How to Apply for College
Applying for college is an important step in planning for your future. A higher education can open many doors for you in your future career. In this week’s post from The Success Series, we’ll review how to apply for college. Post-high school plans…initiate!
Breaking Down the Basics
Below, we’ll review the different steps in the college application process. Starting off with your school search, maintaining your grades, and scoring well on the ACT or SAT, these are all things that you can prepare for now.
Starting Your Search
When you start your school search, it is imperative that you start early and think specifics. Are you eager to attend a large state university, or a small, private college? Do you have a certain major in mind? As much as you may want to go out of state, a local school may have program requirements that are more aligned with what you’re looking for your future career.
Maintaining Your Grades
While it may seem common knowledge to some students, we want to explicitly call out the importance of maintaining good grades throughout high school. Depending on the schools you apply to, they may each have different requirements regarding your overall GPA (Grade Point Average).
Take the ACT or SAT
In some cases, schools will only require the ACT or the SAT. However, some require both. Most of the time, they only ask for your highest score, so the earlier you begin preparation the better. Lastly, if you’re not interested in taking prep courses, there are many workbooks available with sample questions and practice tests.
Write an Awesome Application Essay
Generally speaking, college applications first require good grades and a decent test score, but also an application essay. This essay can be your opportunity to express your honest, authentic self. Additionally, you can highlight any extracurricular activities or groups you’re in.
Ask for Letters of Recommendation
Another key point of college application is the recommendation letter. The first thing to remember is that you want the letter to be able to describe both your work ethic and personality. Ideally, if you have a teacher you really connected with, we encourage you to ask them early (and thank them!) for their efforts.
Ask for a Quality Check
For combating fear that you missed something, we recommend having someone look over your application in full – perhaps a school guidance counselor – before you click the “Submit” button. Not only will this help you to identify potential errors or issues, it will help ease any feelings of anxiety related to your application.
Submitting Your Application
Now that you’ve identified your school priorities, maintained your GPA, planned to take or have taken the ACT/SAT, written your essay, gotten recommendation letters, and had an extra review…it’s finally time to submit your application! In order to know whether or not you were accepted, keep an eye on your physical – and digital – mailbox. Last but not least, apply to more than one school in the case that you are not accepted to your preferred university.
Questions, comments? Let us know in the comments below.
Resources & Further Reading
CommonApp. (n.d.). Application guide for first-time students. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.commonapp.org/apply/first-time-students
How to apply to college: A step-by-step guide. (2021, April 2). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.northwestu.edu/blog/how-to-apply-to-college-a-step-by-step-guide
Ross, K. M., & Moody, J. (2020, October 16). Your complete guide to college applications. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/college-application-process