For those who couldn't make it to my talk at the Oak Bluff's public library in Massachusetts, here's the hand-out I distributed at the talk.
1. Bear in mind: It's normal to feel like you are going crazy. The process creates
that, and the current atmosphere contributes. You have lots of company. It's
not you, it's today's system.
2. Bear in mind: There is an end date to the crazy. It won't go on
forever, even though it feels like it will.
3. Don't Pull an All-Nighter the Night Before - AKA: Start
Early.
Whether it's your search for the right college, your contacting
teachers for letters of recommendation or writing your application essays (yes,
often it's more than one essay), give yourself plenty of time. What's the right
timetable? It's ideal to have your
list of colleges by summer before application, with all the requirements and
required essays spelled out; to have a good draft of the Common App essay by
the time you return to school in the fall. If you're applying to schools with
many supplementary essays, be sure to understand that early and plan
accordingly. If you have a very busy school-year schedule and many essays, use
your time in the summer to do them.
4. Submit Your Applications Some Time Before the Due
Dates.
Last year, the Common Application organization had massive computer
problems, and many thousands of students, teachers, and colleges had to work
around them, under tremendous stress. This is a useful lesson: If you wait
until the last days, you will be pressing SEND with HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of
other students. Website crashes happen.
5 Make a Chart. Share it with Your Parents. Keep it
visible.
As soon as you can, make a chart on paper (print it out) of all
your schools, application due dates, requirements (recommendations, SAT subject
tests, etc.), ESSAY REQUIREMENTS (with topics and word counts), and share it
with your parents, so you can work to block out time to do everything in a
timely way.
6. Diversify, diversity, diversify.
Pick schools smartly and pick a range. Just as financial counselors
tell people to diversify their investments to spread the risk of losing money,
make sure your list includes reaches, targets and safeties. It's not wise to
have, say, 8 reaches and 1 safety. Research the schools and make sure your
grades, scores and interests match up. Some students apply to many Ivy
League and other top schools without understanding the differences between them
in terms of curriculum, expectations, and atmosphere, and without understanding
what the schools are looking for. Find out whether Top Dog University is the
right school for you by reading about it in the resource books below and on
College Prowler (www.collegeprowler.com).
7. Consult resource books:
~ The Insider's Guide to the Colleges (published every year), edited by the
Yale Daily News (student takes on their colleges, written by students, for
students, in a lively voice).
~ The Best 378 Colleges by the Princeton Review, new edition every year
~ K& +W Guide to College Programs & Services for Students
with Learning Disabilities or AD/HD
8. If you need financial aid, make sure you apply to schools
where it would be available to you.
Many colleges have a “Calculator” you can plug in your numbers to
and learn how much aid you might qualify for. State universities, including
Michigan and U California, do not generally offer scholarships to out of state
students, though you may be eligible for loans.
8. Whether you're a Parent or a Student, it's Not Necessary to Share
Details with Friends.
Applying to college is a touchy subject. Who's applying where, who
gets in where, and who is upset about not getting in - all add to the ordinary
stresses. It may be less stressful not to share. It’s fine to say: “I
think I’d rather not talk about all of this yet.” Or: “Son/daughter doesn’t
want me to talk about this.”
.
9. Visit the schools. Ideally, visit when school is in
session.
If you are applying Early Decision
(BINDING), visit the school so you can report you have visited on the
application AND you can include reflections of your visit in your essay if you
have to write about why you want to attend that school.
10. Consider applying Early Decision and/or Early Action
(binding vs. non-binding), so that your worries might be over by mid-December,
instead of March or April. Consult each school's website to find out if they do
ED or EA.
Upside: You might have decisions by
mid-December. Downside: If you're rejected or deferred in mid-December,
you have to submit applications afterwards, usually with Jan. 1 or Jan. 15
deadlines. It's wise to do as much work as you can before mid-December.
Liz@DontSweatTheEssay.com 1-855-99-ESSAY
If you can't make it to the library, please email or phone for individual support, on-island or anywhere around the world (I have worked with clients in Hong Kong, Cairo, Alaska, and Chagrin Falls, Ohio).
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