1. Lists, lists, and more lists. As you know, I love making lists. I make them for everything. Writing lists makes things so much easier when you are applying to multiple schools and scholarships all at the same time. Make a list of all the things that need to get completed and all the information that you need. Also on these lists, write down how much time you will need to commit to each of these tasks. When you are finished with a task, be sure to check it off so you know that you have finished it!
2. Research, Tour, Interview. Before you start touring schools, research them. If your brother's friend's cousin goes to a school and loves it there is a possibility that you might hate it. So before you make the trek all the way out to visit a school that you have no desire of attending, research it first. Start large and then narrow your search. I knew that I wanted a small school, in New England with the opportunity for me to switch majors if need be. I knew I wanted to be in a college town with an active community. The next step once you have narrowed down your choices is to tour. Being a tour guide, I cannot tell you enough about the importance of a college visit. One thing that we do here at SMC is waive your application fee and give you an $1,000 a year grant if you come take a tour. If that isn't incentive enough to come visit then I don't know what is! Finally, if you find yourself really interested in a school, schedule an interview with an admissions counselor. This will help with answering all your questions as well as allowing the admissions counselor to put a face to an application. (Interested in visiting SMC? Schedule a tour HERE!)
3. Start early. I cannot stress this enough. A lot of people under estimate the amount of time it takes to complete the college application process. Starting early will ensure that you have ample time to complete all the things that you need to get done in a reasonable amount of time. Tip: ask for letters of recommendation at least 2 months in advance. The people you ask to write the letters have a life too! Asking them 2 months in advance gives them time to write a perfect letter of recommendation for you.
4. Avoid common mistakes. There Are a few common mistakes that you should avoid when filling out a college application.
-Don't pretend to be someone you are not. Sure, I can say I'm Beyonce, but I am not. Filling up your resume with a billion things that you have done is not going to help you. At SMC we say it is better to have a few things that you are really involved and passionate in rather than a thousand little things.
-Don't forget to proofread. You fill out a ton of applications and all of us make mistakes, but DO NOT accidentally use the wrong school's name in your application. It happens so to eliminate the possibility of that have a friend, teacher or parent read everything before you send anything it.
-Clean up social media sites. Take the time to set all of your accounts to private during the application process. Just do it. I promise.
-Don't leave the dreaded personal essay for the last minute. It is pretty much the most important part of your application because it gives you a chance to tell admissions counselors something about you rather than your GPA, classes or personal background. It is really daunting, but once you get a first draft written, you are golden. Start that draft early so you have time to make changes and revise. You want this to be the best essay you have ever written and that takes time. So take that time. I promise you will not regret it!
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| Scary. I know. But don't worry. I am here to help! (via) |
5. Don't stress. After everything is complete, T's are crossed and your signature is signed, there is nothing you can really do. Once you hand everything in, don't stress. Things happen for a reason. If you don't get into your top choice, it is not the end of the world. There are thousands of amazing colleges in this country and any of them would be happy to have you as a student. If you put as much effort as you could into your application, you should have nothing to worry about.
Hope this helps and good luck on all of your application endeavors! Want more tips about the college application process? Let me know!
Love,
Susanna
P.S- many of you have been wondering how rugby is going this season. Rugby is going AMAZING so far! We are currently 3-0 in our league. We have a large team this season with numbers close to 50 girls. Yesterday we played Bentley and won 101-0. Annnnddd.... I SCORED MY FIRST TRY! YAY! As always, you can track our team on our Facebook Page HERE!
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| yea know, just casually stiff-arming a girl. |
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