My College Experience/Tips
Juniors: Don’t let the entire college process intimidate you. It is not as challenging as it may seem. However, there are some steps to take that will assure that you have a stress-free experience while choosing your college.
My first tip of advice is to be proactive with your schools. What does this mean? Take the necessary steps that will help you jump off of your application. One way to do this involves the standardized tests. Yes, we can all agree that SATs and ACTs are extremely tedious and annoying, but they are important part of the application. Personally, I took the SATs, SAT Subject Tests, and ACT at least one time to keep my options open. Leave no stones unturned; you don’t want to leave yourself wondering “What if I did anything else?”
Also, what I found extremely useful was to stay in touch with your admissions counselor. Interview, e-mail, or speak with any representative that you come in contact with. You want to emphasize your desire to attend a school, because an applicant’s level of interest is extremely important to some school.
In addition, I suggest that you begin the process early. Begin looking at colleges as soon as possible to get a feel for what your safety, target, and reach schools will be. This will allow you to begin filling out applications early, which I strongly recommend. Finish all of your applications and supplements before the beginning of school, so that you will be able to have your essays proofread in plenty of time before the deadlines. Also, get teacher recommendations as quick as you can. They will stack up with other recommendations to write, so make sure that they get to yours first.
