The College Application

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The College Application What Should I Know?
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FAST FACT

• Higher education attainment in young adults, ages
  25-34, is associated with higher median earnings.
• Source U.S. Department of Education, National
  Center for Education Statistics (2012)
• Reported Average Earnings for Young Adults in
  Year 2010
• Bachelors Degree 45,000
• Associates Degree 37,000
• High School Diploma 29,900
• No HS Diploma or equivalent 21,000

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Where Do I Begin?

• Much of the college application process is in the
  planning. The first step is for parents and
  students to talk about what the expectations and
  the possibilities are.

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What do colleges expect?

• Challenging course work
• A good GPA/test score combination
• A strong senior year
• Community involvement
• Leadership skills
• Special skills or talents
• An interest in their institutions

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Do your research!

• What are your career goals?
• Go to sites like www.collegeboard.com to do a
  college search.
• If you can, visit the colleges that interest you
  at least a virtual tour.
• If you plan to major in performance arts, start
  thinking about auditions or portfolios.
• If youre interested in participating in college
  sports, be sure to register with the NCAA
  Eligibility Center in the spring of your junior
  year.

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College Admission Tests

• After you have done your research and you know
  admission requirements for your
  college/university you have to decide which
  entrance exam you should take- SAT or ACT.

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Admission Options

• Four year institutions generally offer the
  following admission options
• Early Admission A student of superior ability
  is admitted into college courses and programs
  before completing high school.
• Early Decision A student declares a
  first-choice college, requests that the college
  theyve decided on ensures his/her acceptance
  early, and then s/he agrees to enroll if
  accepted. This is a binding contract! Students
  must rescind other offers!
• Early Action Similar to Early Decision, but if
  a student is accepted, he or she has until the
  regular admission deadline to decide whether or
  not to attend.
• Regular Admission This is the most common
  option offered to students. A deadline is set
  when all applications must be received, and all
  notifications are sent out at the same time.

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Now you are ready to do your College Applications

• Texas Common Application use this application to
  apply to all Texas public colleges and
  universities www.applytexas.org
• The Common Application use this application to
  apply to over 302 selective colleges and
  universities (including Austin College, SMU,
  Southwestern, TCU, Trinity and Rice)
  www.commonapp.org
• Less than 2 of colleges use paper applications,
  if yours is one of them then download the
  application.

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Parts of the Application

• Student Section
• School Section
• Teacher Recommendation Section
• Mid-Year Report
• Note Not all applications will have ALL of
  these sections

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Application Components

• Required Items
• Application
• Fee
• - FEE WAIVERS
• SAT/ACT Scores
• Official Transcript

• Additional Items
• Essay
• Letters of Recommendation
• Updated Resume
• Portfolio
• Interview

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Some Helpful Hints

• Make a copy of the application and do a draft
• Apply on-line if possible
• Explain your activities
• Neatness counts
• Ask someone to proofread spelling, grammar,
  etc.
• Take your time this is important!!
• Meet all deadlines!

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The Student Section

• Personal Data
• Family Information
• Educational Data
• Test Information
• Senior Year Courses
• Activities/Awards
• Essays
• Resume

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The School Section

• Transcript
• School Report/Counselor Section
• -- Rank/GPA
• -- Rating of Curriculum
• -- If Required Recommendation
• -- Mid-Year Report Not required by all schools

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Teacher Section

• Background Information/Context
• Recommendation (academic and personal
  characteristics, motivation, self-confidence,
  independence, written expression of ideas, work
  habits, potential for growth)
• Remember to give your teachers/counselors three
  weeks to write a letter of recommendation
• Give the request directly to the person, do not
  put in their mailbox or leave on their desk.

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Application Fees

• These range in cost from institution to
  institution
• If you have qualified for an SAT/ACT waiver, you
  will qualify for an application waiver as well.
  Check with your college career counselor or
  check with the institution that you are applying
  to-sometimes they have their own application fee
  waiver forms.

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Once complete

• Make a copy for your records
• If submitting a paper copy, mail application and
  application fee
• Be sure to have test scores sent to the college
  from the testing agency
• ACT www.act.org
• SAT www.collegeboard.com
• Allow 4-6 weeks before the deadline for scores to
  reach the colleges

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Again Deadlines MATTER!!

• Postmark
• Received by
• In Our office by
• High School deadlines
• Watch holiday times both for your high school and
  the colleges your are applying to !!!!

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Now Wait for the Decision..

• Decisions may be based on things you cant
  control
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Region
• Other characteristics that create diversity
• Another big part of their decision is based on
  what YOU can control
• Major
• Essays
• Activities
• High school course selection
• Grades GPA and test scores

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Continue with your high academic endeavors
because

• your future looks bright! Good Luck!

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QUESTIONS?