"If the high school senior in your home understands the value of pursuing higher education and family discussions have been centered lately on the SAT or ACT college essays, completing applications and the like, congratulations. After all, it's October, the height of the college application season, and these are the right discussions to be having! You can be a positive partner in the application process, helping your child keep track of details and focus on what's important.
By this point in the fall, students should have considerable research underway into college options. They should be identifying institutions that best suit their academic and personal goals, and they should be in the process of whittling their final application lists to 6-9 schools at most. At least two of the colleges on that final list should be highly likely to offer admission, based on academic criteria and selectivity ratio. Students should also have a good start on their application work.
When approaching applications, a little introspection is in order for students: What do I feel my greatest accomplishments and talents are? What will I bring to a campus community? Applications should help an admission committee gain a clear understanding of the student's strengths and potential contributions.
One way to accomplish this is in listing and describing extracurricular activities, accomplishments and honors: students should consider everything they've done in the high school years important. Help the reader digest information easily: if an activity or organization name is not self-descriptive, add a brief description.
Every opportunity to write for an application, whether it is a short answer response or main essay, is vitally important. Students should brainstorm interesting topics, outline before writing, and make sure final results showcase their writing at its best. These requests for written responses are not meant as arcane torture methods; they are meant to elicit text that helps the admission committee know more about the individual at hand.
Before submitting applications, final work must be proofread — not only by the student but also by a family member or friend with strong editing skills. Timing is also important: students whose applications arrive in admission offices well ahead of published deadlines are considered motivated self-starters. Note that early action or early decision deadlines are typically before Thanksgiving, and many are around the corner (November 1). Step up the application work timetable accordingly.
Many colleges seek additional perspectives and ask for teacher recommendations to supplement information provided by students. If so, students should think carefully about which academic core instructor(s) would write most enthusiastically about academic accomplishments and character traits. It's always a good idea to provide plenty of lead time before application due dates.
If a counselor recommendation is also required, the student should notify the counselor well in advance of the due date. This recommendation will be sent to the college along with the official transcript, which in turn is generally accompanied by the high school's profile. The transcript provides a record of all courses taken in grades 9-12, with honors and AP courses so noted, and it provides a full accounting of grades in each term as well as a cumulative grade point average and rank in class if assigned. No document is more important than this one in the application file.
Since there is so much variation among high schools in grading policies and rigor of curriculum, most colleges still require official reports of the SAT or ACT, and some require SAT Subject Tests as well. Students should request official reports via the testing agencies' Web sites. It is not too late for seniors to retake these tests — or take them for the first time — and have results reported to colleges.
When all of these aspects of applying have been completed, keep track of notices received from colleges regarding completion status. If anything is deemed missing, even if you think (or know!) it's been sent, be sure the college receives that missing piece as soon as possible. If several weeks pass after submitting an application without any word from the college regarding completion, students should check with the admission office, either online or by phone, to see where things stand.
In my experience on college admission committees, the best applications did more than meet the deadline: they truly carried the students' voice, personality and accomplishments. Applying to college entails attention to detail and a willingness to set one's normal modesty aside; if students have chosen colleges with care, they will want to do all they can to present their strengths and accomplishments effectively in their applications. Remember that the college application process is not about "winning" a space; it is about enabling the best possible match between student and institution. Good luck to this year's applicants!
Jane S. Shropshire guides students and families through the college search process, drawing on over a decade of college admission experience. Send questions or suggestions to JShrop@att.net or visit Shropshire Educational Consulting, LLC at www.ShropEd.net.