Applying to college is one of the most exciting yet nerve wrecking experiences you'll face in life. Here's a few tips that'll help you get through the process!
1. Take your SAT’s early
Taking your exams early has its perks! Try to take your SAT’s your junior year of high school so that if you’re not happy with your score, you can take them again until you are. If you take them your senior year, make sure you take them early. This allows you to apply to schools early and get an early response!
2. Apply early
Applying to colleges early is extremely important! This gives the schools a chance to sit down and look at your files with time and helps them make a decision early!
3. Choose your schools wisely
I know, there’s so many schools you want to apply to but keep in mind, that applying to too many schools, especially to ones that you’re not really interested in is not a very smart idea. It can get crazy keeping up with sending documents to the schools and often you can even forget to the ones you applied to!
4. Campus visits
Visiting the campuses of the schools you’re applying to is not only important, but it’s a great experience! It gives you a taste of what life is like at that school, what the school offers and shows you the type of environment you’ll be living in for the next four years.
5. Fill our your FAFSA
So you probably know this already, but yes basically every college student is broke and so here’s where FAFSA comes in! This is your application for financial aid! It’s important to fill this out ASAP! The earlier you fill it out, the better. This helps schools decide your package early, and also may help you make a choice on what school you’d be attending.
6. Apply for scholarships
As I said before, filling out your FAFSA is important because MONEY, but you’re also going to need to apply for scholarships just in case! There’s so many scholarships to choose from, like essay-based and then there’s the ones where you just apply and BOOM. You win. Don’t be scared to search the internet for them! It’ll be worth it!
7. Consider the Common App
This is going to be your best friend(if you decide to use it) during the application process. It’s one application for mostly every school you can think of! Saves you a whole lot of stress and will probably get you so application fees waived! Woo!
8. Befriend your counselor/ admissions
Throughout this process, there will be people who will try to help you but no one will help more than your guidance counselor and your admissions counselors. They have all the knowledge on what colleges require and this is a plus for you. Therefore, build a good relationship with them and direct all your questions about college to them! They’re like a walking human college encyclopedia (not literally but literally).
Although this is a very stressful time for anyone, it all pays off in the end. I hope these tips can be useful to any of you applying!
