College Application Guide

College Application Guide​

There are many steps and procedures which you should follow when applying to college. Most of what you do is going to be on this list and should allow you to successfully complete and submit your application properly. I haven't applied to college myself, so this isn't a primary source, but I assisted my sister in the application process greatly and feel that I have an adequate knowledge of the process.

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Deadlines
There are many deadlines which you will have to be aware of. Some of these deadlines will be for early decision 1, early action, and regular decision. I will briefly explain these deadlines below. There is no specified date for applications to be due because every school has their own specified application due dates. For instance; if you're applying to Cornell the regular decision deadline might be January 1st, but the regular decision deadline for Delaware might be February 1st.​

• Early Decision 1- this is a deadline which can be different for every school. It's basically a binding agreement that if you are accepted you must attend that school in the fall.

• Early Action- this is basically early decision without the binding agreement. If you decide to apply early action you will just find out earlier than you normally would.

• Regular Decision- This is the basic deadline for applications. If you miss this date you will be unable to apply to that specific college.

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Grades
As you may know there are certain standards in terms of grades for every college. You must have multiple documents sent out to the colleges which you are applying to. Usually you're guidance counselor will do this for you, but you must pay your school a small fee, usually $3-7 per envelope. Halfway through the year, or each quarter, you will need to send out your grades.​

• Transcript- this is a document, usually sent to admissions in a manila envelope, with all your information from high school including grades, college credits taken, courses throughout all four years, etc.

• Midyear Grades- you will need to do this portion of the application through your college office or guidance counselor. You might have to pay a fee, but my sister said she never had to. This process is just so the colleges can continue to track your progress effectively.

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Standardized Test Scores​

Most schools require that you take the SAT, so the first thing you must do is complete the test. The SAT is about 4 hours long and can be taken at your local public school. After you have completed taking the SAT you must send the SAT to your schools. You might think the scores automatically send to the schools which have applied to, but you must pay a fee to have them sent, which I believe is something like $12.​

• SAT Reasoning Test- instead of sitting here and explaining all the credentials of the SAT, just visit www.collegeboard.com, where you can learn more about the test.

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Recommendations​

These are mandatory for every college. You must get recommendations from 2 teachers and usually one from your guidance counselor, which he/she does automatically.​

• Recommendation Letters- these letters are essential in your chances of acceptance into a specific college. You must pick teachers which you know will "talk you up" this way the admissions counsel knows the type of student they are getting. You will usually need to provide your specified teacher with an envelope with your name on the inside along with all the proper addresses and stamps on it. Usually they take 2-3 weeks to complete but you should call the admissions office to make sure they've received them.

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The Common Application​

You can apply to almost every school through the common application which can be found online. Inside of the common application you must fill out extensive amounts of information about yourself and your parents. You will also have to fill out an essay which I will explain below. Once you have completed everything you can submit it. The main advantage of using the common application is that you can send the same application to every school instead of using multiple separate applications. Some applications have simple supplemental applications which can be completed within 10 minutes and ask for your social security number, name, address, etc.​

• Essays- with the common application you will only have to submit one essay and I recommend the topic of your choice. You should write your essay by yourself, maybe with a small amount of assistance. Once you have completed your essay you should have it reviewed by two people which should include the English chairperson at your school.

• Resume- there is a portion where you can input additional information and for this section I would submit a resume. This should include some activities which you partake in, places of work, contacts, etc. I'm sure there have been guides created on resumes.

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Financial Aid Forms​

This is by far the most excruciating process of all. There are multiple forms and documentation that you will need in order to receive a financial aid statement. Financial Aid is basically money issued from the school which you will not have to pay back (most of the time). There are grants which don't have to be paid back and loans which are expected to be repaid. Usually you will get a mix of the two, but it's all based upon your families income. There is one specific form which you will need to fill out which is known as the FAFSA (Federal Application For Student Aid). This is the documentation which most schools require. You may also need to mail something known as the CSS Profile, this I cannot elaborate on because I'm not sure what it is and what it entails.​

• FAFSA- this form can be found at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You will have to fill out all specific parts of information which you are going to need yours and your parents tax returns. If you don't work, then you can make a raw estimate on what your net income was. Most of your financial aid will be from FAFSA. There is a deadline for the FAFSA which I am unaware of because it varies each year. Each year you are going to have to send in a new application to FAFSA to determine what your aid package will be. You want to get this form in as soon as possible because money is finite and the sooner it's in, the more likely you will get financial aid.

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*Hope that this guide could help and if there are any questions just let me know. If you can follow this guide and complete the entire checklist you should be all set for college, but remember to call the admissions office to make sure your file is completed.*​

 

nicely done

 

pretty good guide, nice topic and pics. 7/10