College Application Process

November 18, 2008 – 2:39 pm

I usually run in to people that are students at community colleges (also known as City Colleges in Chicago) or are planning to attend a community college, and I try to give tips and suggestions from my personal experience and observations.

I find it hard to believe that a great number of students that attend a community college have little sense of direction and don’t utilize the benefits of attending such a college as they should. I have known people that attend community colleges and just stay in there for years and years on, taking a junk load of classes.

In a later post, I am going to provide some guidance to students considering attending a community college in hopes that it will benefit your career - and pocket. But for now I will provide a brief overview of the entire college application process.

If you have any questions, comments or need additional help or guidance, feel free to add it to this post, and I will do my best to address them as soon as I can.

First and foremost, maintain your grade point average (GPA) throughout your high school ‘career’. Many a students have been lackluster in the first 2 years of high school, only to find out that those grades hurt you the most when you apply for colleges or financial aid/scholarships. This is because the colleges look at the first 3 years of high school record, and although you may be on track to fair well in your senior year, you will not have the opportunity to present those grades to colleges (since you will apply to colleges at the end of junior year/beginning of senior year).

Sophomore Year:

In your sophomore year, start to think about what you like and what you don’t like. Don’t stress too much about it though, as long as you have given it some thought. Based on those thoughts, you should take the electives that you think you have interest in, in the junior and senior year. For example, I took an Accounting class in my senior year. I could have taken it in my junior year and taken the 2nd level accounting class in my senior year but I did not think of it in advance.

Junior Year:

When you are a junior in high school you should start exploring college opportunities. You don’t have to have a career in mind but have some sense of a career - what interests you more? , what fields do you like to see yourself in? This should involve talking to your parents, siblings, college counselor, your teacher or just about anyone. Talking to elders will help you narrow down choices. Remember, you don’t have to stick with the decision you make now, what matters is that you have some sense of what you would like to do in the future. Note that this is similar to what I mentioned in step#2 above, but more narrow thoughts.
Along with barnstorming the careers, browse around on websites of colleges and universities. Find websites that provide tips and suggestions for the application process, scholarships, financial aid, etc. Get an idea of what colleges require - minimum grade point average (GPA) requirements, essay requirements, standardized test scores, residency requirements, tuition etc
Once you have short-listed a few careers and majors, find out which colleges and universities offer those majors. Many factors should be considered when narrowing a list of colleges to apply - location, tuition (public universities are less expensive then private universities), size of the school, sports etc. All these factors should weigh-in when you choose your initial list of colleges.
Schedule your standardized tests (ACT, SAT etc). I recommend taking these tests in the first half of your junior year so you will have ample time to retake it if you need to. Have the scores sent to the short-listed schools (identified in the next step).

Senior Year:

You should short-list the colleges that you are interested in, in the first half of your senior year. Discuss your choices with your college counselor or anyone else that you feel comfortable with. Although it is ok to talk amongst your friends, it is advisable to also have a discussion with elders (your parents?), as they will be in a situation where they have gone through this process.
Make a list of all colleges that you plan to apply to, along with their application deadlines. Prioritize tasks according to the deadlines. Most of the time you can use the same recommendation letters and essays. Pay attention to what the application asks; do not generalize answers across all the applications.
Scout scholarships from your college counselor or searching online. Scholarships can be need-based or merit-based. You can apply to both of them, as long as you satisfy the application criteria.
Send your application materials at least 2 weeks before the deadline. Double check your materials for completeness and accuracy. Always always proofread your essays.

Again, this is a very brief overview of college application process in my words. You can always email me for more questions or leave comments below.

College Board has a somewhat detailed guideline here.

Here are some useful links to aid in your application, scholarship and financial aid search.

College Board - Very comprehensive resource on everything college

FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid

FastWeb: Scholarships, Financial Aid and Colleges

College Search – Find Your Colleges and Universities with Petersons

Paying for College Student Resource Guide - A very comprehensive guide on thousands of scholarships opportunities

Free scholarship search