Now that senior year is well under way, many seniors are in the midst of submitting applications, requesting recommendation letters and transcripts, making college visits, and filling out various forms so as to complete their criteria for next year. Some seniors are further along than others, so if you’ve already applied to your destination school and have already been accepted, then more power to you; enjoy your senior year and work hard to maintain performance. Otherwise, below is a list of things that everyone else needs to be doing this time of year, and some of these still apply to those who’ve already made their college choice.
1. Narrow your list and submit applications. By now, if you have not already narrowed down your list for application destinations, you’ll want to do so very soon. Some colleges have Early Action/Early Decision deadlines for admission or for specific majors on campus, and it’s best to have an awareness so as to stay ahead of the game.
-- November 1 is a typical application deadline for many colleges, especially if the institution offers an Early Action or Early Decision process.
-- a few schools might have an October 15 deadline for their early process, so pay attention to detail.
-- Some schools require that your application AND documentation materials be submitted by this date. Ensure that your applicant schools require all documents be received/postmarked/timestamped by the deadline or that they can accept information afterwards.
2. Review your ACT and/or SAT situation. If you’re applying to a school by their Early Action/Decision deadline (Nov. 1), then you’ll want to have all of your scores submitted by the various October test dates. Many schools will accept a score update sent after the application deadline, but the availability of such an opportunity will depend upon your individual schools.
-- Do your application destination schools superscore the ACT or SAT? If so, then send all scores for each.
-- Consider re-testing should you continue to see score improvement and your destination schools accept updates post-application.
3. Utilize October to establish contact with your preferred schools. If you have not already done so, October would be a good time to establish rapport with the admissions personnel at your destination schools.
-- Many schools have admission counselors located in the area that are eager to meet with prospective applicants. They might also have some influence in the “committee” decision process when applications are considered, and they want to know who they can best advocate.
-- If interviews are offered, initiate contact with the rep and move forward with the process. Interviews are typically more of a “get to know you” session and are typically lax and informal.
-- Maintaining visibility in the process is highly important.
4. If your preferred school is hosting an event or program in the area, attend it! Many schools will offer a regional dinner, partner program, college-specific function, or some sort of meet-and-greet than accomplishes two things:
1. they help prospective students affirm information or interest in school programs.
2. they help colleges prospectively track interest (demonstrated interest is a crucial aspect of admission for some schools).
When in-doubt, be sure to have visited the school and taken the time to have officially ‘trackable’ activity; it shows that you’ve done homework and that you’re interested enough to have taken the time to get to know the school.
Though many schools do not utilize “demonstrated interest” as part of the admission consideration process, it’s a good idea to appear interested regardless of the school policy.
5. Manage your time wisely. College applications can seem daunting, so do a little at a time, and commit to doing something each day.
Be sure all necessary documents have been requested (transcripts, recommendation letters, SAT/ACT scores, etc.). It’s your responsibility to keep up with the whereabouts of your information documentation and completion.
Consider essays and short answer requirements for each application destination.
Know deadlines.
Know deadlines again.
Know deadlines a third time.
Have all required information requested and submitted by the listed deadlines.
Know deadlines again.
You really should know deadlines.
Have you thought about deadlines? They’re important.
What are deadlines again?
Know deadlines….yet again.
It’s important to know that not all schools have deadlines that are fast approaching; the Regular Admission deadlines and/or Rolling Admission policies of many schools extend beyond November 1, but if your preferred schools offer anything Early or have hard and fast deadline, then you’ll be glad you paid attention to detail. As always, contact me should you seek more detailed guidance as determined by your individual situation, and I’ll be glad to help!