
Grant: It’s a gift! This is money you do not have to repay – ever!
Loan: unfortunately these must be repaid–or else! There are basically two types of loans–
subsidized and unsubsidized.
An Unsubsidized Loan: is not awarded based on financial need and you will be charged
interest from the time it is given to you until the time you fully repay it.
TIP- When looking for a bank to give you a loan shop around for the LOWEST interest rate!
Also once you get your loans keep track of them through www.nslds.ed.gov
A Subsidized Loan: is one in which you don’t gain interest while you are in school and are
awarded money based on financial need.
FAFSA: This is a form you fill out with your parent/guardian so the federal government will be able to create a financial aid package for you. This package may include grants, loans, and/or work study. You will need information such as your tax returns for the previous and current year, W2 Forms, Social security numbers etc. Go to www.fafsa.gov *watch out for fake sites!* You can begin filling out this form after October 1st and it must be complete by June 30th.
Warning! This material requires a great deal of attention, because one mistake can cause you to lose thousands of dollars in financial aid.
Cost of Attendance (COA): how much the school cost, including things like books, travel, and fees.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): This figure is determined based on the amount your family can pay towards your education. A lower EFC results in more money being available from the school and from the federal government.
This is a simple formula of how your Financial Aid is determined: COA-EFC = Package
Don’t put off applying to an “expensive” school because it has a high sticker price. Apply and see how much you receive in financial aid. You may end up paying virtually the same our of pocket expenses as you would a less expensive school!
After you have received several offers from several schools now it is time to weugh your options.
The important factor here is calculating the NET Price: this is the price you would pay per year AFTER all of your FAFSA Grants/ Loans and or scholarships have been added in.
Example:
Now that you have weighed in the ACTUAL amount you mayhave to pay each semester, here are some things to take into consideration:
1. If you are virstually going to come out of pocket with the same amount for both colleges how will you decide?
a. Ranking- Which one has a higher ranking in your firled of study? ( go to www.usnewsandworldreport.com
b. Proximity to home- is this a factor to you?
c. Size- does the school fit your needs in terms of size? Class sizes?
d. How was your visit? Did you feel welcomed on campus?
One think to remember is that you can negotiate with colleges once you have received your offer letter! Do not be afraid to call them and explain your financial circumstance , or tell them how mch you may be getting from other universities. If you did not get Work Study in your financial aid package…it is ok to ask the school if any opportunities are available!