With many colleges holding online classes come Fall or others introducing modified schedules, September will not see the traditional arrival of incoming freshman. What are their options? This article sheds a bit of light on what some recently graduated high school seniors will be doing.
While our normal lives are temporarily on hold due to the coronavirus, the college application process continues with more and more colleges joining the group of schools that no longer require an SAT or ACT score from candidates. In other words, they are test-optional.
Heads up though because some of these colleges are going test-optional only temporarily, some permanently, and others for a trial period of several years. Whatever the length of time, please note that admission to any test-optional school is not necessarily easier because they don’t require test scores.
More information is here.
‘How many colleges should I apply to?”
It’s the question asked every year by high school seniors beginning the college application process. Today’s competitive college application environment and low acceptance rates have resulted in students fearful of not being accepted anywhere applying to ever larger numbers of schools in a misguided illusion that this approach will produce more letters of admission. Actually, the end result is just more stress and not necessarily better quality choices.
Planning ahead is the first most important step to creating a strong application. Students who take the time to create a well-balanced college list of schools that fit their academic and personal profile have a big advantage over others that have taken short cuts to arrive at their list. Each school should be carefully vetted and considered for its academics, size, campus culture and tuition, among other things.
The introduction of the Common App has further streamlined the application process by making it very easy to apply to multiple colleges, but even they have set the limit at 20 colleges. And let’s not forget the additional time that is needed to write the personal statement and supplemental essays often required by the more selective schools. Considering an Honors Program?? That’ll be another few essays to write.
Once ready, students must pay to submit their applications with fees ranging from $0 for less selective colleges and up to $75 per for the more selective colleges and the Ivy Leagues. The Common Black College Application still charges only $35 to apply to 36 HBCU schools. Once completed these admission fees, along with cost of taking the SAT/ACT several times and sending the score reports, add up very quickly.
So our answer to this annual question is to apply to no more than twelve (12) reach, target & safety schools. Applicants should always make sure that the list is well balanced, not top or bottom heavy, and that they would be happy and able to afford attending ANY school on their list, regardless of its selectivity. A perfect SAT/ACT score or high GPA are not enough. Strong applicants have a solid, well-rounded profile made up of a rigorous transcript, high GPA/class rank, solid scores & quality extra curriculars. No school with an admission rate in the single digits should be considered a safety, by any student. A well thought out application process will result in a student having good options to pick from when deciding which college to attend.
Labor Day marks the end of the summer, the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, and rising high school seniors will soon all be involved in starting their college applications. All applicants, regardless of their academic profile, will be following the same steps in the college application process; fine tuning what their final college list will look like, selecting the topic of their college essay, whether to apply early or regular decision, and so on.
I can’t stress enough that the time put in at this end of the application process will pay dividends come next Spring. Students who do their research and carefully consider all the criteria that is important to them will eliminate a lot of doubt later on in the process.
In review, the three most critical pieces of information needed to identify the best suited schools are: the transcript, GPA/class rank and SAT/ACT scores. Each college ranks the importance of these three elements, and others, differently so make sure to check College Board for your schools policies and admission philosophies.
Other steps every applicant should make sure they have considered are as follows:
• Retake the SAT/ACT - Students should be encouraged to take either, or both tests, at least twice, especially if not happy with the first scores. They are different so read up and decide which one is best suited to you. Don't forget to take advantage of the four FREE test scores that come with each registration. This is especially important for low income applicants and remember to check to see if you are eligible for fee waivers.
• Which application to use? Based on the colleges on the final list the Common App might not be the best applications.
The Common App is accepted by over 900 colleges both nationally and internationally. First- time applicants and transfer students will be guided through the application process with the help of its multiple tutorials and tools. Capped at 20 applications, the Common App has become the go-to app for students applying to college.
Students who would like to apply to a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) can also use the Black Common App. Pay only $35 to apply to all the colleges that make up this group.
An alternative to the Common App, the Coalition Application is accepted by approximately 140 colleges that all meet the same criteria: affordable tuition, need-based aid, and a 6 yr graduation rate of 70% or higher. Not sure which you should use? See what the differences are here.
Interested in going to college in California? Then you will need to fill out the University of California application. Review this application carefully as the application requirements are slightly different and there are additional essays to write. Note: California now offers FREE tuition to community college for qualified in-state applicants.
• College List - Take the time to create a well-balanced college list of no more than a dozen reach, target and safety schools. More is not necessarily better and application fees add up quickly so do your due diligence. An applicant should be happy to attend any of the schools they apply to regardless if it is a safety, target or reach.
• College Essay - This year's essay prompts are unchanged from 2018-2019. Highly selective schools and honors programs often ask for supplemental essays, so don't forget to check. Do not take these supplementary essays lightly because they do serve a purpose and don't let the small word count limit fool you. They take time to write properly and are one of the few opportunities in the applicant process where student’s can use their own voice.
• Letters of Recommendation - If you haven't yet selected which teacher/coach/mentor will be writing your letters of recommendation now is the time to reach out and ask. But don't ask just anyone! Schools that look at the character of the applicant rely heavily on these letters, so pick wisely.
• International Students - Representing a larger percentage of the student population on campuses across the country, these students must start their application process earlier in order to accomplish the additional steps necessary.
• Parental Role in the Application Process - Parents are implicated in the college application process, but their roles are well defined and should be respected.
Unfortunately, some students have chosen to stretch the truth, or worse, on their college applications so schools now do verify all the information submitted by applicants throughout the application process. They have also been known to check a student’s social media profile to see if the student’s character is a good fit for their campus.
Today's college applicant has two main tools - College Board and Naviance to help them stay on task during the college application process, and with Early Decision, Early Action and Priority application deadlines fast approaching - some as early as Oct 15th - rising high school seniors no longer have the luxury of time when it comes to their college applications. It’s not too early to start!
The 2019-2020 Common App essay prompts remain the same as last year’s, offering students a myriad of ways to tell their story. But the college essay continues to cause much stress and anxiety among college applicants, and it shouldn’t. The only question is will these applicants pick a topic that will allow them to tell their story properly.
All too often students either select or are given poor advice by those around them about which topic would make a strong essay. The result is an essay that is mediocre, that doesn’t show off the student in a positive light, and makes no impression on the admission officers. These individuals can spot an essay written by someone other than the applicant a mile away and they read thousands of essays every day so applicants should write something that they will remember.
The most common error students make is thinking they know what the admission officers want to read. Trust me, what they want to read is an essay that tells an interesting story about the student, and the last thing a student should do is write it using the steps learned in English class: introduction, a few points, conclusion. Boring! Rather, they should pretend they’re writing a journal entry or a letter to a dear friend. These tend to be more open, honest pieces that reveal the personality of the writer.
I find that selecting the topic is the hardest part and one of the best places to start is to think about what not to write about. Begin by avoiding the sports essay about scoring the winning goal in the tournament or that volunteer service trip to a third world country. Important to the applicant, for sure, but so overused. An essay that is a reformatted resume is also not a good idea because all that information should already be in the application. Click here for other topics to steer clear of.
Rather, students should look for an incident or experience that will allow them to reveal something about themselves that goes beyond the grades, extra curricular activities and all other information that has already been presented. The character of the student, how they think, react to a given situation, etc. should shine through in this essay. But, similar to an English class essay, there should be no misspelled words, grammar and sentence structure should be good, and it should be truthful. The word count is still 650 words which doesn’t sound like much, but is plenty to tell a good story if the topic is strong. Hint: Once the topic is chosen, I allow my students to write to their heart’s content till the story is down on paper, editing to the required word count afterwards. Focusing on the word count at the beginning is a perfect way to create writer’s block.
A college essay, while not the sole piece of an application, can be a deal breaker or tip the scales in favor of the candidate, and cannot be written in one sitting. Applicants should give themselves time to write their essay and they shouldn’t hesitate to have others proofread it, but don’t ask too many people. Everyone has an opinion and in short order the applicant will be all confused. Select just one or two, don’t feel obliged to take all the advice given and always make sure that the voice that comes through at the end is that of the applicant.
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