I had many questions before I started the college application process, and at times it was difficult to find the answer. Bearing that in mind, I have compiled a list of questions that I remember having, and answered them to the best of my ability with my newfound knowledge. Juniors, good luck in your college application process next year!
Q: Should I apply early decision to a college?
A: This depends on your individual situation. There are two main things to consider. First, are you and your family confident that you will be able to afford tuition at wherever you are considering applying? It is a good idea to use the financial aid calculator that the college provides on its website to make sure, and reach out to their financial aid office if you have any questions. Secondly, are you absolutely sure that you want to go? Would you choose this school over any other school you got into? Have you visited? If you answered yes to all of these questions, early decision could be right for you. However, in some situations, students could benefit from waiting to apply regular decision, or alternatively, early decision II (deadline in January). If you had lower grades in junior year, it could be beneficial for colleges to receive your first semester senior year grades.
Q: Do I have a better chance at getting in early decision to a college?
A: Yes and no. If you look at percentages, you will notice that most colleges have higher acceptance rates for early decision. Take this with a grain of salt. If you are unqualified for a school during regular decision, you will still be unqualified during early decision. Pools of applicants for early decision are typically more self-selecting as well. Some colleges take up to half of their incoming class from early decision, and since there is a much smaller pool of applicants, the acceptance rate is higher. The advantage of early decision if you are qualified for that school is that you would be a big fish in a smaller sea, whereas in regular decision, you would be a big fish in a very large sea.
Q: How many colleges should I apply to?
A: This depends on where you are applying to college. If you are applying to more competitive schools (acceptance rates under about 35 percent, depending on who you ask), you will want to apply to more schools than people who are applying to schools that are not very selective, because your acceptances, waitlists, or rejections will come down to luck in some situations. If you are applying to very competitive schools, this is what I would recommend:
About 2 safety schools: These are schools that you are VERY confident that you will be accepted into. Your stats (GPA and standardized test scores) should be well above average, and the school should have a fairly high acceptance rate. You may want to look on Naviance and make sure that other students from IHS with similar stats to you have been accepted. If you need help doing this, contact your guidance counselor.
Four to six target schools: These are schools that you feel you have a relatively good chance of getting into. Your stats are around average or above average for the school.
NOTE: if a school has an acceptance rate of below 25 percent, it is not a target school, no matter who you are (well, maybe if you cured cancer, I would make an exception). There are too many variables to make this a viable option. The one exception to this would be if you have a legacy at a certain school or a parent working on the faculty.
Five to eight reach schools: These are the schools of your dreams. They are hard to get into, so it is worth applying to many in order to boost your chances.
Q: How can I make myself appealing to colleges?
A: One of the most important things to do to make yourself appealing to colleges is to develop a general theme of your application. Engage in activities that demonstrate your passion, and delve deeply into your roles within these activities, as opposed to lightly engaging in many many activities. If you are passionate about the environment, join related clubs. If you are passionate about world affairs, join Model UN, international clubs, and some community service global outreach organizations. Then, you will have a cohesive topic to focus on in your college applications. Of course, it is also important to maintain high grades in challenging courses and do well on standardized tests. But, in the modern day and age, those two things alone are not enough to get you into a top college.
Freshmen and sophomores, if you have not started doing extracurriculars, now is the time! Juniors, remember to continue with your extracurriculars and take on leadership positions.
Q: When should I start on my college applications?
A: I would recommend completing the Common Application over the summer after junior year, including your essay. Colleges generally have supplements, and you will want ample time during the year to work on those while you are also balancing your regular course load.
Q: What resources do I have to help me with the application process?
A: There are people at IHS that will help you during the application process! I would highly recommend bringing your common application essay and supplements to the reading and writing lab. If you have questions about the application process, reach out to a teacher, or make an appointment with your guidance counselor. Guidance counselors can be incredibly helpful during this process and are happy to meet with you outside of your required appointments.
Q: Who should I ask for a recommendation?
A: Ask teachers who know you as a person well for recommendations. You do not have to exclusively ask teachers who taught classes that you excelled in for recommendations. If there was a class that you struggled in but you reached out for help throughout the year and made an effort to do your best, this teacher could be a good one to ask. Colleges want to see that you are taking advantage of your resources during a challenging course and working hard to succeed, even if you didn’t end up with an A.
Q: How many schools should I visit?
A: As many as you can! I thought that I wouldn’t like urban campuses because I didn’t enjoy New York University, but I discovered a bit too late that I actually really liked them as long as they had a clearly defined campus with greenspace. I was also convinced I would hate big schools, which, again, turned out to be false. Visit a wide variety of schools and a wide variety of settings, because you will likely be surprised by what you end up liking.
Q: Any other advice?
A: Sometimes, life gets in the way of school. If you dealt with a health problem, family situation, or anything else that impacted your performance at school, let colleges know in your application! They understand that sometimes things happen that are out of your control. In fact, there is a section in the common application that asks if you have anything else you’d like to add, and this is the perfect place to explain anything that caused a dip in your grades.