Keep Calm, College on

As the year comes to a close, Seniors are announcing their college decisions while Juniors don’t know where to start. Although the college application process is stressful, a timeline could help students get ahead of their tasks and avoid drama. 

Evaluate your Priorities May Junior year 

What everyone looks for in a college is very different. Students may want to think about their major and the programs that correlate with it. In addition, some students wish to leave the state while others are uncomfortable with leaving the city. One of the larger decisions regards whether or not a student wants to be in an intimate private school or a large public school environment. All of these factors will help determine your college list. 

Make a College list for June Junior Year 

For a college list, it is important to diversify your choices in terms of academic prowess. While Samo students are very high achieving it is still necessary to have a backup plan if they plan to attend a more prestigious school. It is helpful to categorize the schools into three groups: reach, meet, and safety. Reach schools would have lower acceptance rates while meet and safety may be easier to gain acceptance to. For some schools, students should research the acceptance rates for their specific major. For example, while Chapman has an overall acceptance rate of 60 percent their film school only accepts eight percent of applicants. 

Meet with personal or school college counselors in Aug. Senior Year 

Samo has three college counselors Ernesto Flores, Rosa Mejia, and Julie Honda. All three of  the counselors are here to help students achieve their goals. In addition to appointments, they have open flex times and also allow students to come in at lunch or after school for quick questions. However, they each have many students and responsibilities so for formal appointments it is better to sign up ahead of time. 

Begin drafting your main essays in Aug./Sept.

Most schools require the Common application in which applicants write a 600-word personal statement. For UCs however, applicants submit four personal insight question responses for evaluation. The UC responses are usually more technical while the personal statement should be more of a narrative. This is a very important change for students to let the admissions officers know more about them, their high school experiences, and their personal or academic goals. Samo has a writing center flex time that students can sign up for if they need extra help. 

Financial Aid Nov. 

Financial Aid can be one of the more stressful parts of the college process partly because of the strict deadlines. It is recommended that students get ahead of this process so they can focus on other parts of their actual application. Different colleges have different forms that you must submit and fill out usually with a variety of dates. Many private schools require the CSS Profile to gain more information on student needs while public schools usually only require FAFSA. In addition, it is important for students to search for private scholarships on websites such as Scholarship Owl, Bold.org, or Fastweb. 

Draft the smaller supplemental essays in Dec.

Supplemental essays are unique to each college you apply to. These questions provide more depth to your application, particularly on why you want to attend their institution or study your major. While these questions play a factor in determining your admission, they are not a driving point in the application process and are relatively straightforward and short.

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